Guelph Ontario Mayor Praises City Resilience in State of City Address

Guelph is a resilient city, said Mayor Cam Guthrie. He gave his State of the City Address on Tuesday. Housing and the next budget were key topics. He said the city worked hard on housing this past year. The city made process changes to help speed things up. These changes make housing rules more flexible now.

Guthrie aimed to cut the tax levy to four percent. City staff lowered it from ten to under seven instead. Guthrie knows residents and businesses have had a tough year. Still, he is proud of Guelph’s resilience. The city can unite despite global uncertainty.

Tariffs, elections, and housing are all unclear right now. Guelph can handle these problems together. They have good relationships with community partners. They are working on issues like homelessness together. They started planning an encampment site, too. The city is using its land for new housing.

Guelph aimed for 1,500 new homes in 2024. They only started building 849 homes, less than 60%. Higher building costs and interest rates caused this. Most cities didn’t meet their housing targets either. Guelph performed in the top 30 percent of those cities.

The city did well with non-market housing. Kindle Communities opened 10 Shelldale in June. It gives roughly 3 dozen supportive housing units. Wellington County opened shelter space at Norfolk Manor. It helps 68 people and gives 24/7 support. The University of Guelph announced a new residence. It will house first-year students.