Applications will open next Thursday (October 15) for a new City of Peterborough pilot program that will provide up to $450 to eligible low-income seniors and residents with physical disabilities to help pay for snow removal this winter.
The city is limiting the 2026-27 pilot program to 100 participants. If more than 100 eligible applications are received, the city will randomly select participants so every eligible applicant has an equal chance of being chosen.
Applications open at 8:30 a.m. on October 15 and close at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 21. They can be submitted online at www.peterborough.ca/snowremoval, by calling 705-742-7777, or in person at City Hall at 500 George Street North.
Residents selected for the program can receive up to $450 toward the cost of snow removal over the winter, paid in two instalments of up to $225.
The first payment will be made by direct deposit once an application is approved. To receive the second payment, participants will have to provide receipts showing the first instalment was spent on eligible snow removal services. The second payment will be issued at the end of February 2027.
Participants will be responsible for arranging their own snow removal, either through a snow-clearing company or a neighbour who is willing to perform the work for a fee and provide receipts.
To qualify, an applicant must live in the City of Peterborough, own and occupy their home during the winter, and be either 65 or older or have a physical disability.
Applicants must also be unable to clear snow themselves and have no other adult in their household physically able to do so. Residents of condominiums where the condominium corporation is responsible for snow removal are not eligible.
Household income must also fall below the current Statistics Canada Low-Income Measure after tax.
The maximum after-tax household income ranges from $30,255 for a single-person household to $42,787 for two people, $52,403 for three, $60,510 for four, $67,652 for five, and $74,109 for a household of six.
The snow removal subsidy pilot grew out of a proposal earlier this year to help seniors and people with mobility challenges deal with windrows — the heavy ridges of densely packed snow and ice that city road plows can leave across the ends of driveways.
In January, Peterborough mayor Jeff Leal introduced a motion asking city staff to investigate options for a seniors snow-clearing program, including assistance with windrow removal. Council unanimously supported the motion.
The city subsequently conducted public consultation on a potential windrow removal program. A survey received 636 responses, with 63 per cent of respondents reporting a disability or health condition that made clearing windrows difficult and 70 per cent saying they had avoided leaving home because of an uncleared windrow.
City staff considered three options: providing the service using municipal staff and equipment, contracting the work to a private company, or providing residents with a subsidy to arrange their own snow clearing.
An in-house service would have required additional staff, storage space, and specialized equipment costing as much as $170,000. A contracted service was estimated to cost from $55,000 for 100 driveways to as much as $100,000 annually, depending on winter conditions and the location of participating properties.
Staff instead recommended the subsidy model, saying it would give residents flexibility to choose someone familiar with their property while avoiding additional demands on public works crews during major snowstorms.
Council unanimously endorsed the staff recommendation at its May 25 general committee meeting and gave it final unanimous approval at its June 1 regular meeting.
Council also pre-committed $45,000 in the 2027 public works budget to fund the pilot for up to 100 households.
The original program proposal focused on windrow removal, although the program being launched by the city is described more generally as a snow removal subsidy program providing financial assistance toward eligible snow removal services.
The city will evaluate the pilot following the 2026-27 winter season, with the results expected to help determine whether and how the program continues in future years.
More information is available at www.peterborough.ca/snowremoval, by calling 705-742-7777, or by emailing snowremoval@peterborough.ca.
