Kawartha Lakes Secures $9 million in rural support funding

Kawartha Lakes will be receiving $9 million through the provincial government’s Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund to help support critical services such as road maintenance and public transit in the city.

Funding for Kawartha Lakes increased by close to $550,000 this year, and across the province more than $87 million is being used to help support services across 77 communities.

“This funding will support critical services and infrastructure throughout the communities in Kawartha Lakes, and it is a testament of our government’s commitment to protecting rural Ontario communities,” said Laurie Scott, MPP Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock.

Minister of Rural Affairs, Lisa Thompson said that the government wants to better support rural communities. “We want to turn our communities into the kind of places where people want to live, work, and most importantly call home and raise a family,” she said.

The provincial government has also established a strategy called enabling opportunity, which aims to make sure different issues are looked at from a rural point of view. “We can better champion the voices of rural leaders, and help ensure our small towns and our small communities have the tools to leverage economic opportunities and address local priorities.”

Mayor Doug Elmslie said the new funding is important with how fast Kawartha Lakes is growing. “Our city is growing, and our infrastructure needs are growing along with it. We have a significant capital project planned for the next five to 10 years that will greatly improve day-to-day life here for our residents, businesses and visitors.”

The goal for the city is to make sure the correct infrastructure is in place before the population grows too fast to keep up with. “From bridges to water treatment plants, we are investing heavily in major builds and upgrades that will benefit our communities for years and decades to come,” said Elmslie.

Thompson said that rural communities, like Kawartha Lakes, are where more and more people are choosing to settle down, as opposed to big cities. “That money is going to community initiatives, and at the end of the day it’s going to make Kawartha Lakes and surrounding communities that much stronger and desirable for people to work, build a business, and most importantly, be proud to call home.”