Ottawa taxpayers facing 3.9% tax hike, 5% hike in transit fares in 2025 budget

Ottawa residents are facing a 3.9 per cent property tax increase in 2025 along with a 5 per cent hike in transit fares as the city looks for ways to fill a $120 million hole in the OC Transpo budget.

Ottawa residents are facing a 3.9 per cent property tax increase in 2025 along with a 5 per cent hike in OC Transpo fares as the city looks for ways to fill a $120 million hole in the OC Transpo budget.

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe announced the 2025 City of Ottawa budget to be tabled Wednesday will include a 2.9 per cent property tax hike for "most city services," while the transit levy will increase eight per cent which equals an additional one per cent tax hike.

"We must strike the right balance. This budget is a balanced approach to our residents needs," Sutcliffe told reporters.

"It invests in the core priorities that matter most to our residents: public safety, public transit, roads and sidewalks, housing and supporting the most vulnerable."

Sutcliffe says the 2025 budget includes a "historic investment" in public transit, with OC Transpo's budget increasing $88 million to $856 million. The city plans to open both the Trillium Line and the eastern extension of the Confederation Line over the next 12 months.

However, Sutcliffe says "tough decisions on how to fund transit" had to be made while the city waits for information on whether the federal and Ontario governments will provide new funding for public transit.

"While we wait for more sustainable funding solutions, we're going to have to do a lot of patchwork and use a lot of duct tape to get through budget year," Sutcliffe said. "These solutions aren't always ideal; many of them are one time answers that will help us only in 2025, but in the current climate that's what we need to do."