Peterborough city councillors and the mayor will see a pay raise starting with the next council term following a compensation review approved by Council.
The new pay structure, effective for the 2026–2030 term, shifts how remuneration is calculated. Instead of setting pay without clear benchmarks, Council agreed to base compensation on the 75th percentile of a group of 15 similar municipalities previously used for staff comparisons.
The review found that current council salaries are near the bottom compared to peers, with the mayor’s base pay ranked in the 7th percentile and councillors in the 14th.
If the new model had been in place in 2023, the mayor’s base salary would have been $135,103 and each councillor would have earned $50,234. When adjusted for inflation using CUPE agreements, estimates for 2026 place the mayor’s salary at $147,631 and councillors at $54,991.
By contrast, the 2025 base pay is expected to be $92,373 for the mayor and $36,185 for councillors, plus benefits. The mayor also receives additional compensation for sitting on boards like the Peterborough Police Services Board and City of Peterborough Holdings Inc. Councillors currently receive no extra pay for board or committee work.
Council also approved transportation allowances for the next term—$6,000 annually for the mayor and $3,000 for each councillor—as well as mileage reimbursements for travel related to conferences and training.
(Written by: Scott Arnold)
