Ajax Council is asking senior governments for roughly $122 million to widen key roads and create new parks, a move that requires the town to cut development fees for home builders for the next three years.
The council voted on June 16, 2026, to apply for funding through the new Development Charge Reduction Program, an $8.8 billion partnership over 10 years between the federal and Ontario governments. The program covers up to 90 percent of eligible project costs, with municipalities putting up at least 10 percent. In return, Ajax must lower residential development charges by 30 to 50 percent or more and maintain those reductions for at least three years through March 2029.
The money would target several major road upgrades, including widening Rossland Road from Westney Road to east of Lake Ridge Road from two lanes to four lanes. The project is divided into three segments: Segment A (Westney Road to Salem Road), Segment B (Salem Road to Audley Road), and Segment C (Audley Road to Lakeridge Road). Work on Segment A is expected to see utility work finished by the end of 2026, with road construction set for 2027 to 2028. Harwood Avenue North would also be widened from two to four lanes between Woodcock Avenue and Taunton Road West, with construction expected to start in mid-2027. The application also includes the long-planned Hunt Street extension west to Westney Road, a project previously denied provincial funding, and rehabilitation of the Church Street Bridge over Duffins Creek, built in 1960.
New green spaces are also part of the plan, including the Eagle Woods Parkette on Denny Street, a splash pad at Castlefields Park, and turning the north field at the Ajax Community Centre into a community park linked to the Trans-Canada Trail.
“This is a big opportunity for Ajax to get major infrastructure built while keeping the cost to local taxpayers low,” said Mayor Shaun Collier in a social media post after the vote. Town staff have said the impact on taxpayers from the grant arrangement is low. Council expects to see the final funding agreement in August 2026, following the June 19 application deadline.
Ajax has a track record with senior-government housing funding, having received nearly $22 million in 2024 through the federal Housing Accelerator Fund to speed up home construction.
