Budget 2023

Thank you for showing your love for the Library during the 2023 City budget deliberations!

City Councillors told us that they received hundreds of calls and emails from the community about the Thunder Bay Public Library and that this made a big difference in their decision to fund your local Library.

We are SO grateful for your support! It means a lot that you took time out of your busy schedule to protest the proposed cuts and to tell City Council how much the Library means to you, your family, and your friends.

Our combined efforts really paid off!  When the dust settled, the vast majority of the Library’s capital budget was restored! Led by Councillor Bentz, City Council voted to make a meaningful investment in the Library’s capital needs so that we can continue to upgrade our buildings and purchase new books and materials for our literacy programs.

Now that the budget has been officially ratified, we wanted to take the opportunity to offer our most humble and sincere thanks for the love and support that we received from Library members.  We are feeling that love!

We still have some work to do as there are several members of City Council, including Councillors Aiello, Giertuga, Agarwal and Bentz who proposed and voted to cut $100,000 from our operating budget in the wee hours of the morning on January 31st. This could have resulted in staff layoffs or decreased hours of operation. This proposed cut was defeated in the end due to the vocal support of Councillor Foulds, Ch’ng, Oliver, and Mayor Boshcoff. The final vote was nine to four to leave the Library’s operating budget intact.

Thank you to Councillors Ch’ng, Foulds, Oliver, Etreni, Hamilton, Johnson, Pasqualino, Zussino and Mayor Boshcoff who defended your Library and voted to support us with our full operating funding request.

Thunder Bay Public Library provides a vital and essential service to our community.  You helped to show City Council that the Library matters deeply to people of all ages, abilities, ethnicities, and walks of life in our community!

Merci Beaucoup, Miigwetch, and Thank You from the bottom of our hearts!