Canadian Infrastructure Council releases first National Infrastructure Assessment on housing-enabling infrastructure

OTTAWA, ON, Nov. 27, 2025 /CNW/ - Today, the Canadian Infrastructure Council published Canada's first National Infrastructure Assessment (NIA Report 1), Building Foundations for Tomorrow: Assessing Housing-Enabling Infrastructure Across Canada.

As communities across the country face growing populations, changing climate, and a persistent housing crisis, the need for well-planned and resilient infrastructure has never been more clear.

Using data and evidence, this report brings together, for the first time, population projections, asset conditions, and climate considerations to better understand the capacity and resilience of Canada's infrastructure systems.

This first NIA report makes it clear that we can't build more homes without the essential infrastructure to support them -- including water and wastewater systems, waste management, and public transit and active transportation --and that strengthening the resilience of these systems is key to supporting healthy, livable communities.

Following extensive engagement with experts and interest holders across Canada, the NIA Report 1 reflects diverse perspectives and regional realities, creating a foundation for more integrated and evidence-based long-term infrastructure planning.

Through their report, the Council highlights key pressures --– such as aging assets, climate risks, regulatory burdens, fiscal constraints, and workforce shortages --– and identifies opportunities to make smarter use of existing systems, strengthen coordination across sectors, and plan for the future with data and resilience at the forefront.

Meeting Canada's housing and infrastructure demands over the next 25 years will require a transformative shift in how infrastructure is planned, maintained, financed, and delivered across the country. This report is intended to serve as a resource for governments and infrastructure owners, operators, and investors to support informed and strategic infrastructure planning and decision-making.

In this report, the Council is laying the groundwork to help Canada build a more strategic, coordinated and forward-looking approach to infrastructure systems.

Quotes

"Grounded in data, research, and insights from across sectors and regions in Canada, this first NIA highlights both the scale of Canada's core infrastructure challenges and opportunities ahead. It's a call to think differently about how we plan, manage, invest, and build smarter, more resilient systems. This NIA is intended to be the first of many, and we look forward to continuing the conversation on how to ensure we are building the future that we want."

– Jennifer Angel, Chair of the Canadian Infrastructure Council

"The release of the NIA marks an important first step towards equipping decision-makers with the evidence, data, insights, and tools needed to plan and deliver housing-enabling infrastructure more strategically. Our goal was to bring together all interest holders, from policy-makers to infrastructure operators, around a shared foundation upon which we can continue to build."

– Peter Weltman, Vice-Chair of the Canadian Infrastructure Council

Quick Facts

• The Canadian Infrastructure Council is an expert advisory body, launched on December 3, 2024, to deliver Canada's first NIA.
• The Council engaged broadly with experts and interest holders to inform the development of the NIA, including industry, academia, provincial, territorial, municipal and local governments, Indigenous and community organizations. Read the What We Heard report for a summary of key insights.

Associated Links

• Canadian Infrastructure Council
• National Infrastructure Assessment

SOURCE Department of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities

Contacts: For more information (media only), please contact: Canadian Infrastructure Council Secretariat, [email protected]