Ontario boosts Thunder Bay municipal funding to $27.8 million

THUNDER BAY — The Ontario government says Thunder Bay will receive nearly $28 million this year through the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund, with the city’s allocation rising by almost $3.5 million as Queen’s Park increases support for small, rural and northern communities.

For Thunder Bay, the funding matters because it helps offset the higher cost of delivering services in the North, where long distances, aging infrastructure and weather-related wear place added pressure on municipal budgets.

The province says the money is intended to help support critical services such as road maintenance and public transit.

Province says funding will help Thunder Bay maintain essential local services

The Ministry of Rural Affairs announced Thursday that Thunder Bay will receive $27.8 million through the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund, known as OMPF. Across Northwestern Ontario, the province says it is investing nearly $64 million through the program in 34 communities.

Rural Affairs Minister Lisa Thompson said the funding is part of the government’s broader effort to “protect rural and northern municipalities,” saying the goal is to ensure communities such as Thunder Bay have the resources to address local priorities, support economic growth and improve quality of life.

Thunder Bay-Atikokan MPP Kevin Holland echoed that point, saying stable municipal support is especially important in Northern Ontario, where communities face unique challenges tied to geography, infrastructure and service delivery.

Mayor says support will help city respond to northern pressures

Mayor Ken Boshcoff welcomed the increase, saying the added provincial support will help Thunder Bay maintain the essential services residents depend on every day.

Boshcoff pointed specifically to road maintenance and emergency services, saying the funding will assist the city as it continues to respond to the realities faced by northern municipalities.

His comments reflect a long-standing concern among northern leaders that communities in this part of the province face higher costs for everything from transportation and snow clearing to fleet maintenance and infrastructure replacement.

That pressure is especially familiar in Thunder Bay, where municipal leaders routinely balance service expectations with the cost of maintaining a large road network, transit operations and emergency response capacity across a geographically spread-out city.

The funding for Thunder Bay Transit will hopefully allow the service to keep transit buses on the road, servicing routes. Many people online on social media are deeply frustrated with all too frequent cancelations of service that is leaving them stranded.

OMPF remains a key source of provincial support

The OMPF is Ontario’s largest funding program for small, rural and northern municipalities, especially those with more limited property assessment bases. It is formula-based, meaning annual allocations can shift as municipal data changes.

The province announced in November 2024 that it would expand the fund by $100 million over two years, bringing the total annual investment to $600 million in 2026. Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said maintaining that level of support during a period of tariffs and economic uncertainty is part of the province’s plan to keep communities resilient while protecting essential local services.

For Thunder Bay, that predictable funding model is important. Unlike one-time project grants, formula-based municipal funding can be used to support the day-to-day services that keep the city functioning, even when inflation, construction costs and operating pressures continue to rise.

Northwestern Ontario municipalities want predictable long-term funding

The announcement also drew support from the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association, which has long argued that provincial funding formulas need to reflect the true cost of service delivery in the North.

NOMA president Rick Dumas said municipalities across the region rely on OMPF support to maintain critical infrastructure, support public transit and deliver the services residents count on. He said continued predictable investment is essential if communities are to remain resilient and support long-term economic development.

That broader regional perspective matters in Thunder Bay, which serves as the economic and service hub for much of Northwestern Ontario. When municipal budgets tighten here, the effects are often felt beyond the city itself, particularly in transportation, health access, regional commerce and connections to surrounding communities.

Why the funding matters locally

While the province is framing the announcement as part of its support for rural and northern Ontario, the local significance is practical rather than political: money for municipalities helps keep core services running.

In Thunder Bay, residents are most likely to feel the effects through the basics — the condition of roads, the reliability of city services and the city’s ability to manage infrastructure demands without passing the full burden on to property taxpayers.
The funding does not solve every budget pressure facing the city, but it gives Thunder Bay more room to manage those pressures at a time when northern communities continue to push for stronger, more predictable backing from Queen’s Park.

Source: Ontario Ministry of Rural Affairs announcement provided to NetNewsLedger.