City Budget 2025

The results from the survey have been presented in the "As We Heard It" report showcased on this page and can be accessed here.

While the City of Ottawa does not levy a special property tax against the owners of dogs, it is a requirement under the Animal Care and Control By-law to register all dogs and cats on an annual basis. The fees associated with pet registration assist with cost recovery for administration of the program and enforcement of the by-law.

Thank you for your inquiry about how the City plans to support growth and intensification, and ensure a safe, efficient, and reliable transportation system.  

Ottawa's Official Plan and Transportation Master Plan (TMP) are key documents that guide the planning and operation of the City's transportation network. The Official Plan guides how and where the City will grow, and the scale of this growth. The TMP is currently being updated to identify the transportation projects and investments that are needed to meet residents’ travel needs, both now and in the future. The TMP Capital Infrastructure Plan will review and analyze the effectiveness of Ottawa’s current transportation system and propose improvements to the road and transit networks to support growth. The TMP Capital Infrastructure Plan will also identify a subset of projects that are affordable within the City’s long-range financial plans, along with the corresponding timelines for implementation. For more information about the TMP Update, please see the Engage Ottawa webpage.

Some key considerations related to our investments in transportation infrastructure are described below.

1) Investing in modes of travel that are space-efficient 

Ottawa is expected to grow by more than 400,000 people by 2046.  With this scale of growth and intensification, demand on the transportation system will continue to increase and the City will need to move more people and goods using the space available today. This will be achieved by prioritizing more space-efficient modes including transit, walking, and cycling to maximize the capacity and efficiency of the existing network while ensuring access to new growth areas. This approach is documented in the Council-approved TMP Policies.

Expansion of the transit network will continue to be critical to achieving the City’s mobility objectives. Additional road network improvements will also be included in the TMP Capital Infrastructure Plan where needed. Projects will be prioritized using the Council-approved frameworks from the Transportation Master Plan Part 1. The TMP Part 1 also identified standalone projects to deliver new walking and cycling facilities.

2) Funding, affordability and the 2025 annual budget

The City collects development charges to pay for new transportation infrastructure that is required to accommodate growth. New roads and road widenings are primarily funded through development charges, not tax revenue. New transit and active transportation infrastructure is partly funded by development charges. Tax revenue is used to maintain transportation infrastructure citywide once it is built (e.g. snow clearing, road resurfacing, etc.).

The Transportation Master Plan identifies the projects and investments that are affordable within the City’s long-range financial plans. In turn, the TMP is used to develop the City’s annual capital budgets for new growth-related transportation infrastructure. The 2025 budget, based on the 2013 TMP, includes over $12 million for standalone cycling and walking projects which will make it easier for people to get to work, shopping, school, and recreation. It also includes over $29 million for design and construction of new roads and roadway improvements, including widenings, and $13 million dollars for new or improved intersections. An additional $8 million is identified for transit priority measures.

As for your concerns regarding theft and civility, the Ottawa Police Board handles their own budget tabling and consultation. If you are interested in more information or wish to get in touch, please visit Budget - Ottawa Police Service. 

The Ottawa Paramedic Service delivers land ambulance and Community Paramedic services for the City of Ottawa, which includes emergency medical response and patient care to residents, such as home-based health care to patients with complex medical needs. The Ottawa Central Ambulance Communications Centre provides call-taking and dispatching services to eastern Ontario. The Ottawa Paramedic Service also delivers public education programs for the public and City staff (such as First Aid and CPR), and oversees the Public Access Defibrillator Program, which places automated external defibrillators in public and private buildings.

These programs and services receive funding from the Ministry of Health, which manages emergency medical (paramedic) services for the province.

• The Ottawa Paramedic Service (land ambulance service) is 50/50 funded by the City and Province.
• All Community Paramedic programs are 100 percent funded by the province.
• The Ottawa Central Ambulance Communications Centre is 100% funded by the province.

In 2025, the City is investing in new staff, equipment and vehicles to increase the number of paramedics and ensure help arrives sooner in serious emergencies. Budget 2025 includes $149 million for the Ottawa Paramedic Service’s operating budget, $84 million of which will be funded by the province.

The Planning process in Ontario corresponds to a framework that includes a policy-led system and legislative requirements and limitations. Development applications are approved based on conformity to the Provincial Planning Statement and the Official Plan. The Official Plan is adopted by Council and approved by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. It contains the City’s goals, objectives, and policies to guide growth and manage physical change. The Official Plan has five strategic directions that establish the foundation for Ottawa to become the most liveable mid-sized city in North America. Achieving this goal will take time and will not only be achieved through development of the built form over the next few decades but also through the fulfilment of other City plans that do not implicitly affect land use matters, such as the Transportation Master Plan, the Infrastructure Master Plan, the Parks and Recreation Facilities Master Plan, and the Urban Forest and Greenspace Master Plan. Other non-municipal stakeholders, such as the business community, the Federal government, post-secondary institutions, the school boards, and tourism, will also play a role in achieving this goal.

The four-year spend provided in the capital budget is for any new capital project budget authority requested as part of the 2025 Draft Capital Budget. Large strategic projects that require a full business case for approval from Council are not part of the annual budget process. Those types of projects are approved via a report to Committee and Council.  The Stage 2 LRT Project was approved by Council on February 27, 2019, and the spending plan was included in the financial implications section, on page 107, of that report (ACS2019-TSD-OTP-0001). As part of the annual budget process, we do provide the Works in Progress report to show how the City is tracking towards that budget. Please note that the budget for the LRT was increased since 2019 and the revised budget amount is shown in the Works in Progress report and the budget increases also would have been approved by Council as part of additional reports to Committee and Council.

The funding sources for Lansdowne are directly attributable to Lansdowne. The City owns Lansdowne and has developed a funding strategy that relies on funding generated directly from the redevelopment of Lansdowne. Transit services are funded from transit tax and fares and need to be sufficient to support that service.

Thank you for your input into the 2025 Draft Budget. Your comments and concerns regarding the reduction of discounts to senior’s fares have been forwarded to OC Transpo. Please note that the proposed changes to fares will be discussed at Transit Commission on November 25 and a final determination will be made by Council on December 11.

Yes, the 2025 budget for Children’s Services includes a net taxation requirement of $19.662M which is mostly related to the Provincial requirement to cost-share various programs at 20%.

The Draft Budget 2025 poll results are one of many ways the City of Ottawa collects budget input from the public. Poll results are reflective of those who participated and may not reflect the overall views shared across the many forms of input offered during the budget process. Some of the other ways residents are welcome to get involved include participate in Committee meetings, attend Councillor-led public consultations, get in touch with their Councillor or share their thoughts through the City of Ottawa social media channels. The results of all feedback platforms are carefully considered by Council and the budget planning team.