The City of Oshawa Council yesterday passed a crucial vote that resulted in the city portion of the tax coming down from the proposed 4.68 per cent to 3.98 per cent, according to a councillor.
Since the proposed 2026 tax levy was first published (see below), there has been widespread outcry from a tax-weary public against the size of the proposed increase which residents pointed out was higher than the rate of inflation.
The 3.98 per cent rise does not include the Region of Durham portion. The region has issued a guideline of 6.5 per cent hike for 2026 against an earlier announced cap of 3.5 per cent. There has been strong public resistance to that too.
“We were successful in reducing the tax burden,” said Brian Nicholson, councillor for Oshawa Ward 5 and Durham Council.
“Despite the tactics and out-of-the-world spin from those who support uncontrolled spending and taxes, taxes, and more taxes, the majority of council voted to remove $1.3 million from the 2026 budget,” said the councillor in a media post.
“This lowered the projected tax increase on the City of Oshawa share of the municipal property tax from 4.68 per cent to a final amount of 3.98 per cent,” he explained.
On Thursday, Councillor Nicholson had set himself a target of 4 per cent or lower at yesterday’s council meeting (see below).
Who Voted And How
“I would have preferred it even lower, but this is what I was able to achieve to get the majority of council’s support,” he said while proving the voting pattern below.
- Those supporting the reduction of $1.3 million were: Mayor Carter, and councillors Nicholson, Gray, Marimpietri, Marks, Chapman and Kerr.
- Those opposing the reduction were: Councillors Giberson, Neal, Lee and McConkey.
“I especially want to thank my fellow Ward 5 colleague John Gray for his support of my motion to cut over $1 million from this budget and to thank Ward 2 Councillor Tito-Dante Marimpietri for all the work we did together to develop this reduction plan and secure council support,” Nicholson said.
“Even in these difficult times, we still had members of council who thought that 4.68 per cent was too low and wanted to add to the tax burden. Fortunately, the majority of council voted otherwise and did not join the ‘tax them until the bleed’ minority,” the councillor added.
Proposed 2026 Durham Tax Increases
- Durham Region: 6.5% (against an announced cap of 3.5%)
- Township of Scugog: 5.54% own portion
- Township of Brock 4.87% (own portion 3.79%)
- City of Oshawa: 3.98% own portion
- Town of Whitby: 3.49%
- Municipality of Clarington: 3% (own portion 0.99%)
- Township of Uxbridge: 1.28% own portion
All of the above tax increases have yet to be approved or may automatically come into force (see below).