According to the most recent Canadian Infrastructure Report Card, the state of our infrastructure is at risk — in fact, it’s failing. And our approach to tackling infrastructure has remained stagnant for decades.

Mired in political promises and lack of citizen engagement, Canada’s approach has focused largely on fast cash infusions to stimulate an underproductive economy. Stimulus infusions focus on spending money quickly on projects that have little value long-term.

Canada’s election season highlights this disjointed approach. Look at election platforms over the past two decades, and you won’t find much in the way of change in terms of our approach to infrastructure investments.

Conservatives often tout energy corridors and transportation for increased trade. The NDP look at social infrastructure investments, including core housing needs. The Green Party toes the line of green infrastructure retrofits and renewable energy investments. And the Liberals fall somewhere in between each of these priority areas.

The Achilles heel of any government

Election platform promises about infrastructure typically focus on what hasn’t been done and how money was mismanaged. Party platforms are filled with promises to do more, but infrastructure is the Achilles heel of any government.

Party leaders have to talk about investing in infrastructure during the election, but if elected they have little funding to work with, combined with a largely hypercritical audience that doesn’t want to spend money.

We cannot simply blame politicians. Our political priorities are, after all, a reflection of the average Canadians ignorance to infrastructure. Something along the lines of “I want the road fixed, but I don’t realize how much it costs and I don’t want to pay for it” often summarizes the average thinking.

So how do you tackle this in an election platform?

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