Guelph mayor says he'll use strong mayor powers to address housing, city's budget

Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie says he will now use strong mayor powers to address the need for housing and make sure the city's budget increases do not go above four per cent in the future.

In the fall of 2022, the Ontario government gave strong mayor powers to Toronto and Ottawa, then last July, it expanded the powers to 26 municipalities, including Guelph, Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo and Brantford.

Guthrie has previously said he didn't intend to use the strong mayor powers. But during a state of the city address Thursday morning, he said he's changed his mind.

"I have an obligation to thoughtfully consider what is under my control or in my toolbox to help people, especially when it comes to affordability and housing." 

He said there were three areas where he plans to use the strong mayor powers:

1. To set the city's budget property tax rate increase to be under four per cent starting at the 2025 budget.
2. Set up partnerships on city-owned assets, including surface parking lots, to create housing.
3. Work to create a temporary tiny home encampment alongside health and housing providers who can offer support to the people who live there.

"When cities are faced with strong issues, it requires a strong team to tackle them. However, to set the tone and the pace, you need a strong mayor," Guthrie said.

Need to use powers during 'trying times'

Guelph passed a 2024 budget that saw a property tax increase of 8.52 per cent. That was after facing a more than 10 per cent hike when council first began to review the budget.

"It is abundantly clear to me that the citizens and businesses of Guelph cannot afford an almost 10 per cent budget increase in the future. That is not OK," Guthrie said.

Guthrie said he wanted to set the expectations for the 2025 budget early so staff can work toward it.

"This will mean very, very difficult conversations about how this may impact the city services that we're all used to or plans even over the next few years," he said.

"These impacts would be extremely difficult to accept, not only for council, not only for the community, it could also be hard on me, too. But I'm giving these directions because I have high expectations for staff and council."

He said when it comes to setting up a tiny home encampment, his directive to staff will ask them to identify potential sites and ways to fund the site, which could include "the option for community fundraising."

He said choosing to use strong mayor powers "was not easy," but it's necessary "to accelerate solutions during these trying times."

Councillors react

Coun. Leanne Caron responded to the news about strong mayor powers on the social media website X, formerly Twitter, to say council had met the mayor Wednesday night and he hadn't mentioned his plans.

"So you can imagine my shock learning about this announcement on social media," she posted in a response to a post by Guthrie. "There's no 'I' in team. Thanks so much for the open trust and communication. Not."

Coun. Rodrigo Goller, who attended the state of the city address, said on X he was "still processing" the news.

"I do not support the erosion democracy that's created by these powers. However, I will support building social and affordable housing on municipal parking lots and creating structured encampments as an interim solution to the homelessness crisis," he wrote.