The project includes hundreds of kilometres of new pipelines, and will add over 200,000 acres of irrigated farmland to the province’s current 1.7 million. The province is contributing $244.5 million, the irrigation districts are putting up $163 million and the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) is providing a loan of about $407.5 million. (The Logic)

Talking point: This project is part of a national effort to make Canada’s existing agricultural lands more productive and sell more of it overseas. “It increases the different types of crops that can be grown and ultimately gives the farmers more return,” said Alberta Agriculture Minister Devin Dreeshen. This is the CIB’s first project using the $10 billion it set aside last week to help with the pandemic recovery. The bank is also working with Saskatchewan, which recently launched a $4-billion irrigation plan to more than double its arable land.