Guelph appeared to be a big winner in the 2024 provincial budget.
Mayor Cam Guthrie tells Global News that he feels he got what he asked for from the province in Tuesday’s announcement.
“The budget really reflects quite a lot of the need of what the community has been needing,” Guthrie said. “Support for our most vulnerable, support for infrastructure and housing. Those are tops on the list for me.”
One area that is getting significant funding is permanent supportive housing. 10 Shelldale is receiving $9 million that will be spread out over a three-year period.
“That’s a big win,” according to Guthrie. “I can’t really thank the province enough for recognizing that Guelph needed that investment.”
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Funding was also made available for the expansion of Highway 7 between Kitchener and Guelph, the construction of the Highway 6 bypass near Morriston, and the expansion of GO train service on the Kitchener line. In particular, a new platform and track at the south end of Guelph Central Station is expected to be completed later this year.
“The commitments and the investments made by the government in just the Guelph area alone have topped over $50 million in infrastructure upgrades so that the all-day, two-way GO can come to our area,” said Guthrie.
But one thing that Guthrie felt was a home run in the budget was infrastructure funding to unlock more capacity for housing in cities across Ontario.
“That was something the Big City Mayors Caucus has been united on in asking the government for help,” said Guthrie.
“I believe it’s $1.8 billion (over three years)… to address the needs of infrastructure in the city and to help people get into homes faster.”
The overall 2024 budget sees over $214.5 billion in spending and projects a $9.8 billion deficit.
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
