What the budget means to you

A look at Peel Region's critical needs, services, and spending for 2026.

On this page

Messages from leadership

Chief Administrative Officer, Gary Kent, and Chief Financial Officer and Commissioner of Corporate Services, Davinder Valeri outline the approach to the 2026 Budget and highlight priority areas for Peel Region moving forward.

2026 Budget documents

Property tax increase overview

Police 2.16%
Peel Region services 1.98%
Other agencies 0.06%
Total average property tax increase 4.20%

This year's property tax increase means there will be an increase to the typical residential property tax bill of $266 and $468 for commercial or industrial property tax bills.

This increase is due to higher costs to maintain current critical services and invest in infrastructure and new services to address priority community needs.

To keep up with infrastructure costs including improvements to water, sewer, and stormwater services there will also be a 7.8% utility rate increase. The average home will see an increase to their utility bill of 21 cents per day ($75 per year), while the average commercial or industrial property will see an increase of 47 cents per day ($173 per year).

Building a sustainable future

To support the critical needs of the growing community, the 2026 budget proposes to maintain services and support growth while planning for long-term financial stability.

Critical urgent needs being addressed

Supporting population-driven service demand

Our services need to grow with the community. The 2026 budget will invest additional funds to meet current and future needs. This will help us:

Add 40 paramedics to support growing needs and call volume.
Provide financial relief to customers with unexpectedly high-water bills due to undetected leaks.
Transform the donated Wilson Lands in Caledon into a hub for integrated health and community services.

Building homes faster

The Ontario government has set accelerated housing targets. Before these homes can be built, we need to invest in the critical infrastructure required to service them. The 2026 budget will allocate nearly $2 billion in capital funding to do this. This funding will allow us to build:

Water transmission and distribution systems: to carry clean water from treatment plants to homes and businesses.
Wastewater collection systems: to collect dirty water and send it to treatment plants.
Water treatment facilities and pumping stations: where water is cleaned to make it safe to use and then pumped through the system.

Developing deeply affordable housing

We need to find housing solutions for our community’s most vulnerable. The 2026 budget invests to develop and expand deeply affordable housing options in Peel by:

Providing supportive transitional housing for those in homeless encampments.
Completing Springbrook House, the Brampton Youth Shelter, and Basswood Senior Residences.
Implementing policy and protocols to effectively manage homeless encampments in Peel.
Supporting homeless asylum claimants in their settlement journey.
Increasing shelter capacity due to the growing needs in Peel's homelessness population.

Enhancing community safety and well-being

Peel has changed dramatically over the last 50 years and new challenges to our community’s public health system have emerged. The 2026 budget is investing to enhance community safety and well-being allowing us to:

Catch-up on vaccination record screening and the enforcement of required school vaccines.
Ensure the mobile dental vehicle can continue to provide preventive dental services to underserved children in schools with high dental needs.
Sustain and expand emotion-based care practices, ensuring seniors with dementia receive compassionate, person-centred support.
Drive community health solutions by supporting initiatives like the Community Response Table with more than 100 partners, and key priorities such as international students and youth violence prevention.

Keeping Peel Region's infrastructure assets in good repair

Maintaining our assets ensures essential services like clean water, roads, and public buildings remain reliable. Regular maintenance prevents costly breakdowns in the future, protects public safety, and avoids damage to the environment. Some of the key projects the 2026 budget support include:

Road construction, intersection improvements, and active transportation.
Maintenance and repairs of our long-term care homes, Peel Living buildings, ambulances, and our shelter system.

Managing the impacts of funding shortfalls

We are a national leader in municipal financial management. However, for many years we have been underfunded for services we’re mandated to deliver including public health, and long-term care, and housing.

This ongoing funding gap has had serious effects on the long-term financial health of Peel Region and has put limits on municipality’s capacity to develop a community for life.