Looking ahead at 2026

You’re reading the January 9, 2026 edition of the Peterborough Currents email newsletter. To receive our email newsletters straight to your inbox, sign up here.

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It’s Currents co-editor Gabe Pollock. Welcome to your weekly Peterborough Currents email newsletter!

To kick off the new year, we thought we would provide a preview of what’s to come in Peterborough this year. 2026 will offer major challenges in Peterborough, and major opportunities for change as well. 

We offer this to help our readers navigate the year to come, but also as a bit of a preview of our work this year here at Peterborough Currents. These are (some of) the stories we’re following, but as a reader-supported publication, we always want to hear from you. What’s missing from our list? What’s important to you? Let us know!

Let’s get to it.

Looking ahead at 2026

by Gabe Pollock and David Tough

As we round the corner on the new year, we wanted to provide Peterborough Currents readers with a ‘sneak peek’ of some of the major stories that we think will have an impact in this community in 2026, and that we’ll be following as the year goes forward.

Municipal elections

Peterborough goes to the polls on October 26, voting for a new mayor, city council, and school board members. As of yet, the only person to declare their mayor run is Coun. Keith Riel; however other rumoured candidates (at this very early time) include Coun. Lesley Parnell and entrepreneur Neil Morton. Mayor Jeff Leal has not confirmed whether he will be running for re-election.

In a time of housing shortages, a growing opioid crisis, and municipal budget shortfalls, this will also be the first election since the introduction of strong mayor powers, meaning mayoral candidates will be applying for a job that’s been dramatically reshaped and expanded since the last election.

City services under review

Mayor Leal closed 2025 by warning that the city is facing a “very challenging financial situation.” The mayor’s budget for 2026 saw the city delaying infrastructure projects and dipping into its legacy reserve fund, in an attempt to lessen the municipal tax increase but, after years of such measures, said Mayor Leal, “eventually, someone has to face the consequences.”

In 2026, Peterborough is hiring a consultant to conduct a major Effectiveness and Efficiency Review of city services and how they’re delivered. This review will be a first in Peterborough’s history, and while it’s unlikely we’ll see any resulting changes before the October election, the process “won’t be for the faint of heart.”

Housing, housing, housing

Housing was a major focus of conversation in 2025, and several of the biggest stories will continue through 2026. Peterborough’s 50-unit Wolfe Street Modular Bridge Housing Community celebrated two years of operations in December and will move into the future under a new name: The Crossing. Provincial funding for the program is up for renewal in March, and last year city council approved an expansion of the tiny home community, contingent on more provincial funding.

Meanwhile, with the end of the legal challenge to the use of strong mayor powers to approve the construction of transitional housing by Brock Mission in the north end, we should expect that development to move forward, despite the future neighbours’ opposition. There are also quite a few other housing projects on the go, including two proposals for 17-storey high-rises (one in East City, one on Crescent Street), The Mount Community Centre’s recent purchase of the Village on Argyle, and council’s December approval of six apartment buildings to be built on Towerhill Road.

General Electric demolition debacle 

The company that owns the former Canadian General Electric factory complex announced late last year a plan to demolish some of the vacant buildings, for what it stated were safety reasons. Public discussion focused on the heritage designation of the buildings designated for destruction, as well as the potential health and environmental impacts of the move; Currents examined the probable municipal tax cost of more vacant industrial property in the city.

As the plan moves forward, public health officials are asking questions, noting that there are still significant studies and planning steps required before demolition can take place and encouraging GE Vernova to share their plans publicly. It’s a story that matters deeply to a lot of Peterborough people, and is sure to unfold in messy ways over the coming year. 

Slow progress on high-speed rail

This year, Peterborough will be getting a sneak peek of how a new high-speed rail network will impact our city. The Alto Rail system is planned to eventually stretch from Toronto to Quebec City, including a stop in Peterborough. It will be a long time before we actually see trains in town: the project is expected to take 12 to 14 years to complete, and the first phase of construction is the section between Ottawa and Montreal.

However, on February 26 at the McDonnel Street Community Centre, Alto will be holding a local public consultation session. This project has the potential to radically reshape our city, reducing commute times to Toronto to just 40 minutes, so it’s a story that Currents will be watching closely as it develops.

These are (some of) the stories we’re following for 2026, but we want to hear from you, our readers and supporters. What’s missing from our list? What local stories are important to you in 2026? Let us know!

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