Guelph Residents Facing More Than 36 Percent Tax Increase in Just One Council Term

Residents of Guelph are facing a steep rise in property taxes: with tax-levy increases compounded over recent years, the cumulative hike since 2022 is approaching 36.7 %.

According to the city’s published budget figures:

• 2022 levy increase: 4.21 %
• 2023 levy increase: 4.46 %
• 2024 levy increase: 8.52 %
• 2025 levy increase: 6.78 %
• 2026 levy increase: 8.50 % (as projected by the mayor)

When compounded: (1.0421 × 1.0446 × 1.0852 × 1.0678 × 1.085) – 1 ≈ 36.7 %.

Council is now debating add-ons including restoring winter bike-lane snow clearing, funding a downtown drop-in centre, and other service enhancements that are driving the tax-levy growth. Mayor Cam Guthrie warned that the city services portion alone could exceed a four per cent increase, and when combined with outside boards it could push total tax increase to about 8.5 per cent for 2026.

Critics argue that the burden on homeowners and businesses is mounting rapidly, while usage and justification for some of the add-ons remain unclear. For example, despite the push by the advocacy group Guelph Coalition for Active Transportation (GCAT) for winter bike-lane maintenance, data show that biking in winter months remains minimal – raising questions whether committing tax dollars to such programs is a prudent public investment. Furthermore, GCAT is not an official city entity but a private advocacy organization.

At the same time, while any bicycle or pedestrian collision is regrettable, overall incident volumes remain low relative to the city’s population and scale of daily traffic – which undercuts the argument that sweeping enhancements are urgent.

The next budget stage will see council debate amendments on November 26 for 2026, and outside boards have until February to present revised budgets. With tax hikes compounding year after year, Guelph property-tax payers may soon be paying more than one-third more than they were just four years ago.