Not the full picture. Built from public records, which leave things out.Read by hand, Oct 2026DetailsThis is built from public records, which leave a lot out, and some of it may be wrong or out of date. Check the sources, and tell us if you spot a mistake. What this site can't tell you Read by hand. We read Thunder Bay's own documents for this site in October 2026; the Sources page lists which ones. The comparisons with other places still come from the Province's yearly reports.
A clear, checkable guide to Thunder Bay's budget, taxes and council decisions. A city on the shore of Lake Superior with a 13-member council: a mayor, five at-large councillors and seven ward councillors. The City's own 2026 budget gives its population as 117,003 in 2025. It owns Tbaytel, the local phone and internet company, and Thunder Bay Hydro, the local electric utility. Every figure links back to the public record.
December 3, 2025date of the auditor's opinion on the year ended December 31, 2024
Audited financial statements are the City's yearly accounts, checked by an outside accounting firm. The auditor's opinion on the year ended December 31, 2023 is dated October 28, 2024. The auditor's opinion on the year ended December 31, 2024 is dated December 3, 2025, and the Treasurer's letter that opens the report is dated December 2, 2025. Both opinions say the statements present fairly, so the numbers are clean. The 2024 statements say 2023 was audited by 'another auditor': the 2023 report names BDO Canada LLP, and MNP LLP signed 2024. On October 5, 2026 the City's Accountability page listed the 2024 report as the newest, and we did not find 2025 statements. We did not find a public explanation for the timing.
Found by reading the city's own documents · 2 sources
9.1%rise in 2026 police net cost ($59,386.1 thousand to $64,819.2 thousand), against a 2.6% council target
Council told the City and its agencies, boards and commissions to hold increases to 2.6%. The City's own services met that. The police did not: the Police Service's net cost (the part paid from property taxes) goes from $59,386.1 thousand in 2025 to $64,819.2 thousand in 2026, up $5,433.1 thousand or 9.1%. About $222 of every $1,000 of property tax goes to police. The budget says several agencies went over the target and that this 'driven the Municipal Tax Levy increase to 4.0%'. The City says a $3.5 million rise in the Province's Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund (OMPF, a yearly Provincial grant) paid for some of it, including $748,500 for eight new constables. The police say more officers are needed because of public surveys, an independent staffing assessment and new provincial policing rules. That answers why. We did not find a plan for what pays for the officers if the grant falls.
Found by reading the city's own documents · 4 sources
$21,000.0 thousandTbaytel dividend counted in the City's 2026 operating budget, up from $19,000.0 thousand in 2024
Tbaytel is the phone and internet company the City owns. A dividend is a share of its profit paid to its owner. The 2026 budget counts a Tbaytel dividend of $21,000.0 thousand, up from $19,000.0 thousand actually received in 2024 and $19,500.0 thousand budgeted in 2025, plus a special dividend of $2,000.0 thousand that goes to a reserve fund. The 2026 to 2027 capital budget says Council raised the capital tax increase from 2.6% and 2.1% to 5% a year 'by directing a portion of the expected Tbaytel Dividend to capital'. The dividend is paid under a Council-approved Dividend Policy, which we did not open. Tbaytel's own revenue was flat: $206,957,000 in 2024, against a budget of $209,470,000 and $207,524,000 in 2023.
Found by reading the city's own documents · 3 sources
$30.6 millionannual infrastructure deficit, as stated in the 2026 to 2027 capital budget
Infrastructure is the roads, pipes, buildings and vehicles the City must keep up. The City's capital budget says it has an annual infrastructure deficit of $30.6 million: the gap between what it takes to keep services at today's level and what the City has. The same budget plans $41,910,500 of new debentures (long-term loans) and internal loans in 2026 and $27,454,000 in 2027. That includes special debentures of $10,550,000 a year for a new Organics Processing Facility. The City's statements show municipal debenture debt of $190,495,208 at the end of 2024, down from $202,822,908, so debt has been falling. The City's asset plan says it will 'gradually increase capital out of revenue beginning in 2028'. We did not find how much, or what pays for the facility's yearly loan costs.
Found by reading the city's own documents · 3 sources
May 28, 2012the flood the City is still in a legal dispute with its insurer about, as of the 2024 statements
On May 28, 2012 heavy rain flooded the Atlantic Avenue sewage treatment plant and many basements. The Province declared the City a disaster area. The City's 2024 statements say the City is still 'in a dispute with its insurer', which denied the claim over how repair costs should be split, and that the City 'has initiated legal action against its insurers and the claims adjusters'. Because the result is unknown, the City has not counted any money from it. The same note appeared in the 2023 statements. The 2024 statements also say there are 'numerous claims and litigation in dispute' with no amount set aside, and that the City has duties to close and maintain the Shuniah Mine site on City property, with no cost estimate or provision. The statements print no figure for any of these. The flood itself is now more than fourteen years ago.
Found by reading the city's own documents · 3 sources
Places keep savings (called reserves) to pay for new trucks, roof repairs and surprises. Thunder Bay had $222M saved at the end of 2024, up from $137M in 2019. That is 40% of one year's spending. Only 2 of 10 similar places had less, compared with what they spend.
Found automatically from the city's financial reports · 2 sources
$56,944,953annual surplus in 2024, against a budgeted $21,908,589
A surplus is revenue minus expenses for the year. It is not cash in a drawer. The City's consolidated statements show an annual surplus of $56,944,953 in 2024 against a budget of $21,908,589. Spending was close to plan ($642,396,757 against $645,611,244). The gap came from revenue: $695,521,693 against $667,613,833. The largest overshoots were Government of Canada grants ($16,375,284 against $7,615,748), Province of Ontario grants ($84,485,636 against $72,863,859) and investment income ($12,046,276 against $8,912,404). The City's discussion says 'Variance explanations are discussed below', but what follows explains this year's property tax rise from 2023, not the gaps against budget. We did not find the reasons for the grant gaps.
Found by reading the city's own documents · 3 sources
$793.0 thousandless parking fee income budgeted in 2026 than in 2025, because of free two-hour street parking
In 2025 the City started giving two free hours of on-street parking in its city centres, which it calls the complimentary parking initiative, to bring more people downtown. The 2026 budget carries it on. Parking fees fall from $2,573.3 thousand in the 2025 budget to $1,780.3 thousand in 2026, and fines fall by $99.0 thousand. The City covers the shortfall with $239.3 thousand from the Assessment Growth Reserve Fund, which holds the extra property tax from new buildings, and pays nothing into the Parking Reserve Fund this year (it was $562.2 thousand). The City lists the parking money as a temporary allocation. We did not find a date when the initiative is reviewed or ends.
Found by reading the city's own documents · 2 sources
April 14, 2026Standing Committee meeting date for the 2026 Internal Audit Work Plan (Report 123-2026)
Internal audit is the City's own team that checks whether money and rules are handled as intended. A 2026 report to the Finance and Administration Standing Committee says the Audit Committee used to approve the audit charter and work plan, and that oversight has moved to the Standing Committee. The 2026 plan names credit card compliance, card payment security standards, inventory, cash handling, fuel controls, vendor payments, revenue assurance and vending and ATM operations. We did not find a page listing past internal audit reports or follow-up on their recommendations.
Found by reading the city's own documents · 2 sources
2024 tax year · Thunder Bay, Ontario
Your tax bill, worked out.
Enter your home's assessed value to see roughly what you pay in property tax each year, who gets it, and what Thunder Bay's share pays for.
Ontario still uses property values from January 1, 2016 for tax, so your assessed value is probably well below what your home would sell for today.
$
It is on your property assessment notice from MPAC, and on your tax bill. We filled in the typical value in Thunder Bay.
An estimate. It uses the residential tax rate, and splits Thunder Bay's share by what each service cost in 2024 after its own fees and grants (for example, water bills pay for much of a water system). Real bills also depend on your property class, local charges and any rebates.
How Thunder Bay's share of the bill compares with similar places
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