Edmonton, Alberta, January 31, 2024 — Communities across the country are developing strategies to minimize greenhouse gas emissions, including lowering carbon emissions from public transportation.

Today, Minister Randy Boissonnault, Curtis Eck, Vice President of Engineering at FortisAlberta, and Josipa Petrunic, President and CEO of the Canadian Urban Transit Research & Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC), announced a combined investment of $550,092 for the Alberta Municipality Constellation project.

The Alberta Municipality Constellation project is a comprehensive study to inform the procurement and deployment of zero emission buses for nine transit agencies — Airdrie, Banff/Bow Valley, Fort Saskatchewan, Hinton, Leduc, Rocky View, Spruce Grove, Strathcona County, and Whitecourt — in Alberta through the assessment of economic, technical, and environmental elements associated with this transition. The study, led by CUTRIC and FortisAlberta, is conducted in collaboration with local municipalities and the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers (OSPE). The project will guide local transit agencies in planning for the integration of zero emission buses in the coming years and provide a modeling study of regional energy requirements to ensure needs can be met. Once completed, the results will be shared with all participating communities, extending the benefits of this important project.

By investing in the electrification of Canada’s public transit systems, the Government of Canada is making clean and affordable transportation available in communities across Canada, growing our country’s economy, and improving the lives of Canadians.