Ontario’s budget for 2026 is receiving varied feedback in London, where the mayor appreciates the focus on infrastructure funding and a housing tax reduction, while educators express worries over support for post-secondary education.
The $244-billion budget plan, presented Thursday by Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli, anticipates a deficit lasting until 2028-29.
This budget features considerable investments in infrastructure and continues the previously announced elimination of HST on certain new home sales-steps that Mayor Josh Morgan believes will help the city.
“Affordability is a key factor in our city, as is infrastructure spending,” said Morgan. “We know that we’ve got big challenges with a fast-growing city. We’ve got to get infrastructure in the ground, and we’ve got to get housing built.
“In the case of this budget, we see the government continuing to commit to significant infrastructure spending.”
![]()
Mayor Josh Morgan speaking to business leaders at a tariff response summit in February 2025. (Alessio Donnini/)
Morgan also praised the HST reduction, pointing out that local builders have been advocating for such an initiative. However, he mentioned he’s not surprised about the lack of detailed plans regarding affordable housing in this budget.
“I don’t get too worried about what’s in one individual budget versus another because we know we’ve got significant federal spending that’s going to be coming our way, and we need the province to assist us in deploying that quickly,” Morgan said.
![]()
A CBC file photo of downtown London’s Dundas Street looking west toward Talbot Street. (Andrew Lupton/)
Vicki Smith, interim executive director of Downtown London, stated that while this cut may not save struggling businesses entirely, it will still provide some assistance.
“They’ve had such a difficult time recently that any relief at all will make a difference for them,” Smith said. “The help businesses received during COVID meant the world to small businesses so seeing government focus on them is good.”
Source link
Business community sees positives but identifies gaps
Graham Henderson, CEO of the London Chamber of Commerce, echoed praise for both the HST cut and infrastructure investments. However, he pointed out that the budget misses opportunities for direct support for municipalities as London faces a high vacancy rate among downtown offices. “The question is, what does this budget do to help with that, and with issues related to health and homelessness?” Henderson said. While there are funds allocated for supportive housing within the budget, no new increases were introduced-something Henderson believes is necessary. “We can’t build enough affordable housing, and we aren’t building enough highly assistive housing, and it’s the province’s job to help with that,” he said. A small business tax reduction has also received positive feedback. The budget includes $1.1 billion in tax relief over three years by lowering the small business corporate income tax rate from 3.2 percent to 2.2 percent starting July 1.Cautions linger regarding post-secondary funding
< The area of post-secondary funding remains a top concern among educators. The budget includes previously announced funding of $6.4 billion additional dollars aimed at colleges and universities but fails to reverse changes made to Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP), which will shift more financial support from grants towards loans. Shawn Hendrikx, president of University of Western Ontario Faculty Association expressed his views stating while extra funds are encouraging; OSAP modifications continue being a significant issue. “We are feeling disappointment,” Hendrikx said. “Students-whether they be high school students or those who are currently attending college or university-they’re feeling a lot of disappointment as well.”Source link
