Peterborough city council has endorsed Mayor Jeff Leal’s 2026 draft budget for the city, with the same changes councillors discussed and recommended during two days of budget deliberations on November 17 and 18 that resulted in an increase of 6.56 per cent to the all-inclusive rate.

However, council’s endorsement of the mayor’s budget during a meeting on Monday night (December 8) was not unanimous, with councillors Joy Lachica, Alex Bierk, and Keith Riel voting against it, largely because of their objections to a 9.22 per cent increase in the police service’s operating budget to $41.5 million, as well as the $91.9 million renovation and expansion of two police stations.

The all-inclusive rate consists of municipal property tax, education tax, and municipal sanitary sewer surcharge rates. The 6.56 per cent increase will result in an additional $130.66 in taxes over 2025 for each $100,000 of residential property assessment. For a property assessed at $260,000, the increase would result in an annual tax bill of $5,514.79, which is an increase of $339.75 over 2025.

During the budget deliberation process, the originally proposed increase to the tax levy requirement for the city’s 2026 operating budget of over $201 million (an increase of 7.84 per cent) was decreased to over $198.4 million (an increase of 6.56 per cent) through a combination of spending reductions and increased revenue offset by some increased spending.

Changes included a decrease of $667,071 in employee benefits, an additional $268,900 for the city’s Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund, a reduction of $90,137 in Peterborough County’s contribution to the city’s Community Development Program, and an increase of $25,000 to the individual artists grants program administered by the Electric City Culture Council.

The greatest single operating spending increase in 2026 was $1.12 million for One City Peterborough to operate a low-barrier shelter and related programs for people experiencing homelessness, and the greatest single revenue increase was the transfer of $3 million from the city’s legacy income fund, representing interest income earned on investments using the proceeds of the sale of assets of Peterborough Distribution Inc. to Hydro One.

The city’s capital budget was reduced by $1.27 million from $140.5 million to $139.3 million by deferring consideration of a $900,000 project for a public washroom at Jackson Park until 2027, deferring consideration of a $375,000 budget for the Coldsprings Growth Area Planning Studies until 2027, and deferring a $25,000 request to convert a washroom space at City Hall into a kitchenette. The total reduction was offset by an additional $32,000 for the Peterborough Public Library’s collections acquisition fund.

The budget reflects a 2.11 per cent increase in the city’s operating budget, a 2.16 per cent increase for infrastructure and capital needs, a 0.53 per cent increase in the sanitary sewer fee, and a 1.76 per cent increase for external agencies that are funded by the city.

The budget includes $434.2 million in spending on municipal services, funded by $198.4 million in municipal property taxes and $235.8 million in revenues including user fees, grants from other governments, recoveries, interest from investments, and service charges

It also includes $139.2 million for capital projects, including the renovation and expansion of two police stations, Lansdowne Street West improvements between Spillsbury Drive and Clonsilla Avenue, wastewater treatment plant revitalization, extending a taxiway at the Peterborough Regional Airport, road paving, purchasing transit buses, and water service distribution infrastructure.

During debate on the draft budget on Monday night, councillor Keith Riel said the police budget was “driving the entire tax increase.”

“When one line item dictates nearly the entire levy increase, it’s reasonable for council to step back and say ‘Is this sustainable?” Riel said, adding that the mayor has been the “prime architect and defender” of the police budget increase.

“Every department is expected to find efficiencies except the police. A budget that pushes core services aside to fund one department is not a balanced municipal plan.”

Councillor Alex Bierk also said he could not support the budget due to the increase to the police budget, noting that all city departments “are coming in with very lean increases” by contrast.

“We are facing a high budget increase ask from the police, as well as a huge capital ask from the police that has gone up by a lot of money from what we originally thought it was,” Bierk said. “One of the biggest drivers on this budget increase is the amount of money, cash money, from our taxpayers that we are having to put into a financing policy fund to be able to afford to do the build (of the new police station) at the Calvary site.”

“My fear is that this council’s legacy is that we’re going to be labouring the next councils to come with an extreme amount of debt for these things. We’re dipping into reserves, we’re going into debt for our capital projects, which to me will lead to the next one, two, three terms of council being absolutely handcuffed by the amount of debt we are putting on them to be able to do anything.”

Noting that the city’s own operating budget increase is only 2.1 per cent, with no new hires, councillor Andrew Beamer said the city could “rein in spending” by reducing funding for external agencies such as Lakelands Public Health, paramedics, and the police.

“These budgets are not sustainable,” he said. “Perhaps they’ve been underfunded for several years, and we have increased the funding over the past two or three years, but they’re not sustainable. And the police budget is not sustainable — it’s increased 50 per cent over three years, and can’t keep going (up). We need to rein in external agencies.”

Beamer said the homelessness budget has increased by almost 70 per cent during this term, with One City Peterborough’s $2 million annual budget as a “driver” of higher tax increases, and he also said the city should be cutting $5 million in discretionary funding in the future.

While councillor Lachica said she supports investments in the police, she noted that the police were not asked “to trim the edges” of the new police facility and that she couldn’t support the police operating budget increase.

“What we’re hearing from constituents everywhere is that this is unrealistic and unsupportable, and it’s off the charts in terms of spending on this line item,” she said.

Councillor Kevin Duguay expressed support for the “very detailed” police budget, and noted that the new police facility has the potential for future city use as well as for future development, which “is not yet factored in the budget” as a future revenue opportunity. He also expressed support for the entire city budget.

Councillor Dave Haacke suggested that a future council should look at eliminating the city’s climate action expenditures, saying it should be a federal and provincial responsibility. He also mentioned eliminating future funding for DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion), and suggested the city should adopt mandatory treatment programs.

He said he “totally” supports the police budget, adding council could instead reduce spending on improving the environmental efficiency of municipal buildings. He also expressed support for the entire budget.

Mayor Jeff Leal defended the police budget, pointing out that one of the councillors who criticized the police budget (Keith Riel) was on council in 2022 when a five-year staffing plan was approved to hire 49 new officers.

The mayor, who sits on the police service board, then said the police have been “drastically underfunded” over the past decade, referring to the police having to acquire used, surplus, and obsolete tasers, rifles, office furniture, and bulletproof vests, and defended the new police facility by referring to past investments in fire stations. He also noted even higher police budget increases in other municipalities due to the impacts of new provincial legislation.

“My responsibility as mayor is to give the best resources possible to the men and women who wear the uniform of the Peterborough Police Service and to make sure our civilian force has the adequate resources to back them up each and every day,” Leal said.

Richard Freymond, the city’s finance and corporate support services commissioner, provided council with a presentation entitled “Mayor’s Budget 2026” that summarized the 2026 draft budget as well as the process for adopting a budget under the strong mayor powers of the Municipal Act.

The presentation resulted in some confusion about whether the 2026 budget was “the mayor’s budget” or a “council budget.”

Ontario regulation 530/22 under the Municipal Act states that the head of council of any municipality designated to have strong mayor powers is responsible for presenting a budget to council and the public by February 1. If a mayor does not present a budget by February 1, it becomes council’s responsibility to provide and adopt a budget.

If a mayor presents a budget before February 1, they can take different approaches to developing the budget. In some cases, such as in the Town of Cobourg, the mayor will direct staff to develop a proposed budget and then present the budget to council for consideration and possible amendments. In other cases, such as in Peterborough, the mayor will work with council throughout the process of developing the budget before presenting the final proposed budget to council.

In either case, after a budget is formally presented to council as the mayor’s budget, council has 30 days to propose any amendments to the budget. If there are no amendments within the 30-day period, the budget is considered adopted. If there are proposed amendments, the mayor can choose to accept them or veto them, with council having the ability to override a mayor’s veto with a two-thirds vote (with the mayor also voting). Through a majority vote, council can also choose to shorten or eliminate the 30-day amendment period after the mayor’s budget is presented.

In Freymond’s presentation to council on Monday evening, he noted that councillors were likely prepared to adopt the mayor’s budget that evening given the consultation process and deliberations already held with council on the budget.

Councillor Lachica asked Freymond whether he was confirming “this is a mayor’s budget and not a council’s budget.”

Freymond indicated that, legislatively, the budget is a mayor’s budget because it has been presented prior to February 1, but that the mayor chose to consult with councillors in developing the budget.

“Given the consultative process, he has, I believe, endorsed and accepted all the recommendations from council here this evening,” Freymond said.

Lachica then said there was never a formal statement that “this was indeed a mayor’s budget or whether the mayor has decided this would be a council’s budget.”

Freymond then clarified that a formal letter from Mayor Leal had been prepared to present the draft budget to council as the mayor’s budget, ready for his signature, but the mayor first “wanted to hear all the comments from his council colleagues here this evening before he declared it to be his budget.”

Once the mayor formally presents his budget to council, Freymond added, the 30-day amendment period would begin, and council would have the opportunity to shorten the amendment period by majority vote.

“Council could shorten it to this evening, and we could leave here tonight with an approved 2026 budget,” Freymond said.

After some further discussion, Mayor Leal read his letter to council formally presenting the mayor’s budget to council and to the public.

Immediately after the mayor read his letter, councillor Haacke put forward a motion referring to the relevant sections of the regulation under the Municipal Act proposing that council shorten the 30-day amendment period to December 8.

In response to councillor Haacke’s motion, councillor Lachica said “This is clearly something that’s been orchestrated and not shared with the rest of council.”

“We’re being denied 30 days to be able to review and to suggest and propose amendments to the strong mayor’s budget,” she said. “I find that it is again an orchestration of something that is taking away the democratic ability of councillors around this table if they wish, and the legislation allows it, to have 30 days … I find it undemocratic, and I find it orchestrated, and I find it unfair.”

Councillor Haacke disagreed, saying council had discussed the budget at length, but councillors could vote against his motion if they wished. He added he didn’t think anything was orchestrated, and that if councillors did not want to pass the budget that evening, they could vote against the motion.

For his part, councillor Riel called the motion “a complete affront to democracy.”

City CAO Jasbir Raina reminded council that the exact same process was followed in 2024.

Councillor Baldwin also objected to the “orchestrated” characterization, saying councillors understood they would be voting on the budget on December 8 for adoption.

“For any of us to suggest this was an orchestration behind closed doors is absolutely, irrevocably false,” he said.

For his part, councillor Duguay said “I do not feel under any circumstances that my role as a councillor has been diminished,” adding that the mayor has provided both councillors and the community the opportunity to discuss and provide feedback on the budget. He noted that there was only one public delegation that evening who addressed the budget.

Councillors voted on Haacke’s motion to shorten the 30-day amendment period to December 8, which carried 7-4, with councillors Lachica, Bierk, Crowley, and Riel voting against it.

Two votes were held on the budget, with one item (transit garage) separated out due to a pecuniary interest declared by councillor Duguay. The vote on the transit garage item carried 9-1, with Duguay abstaining and councillor Haacke voting against it.

Council then voted on the remainder of the budget, which carried 8-3, with councillors Lachica, Bierk, and Riel voting against it.

Camp Kawartha’s program focused on nurturing the next generation of environmental stewards has received recognition on an international stage.

Last Tuesday (December 2), Camp Kawartha and the Regional Centre of Expertise (RCE) Peterborough/Kawartha/Haliburton announced the Pathway to Stewardship and Kinship program has received an Outstanding Flagship Project Award from the United Nations University’s Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability.

The academic arm of the United Nations, the Tokyo-based United Nations University (UNU) is a global research and teaching institution that generates policy-relevant knowledge to address pressing international challenges such as peace, development, sustainability, and governance. In 2017, UNU designated Peterborough-Kawarthas-Haliburton as an Regional Centre of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development.

Camp Kawartha said the UNU award recognizes the Pathway program as one of the world’s leading examples of education for sustainable development with its “community-grounded model” helping to raise environmentally aware, caring, and engaged young people.

The Pathway to Stewardship and Kinship program began in 2014 when staff from Camp Kawartha and other environmental educators held interviews with community leaders, gathering childhood memories and reflections on what had nurtured their bond with nature.

From these conversations — plus external research and Indigenous cultural wisdom — the organization developed 30 “landmark” experiences: simple, age-appropriate milestones designed to guide children and youth’s development in nature, community, and belonging as they grow from early childhood through the end of high school.

After pilot-testing the landmark activities with more than 1,500 children in early years centres and elementary schools in both urban and rural settings in the Peterborough area in 2018 and 2019, they began scaling up the project, expanding to 15 early learning centres and 21 elementary schools from 2020 to 2023 and logging almost 63,000 landmark experiences during that time.

“This honour affirms that our region has built something remarkable,” said Camp Kawartha executive director Jacob Rodenburg in a statement. “The Pathway program shows what is possible when a whole community works together to raise the next generation of earth stewards.”

The Pathway approach is further supported by the book The Wild Path Home: A Guide to Raising the Earth Stewards of Tomorrow, written by Rodenburg and Cathy Dueck, an environmental educator who served as lead writer, researcher, and coordinator for the Pathway program. Published in September by New Society Publishers, the book offers a deeper look at the philosophy and impact of the program.

The book’s publication followed an award-winning documentary by Anne-Marie Jackson with the same name, which screened at the 2025 ReFrame Film Festival.

VIDEO: “The Wild Path Home” trailer

Rodenburg shared with kawarthaNOW his thoughts about the impact of receiving the recognition and what it means for the future of the Pathway program.

“Our hope is that we can explore the possibility of creating a Centre for Earth Stewardship,” Rodenburg said.

“The centre could provide guidance to other jurisdictions in implementing and adapting the Pathway model, offer training for teachers, parents, and community leaders, and build out more age-appropriate resources that show what inspiring stewardship experiences look like at each age and stage of childhood.”

“Ultimately, our goal is to help communities everywhere nurture children who feel connected to, and responsible for, the earth we all share,” he added.

By elevating the Pathway program to the global stage, the UNU award creates possibilities for new partnerships, funding opportunities, and international knowledge exchange.

“By joining the UNU’s global repository of flagship projects, the Pathway becomes part of an international network of community-driven sustainability solutions,” a media release states. “Its success highlights what can be achieved when educators, school boards, Indigenous advisors, families, environmental organizations, and local governments work together toward a shared vision of stewardship and kinship with the land.”

For more information about the Pathway program, visit pathwayproject.ca to view videos, resources, and practical ideas for families, schools, and communities.

United Way Peterborough & District’s first-ever Ultimate Burger Battle has wrapped up with strong community participation, more than 1,000 burgers sold, just over $2,000 raised for local programs and services, and three local restaurants winning bragging rights for the year’s ultimate burger, most burgers sold, and the people’s choice award.

Held throughout November, the inaugural month-long fundraiser saw eight restaurants each create a one-of-a-kind “Ultimate Burger” while eight volunteer “Burger Ambassadors” encouraged residents across the city and county to purchase the burgers in support of the United Way’s 2025-26 community campaign.

By the end of the month, a total of 1,022 Ultimate Burgers had been sold, with $2 from every burger sold supporting the United Way’s work across its 20 partner agencies. The campaign raised $2,065 for initiatives that support individuals, families, and seniors with essential services.

“This campaign exceeded every expectation,” says United Way CEO Jim Russell in a media release.

“The Ultimate Burger Battle brought together local creativity, friendly competition, and real community spirit. Every burger sold represents not just a great meal, but a direct investment in the well-being of people across Peterborough and the county.”

The eight restaurants that participated in the fundraiser were Agave by Imperial (376 George St. N., Peterborough), Chemong Lodge (764 Hunter St., Bridgenorth), Dirty Burger (211 Hunter St. W., Peterborough), Double Dz’s Diner (2622 Maple Grove Rd., Peterborough), The Loon Lakefield (150 Queen St., Lakefield), Pizza Villa & Pasta House (846 Ward St., Bridgenorth), The Rink Tap & Grill (597 Monaghan Rd., Peterborough), and The Vine (165 Sherbrooke St., Peterborough).

Agave By Imperial won the Top Ultimate Burger of the Year award for its “Cien Fuegos” burger, a double house-made beef chuck patty topped with spicy queso fundido, jalapeño and bacon jam, caramelized onion, and chili oil aioli. The award was based on evaluations by the United Way’s Burger Ambassadors, who scored each entry on presentation, taste, originality, toppings, and overall execution.

Double Dz’s Diner won the Most Ultimate Burgers Sold award, with customers purchasing 207 of its “The Big D” burger, a six-ounce ground chuck smash burger with lettuce, peameal bacon, gouda, onion rings, double-smoked bacon, whisky sauce, and peppercorn ranch aioli on a homemade bun.

Finally, Pizza Villa & Pasta House was awarded the People’s Choice Ultimate Burger award for its “The United Way Burger,” featuring a six-ounce beef patty, melted mozzarella on both buns, bacon, mushrooms, onions, hot peppers, BBQ sauce, and melted cheddar. The award was determined through online voting on the United Way’s website.

At a wrap-up event on Monday morning (December 8), Agave by Imperial’s Chef Jennifer Gutierrez thanked the community for its enthusiasm, noting how meaningful it was to see residents support both local restaurants and the United Way through the friendly competition.

For its part, the United Way thanked its eight volunteer Burger Ambassadors — Laura Montague, Dan O’Toole, Neil Morton, Tiffany Arcari, Nour Mazloum, Pete Dalliday, Jason Wilkins, and Paul Rellinger — for dedicating their time throughout November to visit all eight participating restaurants and scoring each burger while promoting the fundraiser on social media and shining a spotlight on local businesses.

The event also benefited from significant media support, with kawarthaNOW and Corus Entertainment each providing $10,000 in in-kind coverage after a challenge issued by local media leader and campaign cabinet member Jeannine Taylor of kawarthaNOW.

In addition, thousands of residents engaged with participating restaurants throughout November, sharing recommendations and joining in the competition while learning more about United Way’s work.

To view this year’s participating restaurants and their burger creations, visit www.uwpeterborough.ca/get-involved/united-way-ultimate-burger-battle/ .

According to Russell, the community is already hungry to see the Ultimate Burger Battle return next year.

“We’re already hearing from restaurants and residents asking when round two begins,” he says. “Based on the excitement and community pride we witnessed this year, we’d say the appetite is definitely there.”

Funds raised through the Ultimate Burger Battle will support United Way Peterborough & District’s 2024-25 community campaign, which aims to raise $1.6 million to strengthen the local social safety net. In addition to supporting programs delivered by its 20 partner agencies, the organization says campaign dollars help advance research and community planning to address long-term challenges facing the region.

The annual “Loonies on the Street” fundraiser returns for its 25th year this Friday (December 12) from 7 to 10 a.m. just outside of Peterborough Square at the corner of George and Simcoe Streets in downtown Peterborough, aiming once again to raise $100,000 for Kawartha Food Share.

As FREQ 90.5 and OLDIES 96.7 broadcast the event live, a “bucket brigade” of volunteers will be collecting loose change up and down George Street, with volunteers from the Peterborough Lions Club doing the same on the Hunter Street Bridge.

Over the past 24 years, the event has brought in more than $2.2 million in monetary donations for Kawartha Food Share. As of the date of this story, $87,616 has already been raised for this year’s event.

Those unable to donate during the event can visit the Kawartha Food Share warehouse at 665 Neal Drive before December 12 (anytime between 9 and 4 p.m. Monday to Thursday) to make a monetary donation, or donate online at canadahelps.org/en/pages/3-loonies-on-the-street/.

The annual Hunger Report from Feed Ontario released last Monday (December 1) found that food bank use in the province has increased for the ninth year in a row, with more than one million Ontarians using a food bank between April 2024 and March 2025 — an increase of 87 per cent since 2019-2020 — and making a record-breaking 8.7 million visits (a 13 per increase over the previous year and a 165 per cent increase since 2019-2020).

According to the report, 35 per cent of food bank users were new or first-time visitors and 23 per cent were employed, which is an increase of 84 per cent since 2019-2020. A third of users were children under the age of 18 and twice as many seniors were using food banks compared to 2019-2020.

Kawartha Food Share is a central collection and distribution warehouse that partners with 37 member agency food banks, food cupboards, and other food action programs in the City and County of Peterborough.

More than 35 per cent of the 14,000 people Kawartha Food Share feeds every month are children, with the non-profit organization also providing nutritious snacks for 51 area school breakfast programs helping over 17,000 children get a healthy start to their school day.

Kawartha Food Share also provides outreach to those living with food insecurity by partnering with community meal programs, including those provided by Brock Mission, One City Peterborough, Salvation Army Peterborough, and more.

A baby porcupine that was frequently seen wandering beside a section of trail in Peterborough’s East City earlier this fall is now in the care of a wildlife sanctuary.

That’s the word from Steve Paul, who posted an update on Thursday (December 4) that he received from the Shades of Hope Wildlife Refuge in Pefferlaw, located just west of Kawartha Lakes in the Town of Georgina, about the baby porcupine — also called a porcupette.

While Paul is best known as the founder of Clean Up Peterborough (for which he was recently recognized as a Paul Harris Fellow by the Rotary Clubs of Peterborough), he also has a reputation as a wildlife advocate, so when he noticed posts being made in the East City PTBO Neighbourhood Hub Facebook group about a porcupette being spotted in the daytime alongside the Rotary Greenway Trail between Hunter and Douro Streets, he took an interest.

“As it happened over probably a two to three-week period and people were seeing it quite often, in the back of my mind I started to ask myself if there could be something wrong with it,” says Paul. “Is it a little bit too young (to be on its own)?”

As a volunteer for Trumpeter Swan Conservation Ontario for a number of years, Paul has helped bring injured or sick trumpeter swans to nearby animal hospitals, including one back in June. Through this work, he has learned that when it comes to trying to rescue wildlife, “you don’t want to get involved too early,” as that could be more harmful to the animal if it’s not actually in need.

In the case of porcupines, which are the second largest rodent species after the beaver, that can also be potentially hazardous for the rescuer given the animal’s natural defences — barbed quills that will easily detach and become embedded in a predator.

Paul adds, since young porcupines often wait on the ground while their mother is nearby foraging in trees, he decided to monitor the sightings.

“I tend to take a backseat approach because the last thing you want to do is use your human heart and go, ‘The world’s ending,'” says Paul. “That’s how people end up taking deer fawns (into rescues) when they should be leaving them alone.”

But upon seeing another concerned citizen make a post in the Facebook group on Sunday, November 23 asking if someone could help the porcupette, he decided to call Shades of Hope, which told him someone had already reported their concerns about the animal.

Shades of Hope recommended to Paul that, based on the size of the porcupine, it should be captured and brought to the facility for examination. Paul told the refuge he planned to do so that Tuesday but then, late on Monday, Shades of Hope contacted him and advised somebody else had already captured the animal and brought it in.

That person was Jessie Rose Powell, who had posted that Monday afternoon in the Peterborough and Kawartha Wildlife Facebook group that she noticed the porcupine appeared to be sick, staying in the same spot for two hours with “laboured breathing and wheezing.” She also called Shades of Hope, described the animal’s condition, and they advised her to capture the porcupette and bring it in, which she did later that same afternoon.

“They’re one of the largest wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centres in our area,” says Paul about Shades of Hope. “They take over 7,000 intakes in a year, so they’re always busy. Anytime I show up there, there’s always someone calling about squirrels, raccoons — all these animals. It never stops.”

On Wednesday (December 3), Paul received an update from Shades of Hope about the status of the porcupette, which was discovered to have an upper respiratory infection and potentially pneumonia. Shades of Hope also said that the animal was too young to be on its own based on its age and size (porcupines leave their mothers when they are about five months old), and would spend the winter at the refuge.

“It makes you wonder if mom got killed by a car,” says Paul. “You’d never normally see them (in the daytime) — they’d only be out at night.”

Paul says Shades of Hope told him that, after the porcupette recovers from its infection, it will be introduced to another porcupette at the refuge. While porcupines are solitary in nature, they may den with other porcupines throughout the winter.

“When they’re keeping young ones over the winter, they (Shades of Hope) eventually try to bring them together, even just for company,” says Paul. “When they’re young, they can form bonds with each other, and (Shades of Hope founder) Gail (Lenters) did tell me that there is a possibility that these two may bond over the winter.”

Paul says the plan is for the porcupine to be released back into the wild in the spring, and he hopes to be there for the occasion. In the meantime, he’ll continue to do what he can for local wildlife while also sharing stories like this to encourage others to see the inspiring work done by rescues like Shades of Hope.

Calling Shades of Hope a “wonderful organization,” Paul encourages people who encounter a wild animal that appears to need help to first reach out to Shades of Hope and ask questions.

“But you also know you can trust them with any animal and know they’re going to take care of a little baby porcupette that could need care for five or sixth months, and they’re never going to abandon it. It doesn’t matter how much it costs to take care of that animal, big or small, you know they’re going to be there.”

He also encourages people to support Shades of Hope by making a donation at www.shadesofhope.ca/donate.html.

Peterborough police are investigating a homicide in downtown Peterborough on Saturday morning (December 6).

At around 6 a.m., officers were called to an apartment building near Brock and Aylmer streets where they found a severely injured 33-year-old man in an apartment.

Despite life-saving efforts, the victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police have provided no details about a suspect or suspects and whether anyone is in custody, but they say they believe it is an isolated incident.

There will be a police presence at the apartment building while the investigation continues.

Anyone with information is asked to call Peterborough police at 705-876-1122 ext 555, or anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or at stopcrimehere.ca