The City’s Environment and Climate Change Committee approved its portion of Draft Budget 2026, which invests in reliable water and sewer infrastructure, sustainable waste management and climate action to support a green and resilient Ottawa. This budget includes a net operating requirement of $39.8 million and $52 million in capital investments for tax and fee supported programs. It also includes $565 million in operating funding and $305.5 million in capital investments for rate-supported programs.
The draft budget invests $9 million in the Climate Change Master Plan to strengthen resiliency, cut emissions, and support the green energy transition, including:
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$5 million for Climate Ready Ottawa projects, such as assessing 230 City facilities for climate-related risks so we can keep services running when severe weather hits, improving emergency power reliability at critical city facilities, providing community preparedness grants, installing cooling features in parks and advancing work on a comprehensive cooling strategy
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$4 million for priority mitigation projects, such as accelerating building retrofits, implementing renewable energy initiatives, electric charging infrastructure for City fleet and developing a district energy strategy
These investments are complemented by $94 million in capital contributions that apply a climate lens to projects across the City. This includes $32 million to strengthen climate resiliency, $12 million to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and $50 million for projects that achieve both goals. Together, these investments demonstrate Ottawa’s commitment to sustainability and climate action.
