Town of Ajax

Property taxes — the town's own math set the agenda

The campaign's frame arrived before the candidates did: Ajax's updated financial stability plan, approved by council in August 2026, expects an average **3.7% annual tax increase for the next five years** — and the town's finance chief confirmed that figure excludes inflation while including the 2% infrastructure levy (DurhamRegion.com). Mayor Collier pushed for a capital spending cap to rebuild reserves, but the council vote ended in a tie: "Guaranteed with (the no cap scenario), we're paying that infrastructure levy forever pretty much," he said. Incumbent councillor Nancy Henry said residents feel taxes are too high and are looking for a reprieve, adding: "and I'm not looking at a solution that's showing that." The mayoral field split along recognizable lines at the Board of Trade forum: Khan promised a two-year freeze; Hinds said "We're going to cut all unnecessary spending right across the board. Construction is No. 1. We do way too much construction" and would redirect Casino Ajax revenue to the operations budget; Crawford wants a value-for-money audit rotating through departments. Ward 2 regional candidate Doug Glass, speaking at the financial-plan debate, called the result "largely more of the same — continued high spending and continued pressure on taxpayers."

Housing, density and the 17,000-home target

Ajax pledged to build **17,000 new homes by 2031** under the province's More Homes Built Faster Act targets — about 1,888 units a year, against the town's best-ever 1,844 permits in a single year — and told Queen's Park it needs **no Greenbelt land** to get there, with staff analysis showing capacity for 32,000–44,000 units inside the existing boundary by 2051 (DurhamRegion.com, 2023). Outgoing mayor Collier leaned on strong-mayor powers to push towers — "Air has value... We are the smallest land mass in the region. We have a fixed urban boundary and we can only go up" — and credits more than **17,000 approved new units** (Toronto Star). The live question is not capacity but momentum: Collier says rental projects that penciled a few years ago have stalled on borrowing costs, and regional council just advanced a development-charge deferral program and a study of lending regional reserves to get rentals building (ajax.ca statement). The town is also spending its way through the freeze: up to **$9 million** for a Habitat for Humanity affordable project in June 2026, on top of 50 supportive units at Achilles Road and 100 affordable units with Ashley Manor (DurhamRegion.com).

Transit: DRT's money, GO connections, and a bus rapid transit build

Getting around Ajax — including connections toward Pickering GO — is being redesigned mid-campaign. DRT's **"Driving Durham" five-year service strategy**, endorsed by the transit executive committee March 4, 2026, promises new trips on Route 224 (with connections to Audley Recreation Centre) and modified Routes 101 and 211 along the Church Street corridor to "provide connections between Pickering and Ajax" (DRT). In April 2026 DRT re-timed routes "to improve GO Train connections," and the funded sections of the 36-kilometre **Durham-Scarborough Bus Rapid Transit** line run through Ajax and Pickering under construction 2026–2028 (DRT). The money question is local: adult PRESTO fares rose to $3.84 and monthly passes to $138.24 on July 1, 2026, part of a strategy to expand service 127% by 2032 (INsauga). Candidates have staked positions: Khan campaigns on "Better Local Transit, Parking Relief & Less Traffic" (campaign site), and Hinds promises free transit for seniors 65+ and "advocating for affordable transit options" (campaign site). Transportation and mobility were also a formal topic at the Board of Trade mayoral forum (Daily Durham).

A police station Ajax wants, with a bill nobody has approved

The marquee project of the campaign has no funding decision yet. A site for the proposed **$88-million Ajax police station** was unveiled in May 2026, but Durham Regional Council's finance committee delayed its vote on the police 10-year capital plan until after the municipal election — frustrating Collier, chair of the police services board, who hopes regional council will overturn that delay (Toronto Star). The plan behind the station is a roughly **$1.1-billion, 10-year Durham Regional Police capital program** that includes a new police division for Ajax — Durham's smallest municipality — and is forecast to add about 25% to tax bills over ten years, drawing fire from some regional councillors (Durham Post). Collier calls it "an important document that will guide investment to address growing policing infrastructure and staffing needs over the next decade"; whoever replaces him inherits both the station fight and the tax arithmetic attached to it.

Who the town looks after: homelessness, shelters and health

Homelessness entered the mayoral race mostly as pledges rather than numbers. Crawford's platform leads with a **homelessness action plan** combining "root causes and daily impacts" (campaign site); Hinds pairs temporary shelter space with permanent-housing transitions and clinic partnerships for addiction and mental-health support (campaign site); Fenn's community résumé is built on exactly that work — her foundation runs a homelessness program, food program and seniors program across Ajax and Durham (Carion Fenn Foundation). The infrastructure behind the issue sits partly at the region: Ajax council's June 2026 statements frame housing, DC deferrals and policing as one money problem (ajax.ca), and the town's own affordable-housing partnerships (Habitat, Ashley Manor, Achilles Road) are the record the next mayor either extends or audits (DurhamRegion.com).

Mayor

Councillor, Ward 1

Councillor, Ward 2

Councillor, Ward 3

Regional Councillor, Ward 1

Regional Councillor, Ward 2

Regional Councillor, Ward 3