Lobbying registration dated 2026-02-26
Registrant: Josipa Petrunic
Client: Canadian Urban Transit Research & Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC)
Targeted institutions:
Transport Canada (TC)
Intergovernmental Affairs Secretariat (IGA)
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)
Canada Infrastructure Bank
Public Safety Canada (PS)
Finance Canada (FIN)
Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada (HICC)
Prime Minister's Office (PMO)
House of Commons
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED)
Natural Resources Canada (NRCan)
Global Affairs Canada (GAC)
Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev)
Government funding received:
Institution: Natural Resources Canada (NRCan)
Amount: 221371.96
Institution: Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada (HICC)
Amount: 1582883.83
Lobbying activity details:
Secure federal government funding for low-carbon smart mobility projects.
To present  the Foreign Affairs, Commerce & Trade (FACT) Task Force, a multi-stakeholder working group established by the Canadian Urban Transit Research & Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC). Its purpose is to support Canada's transit manufacturing sector in navigating international trade challenges, particularly in light of recently imposed U.S. tariffs and anticipated Canadian countermeasures.
The Task Force serves as a forum for manufacturers, suppliers, transit agencies, labour representatives, and academic experts to share insights, assess risks, and collaboratively develop policy recommendations. Its objective is to mitigate negative impacts on Canadian jobs, production capacity, and public mobility outcomes. The FACT Task Force advocates for tariff exemptions on transit-related goods and services, and for policy supports that protect domestic supply chains and sustain Canada's zero-emission transit goals.
Recognize that the transition to zero-emissions transportation, including battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell electric transit, coach and rail systems, will require an energy “systems overhaul of entire fleets and infrastructural systems, meaning that incentives and funding programs designed and launched by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada (HICC), Environment, Climate Change Canada and/or Transport Canada will need to support coordinated energy systems integration efforts (i.e. both vehicle and fuelling ends of the equation) with consortia of partners to be effective, immediate and long-term from an economic sustainability standpoint.
1) Recognize that fleet adoption – specifically heavy duty vehicle fleet adoption in the public sector, including bus, coach and rail systems – offers more immediate and substantial emissions reductions opportunities for taxpayers compared to individual passenger car incentives over the next four year period.
Secure funding to support a national smart vehicle demonstration and integration trial which supports the long-term deployment of autonomous shuttles in Markham, Ontario.
Ontario’s recently cancelled Greenhouse Gas Reduction Account Fund has eliminated provincial sources of funding for the world-leading Pan-Canadian Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Bus Demonstration & Integration Trial.
Within Canadian Transportation Innovation & Industrial Development Strategy, Canada needs to identify a clear mandate for Alternative Propulsion & Smart Mobility Innovation focusing on mechanisms that create IP and new jobs in the low-carbon transportation innovation industry, building globally relevant large scale integration trials and industry-academic collaborations through innovation consortia for alternative propulsion and smart vehicle technologies in shared mobility systems applications (e.g. public transit and shared private fleets).

This Strategy must include battery electric propulsion and charging systems (heavy-duty and light-duty; vehicular and rail-based), hydrogen fuel cell electric propulsion systems and fuelling systems (heavy-duty and light-duty; vehicular and rail-based), renewable natural gas propulsion and fuelling systems (heavy-duty and light-duty; vehicular and rail-based), and automated and connected vehicle systems for public fleet systems applied to heavy- and light-duty vehicles, including bus, coach, and rail.
Establishing the need for the heavy duty transit manufacturing sector to have a seat at the table in Canada-US trade negotiations so that any renegotiation of CUSMA (Canada-US-Mexico Agreement) recognizes the jobs-at-risk within the Canadian manufacturing landscape.
Secure funding for a Return to Transit research and innovation program which supports the research on the safe return of ridership to transit as well as supports low carbon smart mobility focused projects.
Secure funding for the ACES Big Data Trust and ZEB Simulation Rollout projects through FedDev Ontario, ISED or other relevant ministry respectively.
Support CUTRIC’s application to ensure the federal government invests $10M in start-up seed financing for the development of a cutting edge (and publicly-controlled) ACES Big Data Trust (“Autonomous, Connected, Electric & Shared” Big Data Trust), which would ensure standardized data collection, aggregation, sharing and use for optimized decision-making for fleet procurements of electric, hydrogen electric, and autonomous, i.e. “smart”, transportation fleets across Canada.  

The ACES Big Data Trust will help to reduce taxpayer losses due to inefficient and unempirical procurement decision-making across Canada’s public fleets, by ensuring public fleet procurement bodies and agencies have access to the real-time, accurate, precise and immediately accessible performance data they need to hold manufacturers to account and assess performance of vehicles procured once in fleet. 

The ACES Big Data Trust will optimize the use of tax dollars invested in public fleets across the heavy-duty sector of vehicles, including buses, rail, coaches and municipal heavy-duty service vehicles.
Support CUTRIC’s  development of a Joint Procurement Initiative that improves transit by moving people more efficiently across Canada using the most cutting edge zero-emissions technology projects available worldwide. 

CUTRIC’s Joint Procurement Initiative will support the launch of zero emission buses CUTRIC across Canada, with a focus on the GTHA.
The Government of Canada must launch the development of a robust Canadian Transportation Innovation & Industrial Development Strategy. The Strategy would require a “hub” marriage between Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada (HICC), Innovation, Science and Industry and Environment Canada, and Transport Canada on the transportation innovation file. The Strategy should be launched with a federal Task Force with the support of Members of Parliament, mobility manufacturers, integrators, fleets/transit systems, and alternative fuel providers to generate programming aimed at future low-carbon smart mobility infrastructure integration, innovation and technological advancement in transportation.
Support a Return to Transit project that aims to secure funding for Research & Development into getting transit riders back on transit safely.
Launch Canadian Cybersecurity Innovation Initiative for Rail and Transit (CCIIRT) with funding of $50 million over eight years. The increasing digitalization of our transit systems offers numerous benefits to passengers and freight alike but it also presents growing cybersecurity risks which pose threats to transportation and national security. The CCIIRT addresses gaps in Canada's rail and transit cybersecurity by establishing a federal regulatory framework with mandatory compliance guidelines for transit operators and vendors.
Positioning Canada’s North American-leading transit manufacturing sector (bus, coach, shuttle, rail and public mobility) at the heart of industrial policy mechanisms as part of the Canadian job growth strategy to benefit from support to manufacturing that other sectors and verticals will benefit from.
Advocating to maintain and grow the Canada Public Transit Fund (CPTF) to at least $5 billion per year as part of Prime Minister Carney’s initiative to Build a Stronger Canada and based on key performance indicators associated with the Zero Emissions Transit Fund (ZETF).