City greenlights multi-year capital budget

Thunder Bay’s city council has approved a two-year capital budget for 2026 and 2027.

The proposed budget was considered at a committee of the whole meeting on Monday evening.

The capital budget calls for $160 million in spending in 2026 and $148 million in 2027.

The numbers are slightly lower than 2025’s $162 million capital budget due to the financing of large projects in 2025, including the Tbaytel Multiplex.

This is the city’s first attempt at a multi-year budget: the city states that this will make it easier to finance multi-year projects and secure investments.

The budget suggests that this approach could also enable the city to save a bit of money on long-term projects by reducing the impact of inflation.

A capital budget and an operating budget are distinctly different.

A capital budget focuses on larger projects and long-term investments, such as the maintenance of roads and bridges, while an operating budget focuses on day-to-day expenses.

This two-year capital budget includes significant long-term projects, including:

• Almost $12 million for improvements to the Superior North EMS headquarters, focusing on updating old equipment and vehicles.
• Approximately $20 million over two years for the development of lands along Central Avenue between Golf Links Road and Balmoral Street. This development is meant to create space for over 1,200 homes.
• $6 million towards housing initiatives, including the Housing Accelerator Fund, for speeding up homebuilding.
• Around $20 million in the next two years towards replacing the bus fleet with electric buses, and delivering the city’s proposed on-demand bus program.
• $21 million over two years to construct an organics processing facility to complement the city’s rollout of green compost bins.

The city plans to implement a 2.6 percent tax levy increase for 2026, and a 2.1 percent increase in 2027. The total property tax increases for 2026 and 2027 are likely to be higher, as these numbers do not account for the city’s operating budget.

Around one third, or $56 million, of the city’s capital expenses for 2026 will be paid for by the federal and provincial governments. They will cover $48.6 million in 2027.

City Council’s committee of the whole passed the budget with no amendments, but it will still need to be ratified at the last full City Council meeting of the year on December 2.