Guelph mayor set to invoke strong mayor powers to slash budget, address housing issues

Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie is slashing the budget and backing building housing by flexing his strong mayor powers after an announcement made Thursday morning.

Guthrie spoke at the State of the City address where he highlighted a number of issues affecting people in Guelph.

He announced plans to cap the city’s tax hike, setting the budget’s property tax rate increase to be under four per cent starting at the 2025 budget.

Guthrie also highlighted a number of housing issues affecting people in the community and reaffirmed his mission to address these issues.

“You won’t be surprised to know that housing is top of mind for me every single day and in almost every single thing I do,” said Guthrie.

He said he plans to work with council to set up temporary tiny home structured encampment suites for those experiencing homelessness with support from health and housing providers.

“I have visited these encampments,” said Guthrie. “I’ve talked to these people living in crisis, and I hear their stories and it breaks my heart.”

Guthrie also highlighted the city’s shortage of housing stock as a main contributor to the housing crisis.

“It’s the structural shortage of the supply of homes that is the biggest problem,” said Guthrie. “No monetary policy of interest rates going up or down is really going to help with this issue.”

Guthrie plans on setting up strategic real estate partnerships on city-owned land, specifically parking lots, to build more housing.

This announcement was met with mixed reviews, as Guelph Coun. Leanne Caron took to X, formerly Twitter, stating Guthrie broke his promise to not use strong mayor powers, calling it the ‘opposite of good governance’ and ‘performative politics’.