Clear and accurate financial reporting offers a transparent look at where the money in the City Budget comes from and how it is spent. This reporting is critical in making sure you are able to understand the City’s financial situation and are prepared to participate fully in the budget process.
Annual Reports
Awards
GFOA - Canadian Award for Financial Reporting - Dec 2024
For the second straight year, the City of Thunder Bay earned a Canadian Award for Financial Reporting in recognition of excellence in its Annual Financial Report for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024. The honour was presented by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA).
To be awarded a Canadian Award for Financial Reporting, a government unit must publish an easily readable and efficiently organized annual financial report, whose contents conform to program standards. Such reports should go beyond the minimum requirements of generally accepted accounting principles and demonstrate an effort to clearly communicate the municipal government’s financial picture, enhance an understanding of financial reporting by municipal governments, and address user needs.
The Canadian Award for Financial Reporting program was established to encourage municipal governments throughout Canada to publish high quality financial reports and to provide peer recognition and technical guidance to those responsible for preparing these reports.
GFOA - Distinguished Budget Presentation Award - 2026
For the second year in a row, the City of Thunder Bay has received a Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) for its 2026 Budget.
The award encourages municipal governments across Canada to prepare budget documents and presentations that meet nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation. To earn this recognition, budget documents must serve as a policy document, a financial plan, an operations guide, as well as enhance budget communications.
As an independent third-party assessment, GFOA’s award affirms the City’s commitment to excellence in financial planning and transparency. It reflects our efforts to present budget information in a manner that is clear, comprehensive, and consistent with recognized best practices.
Long-Term Financial Overview
The City's long-term financial planning reflects our commitment to sustainable growth and fiscal responsibility.
On January 22, 2026, the City Treasurer presented the City’s Long-Term Financial Overview to City Council. The presentation outlined a number of key areas of interest including:
Long Range Financial Plan 2026-2035
The City's Long-Range Financial Plan (LRFP) identifies key policies, guiding financial principals, and financial indicators to support sustainable, responsible, and strategic decision making.
The LRFP includes a 10-year Financial Forecast, based on current trends and inflationary assumptions, with the 2026 Operating Budg
et as a baseline. To provide a practical planning baseline, the LRFP assumes a minimum annual municipal tax levy increase of 3.0%.
The LRFP was presented on January 22, 2026, and ratified on February 3, 2026.
Performance
The City’s credit rating reflects our financial stability and affects our ability to finance projects and services efficiently. A good credit rating helps us keep borrowing costs low and manage public funds more effectively.
S&P Global Ratings has reaffirmed the City of Thunder Bay's credit rating of AA+ for 2026. Over the next two years the City is expected to continue to maintain a low debt burden and overall sound financial results. S&P Global recognizes the City's local economy as anchored by its large, stabilizing public sector. These conditions, supported by the City's exceptional liquidity position, led S&P Global to reaffirm the AA+ rating for the fourth year in a row following the rating improvement last June due to changes by S&P Global to the institutional framework assessment for Canadian municipalities.
How does Thunder Bay compare to other Ontario cities?
When compared to other Ontario municipalities with populations over 100,000, Thunder Bay sits in the middle for residential taxes for a single-family detached bungalow. The average municipal tax per household for Thunder Bay is $4,248, which is below the provincial average for municipalities with populations over 100,000 ($4,628).
The Ontario average for all 121 municipalities that took part in the study was $3,837, but it should be noted that many smaller Municipalities do not offer the same level of services. Over the last 10 years, the City of Thunder Bay has been over the Ontario average but has also consistently been below the average of municipalities with populations over 100,000.
The City of Thunder Bay participates in an annual municipal comparative study conducted by BMA Management Consulting Inc., that compares financial information, user fees, tax policies and rates, sewer and water services, and taxes as a percentage of income.
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