Corporate Strategic Plan

The City has developed its first Corporate Strategic Plan, which identifies a vision, goals, and key actions to be achieved over this term of Council and beyond.

The Plan was endorsed by Council at the December 11, 2023 Council Meeting. Read Report to Council(External link).

While this plan originated from extensive discussion and collaboration between Mayor Ashe and Members of Council, community engagement lies at the heart of it, and has helped shape the fundamental principles that underpin the strategy.

What We Heard

From mid-June to September 30, 2023, the City hosted a community survey and various engagement opportunities, where members of the public were able to learn more about the process and provide their input. Please view 'Letter of Thanks' from Project Manager and City Solicitor/Director of Corporate Services, Paul Bigioni.

View our 'What We Heard' Report.

The Vision reflects a commitment to innovation and leadership.

Pickering: A complete, world class city…inclusive, connected, caring, and prosperous.

To provide meaningful municipal services to Pickering’s growing and diverse community, efficiently, effectively and responsibly.

The City’s Strategic Plan is built on a solid foundation of customer service excellence. Without good governance, it would be impossible for the City to deliver on the six strategic priorities* identified in this Plan. Good governance (fiscal prudence, open and transparent decision making, customer-focused programs, services and infrastructure that are accessible and inclusive of all) is key to building a complete, world class City.

Key Achievements Spotlight

Strategic Focus: Be financially sustainable

• Pickering secures a new $1 million, 15-year naming rights agreement(External link).
  
  
• A partnership with the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation results in $17,167,711 in revenue for the 2024–2025 fiscal year alone(External link).
  
  
• Council approves the Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT) By-law(External link).
  
  
• The 2024 Budget reflects a significant investment of funds that enable the delivery of critical services, programs and infrastructure to serve our dynamic and growing community. Adopted on March 1, 2024, the budget represents a residential levy impact of 3.99% on the City’s share of the total tax bill. The City has also prepared a 9 year Capital Budget forecast to responsibly plan for our future and guide the City’s infrastructure investments over the long term.
  
  
• Council approves Fire Communications Services Agreement(External link) to outsource fire call taking and dispatch services to the City of Oshawa, streamlining dispatching and emergency communications and saving money.
  
  
• Council approves recommended 2025 User Fee increase(External link) of approximately 3 percent to address various City cost pressures while keeping fees affordable.
  
  

Strategic Focus: Provide Exceptional Customer Service

• The City to streamline the development application review process(External link).
  
  
• eScribe is launched, simplifying public access to Council, Standing Committee, and Statutory Public Meeting agendas.
  
  

Strategic Focus: Be an Employer of Choice

• Pickering’s first ever Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Strategy(External link) is endorsed by Council, enabling staff to begin its implementation from 2024-2034.
  
  
• Council endorses IT Capability Assessment(External link), enabling staff to incorporate the recommendations of the IT Capability Assessment into future planning and budgeting processes for the City of Pickering.
  
  
• Council approves the Asset Management Data Governance Policy and Procedure.(External link)
  
  

Strategic Focus: Provide Exceptional Customer Service

• Council endorses schematic design for renovations to the Council Chamber (Pickering Civic Complex)(External link), authorizing staff to proceed with next steps related to building and construction requirements.
  
  

• A refreshed Pickering.ca website launches, improving the user experience and simplifying access to online services for residents, businesses, and visitors.

• The City of Pickering joins the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Program and continues exploring new ways to make its customer experience more inclusive for all(External link).

Strategic Focus: Help business to succeed and add innovation and value

• Council approves the Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT) By-law(External link) to generate revenue that supports local tourism initiatives.

• Council approves a licence agreement with Open Studio Art Café to further support tourism.(External link)

• A Road Servicing Agreement with Ontario Power Generation Inc. is approved in support of the upcoming refurbishment of Units 5 to 8 at the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station.(External link)

• Pickering welcomes the Porsche Experience Centre at the Durham Live site.

• Council endorses the Community Visitor Plan(External link), which will serve as a guide to City staff, local business, tourism attractions and regional partners in welcoming visitors to Pickering and offering them an opportunity to enjoy all our city has to offer.

• City launches Pickering Forward(External link), beginning work on the Official Plan Review
  
  

Strategic Focus: Leverage existing City assets and attributes

• Staff launch community engagement on the design of City Centre Park.

• The City of Pickering and Durham Region Transit team up to offer a FREE weekend shuttle(External link), making it easy to access our waterfront.
  
  
• City retains MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects Ltd. for design and construction services(External link) for the new Pickering City Centre Park.

Strategic Focus: Improve quality of life

• Council directs City staff to send a letter urging the Ontario Provincial Government to significantly increase Ontario Works and Ontario Disability Support Program payments.
  
  
• Pickering celebrated the opening of Jerry Coughlan Health & Wellness Centre(External link), a new state-of-the-art Surgical Centre and health-care facility.
  
  
• Construction is underway on a new 200-bed long-term care home in Pickering(External link).
  
  
• City renews partnership with DARS(External link) to support community members in need.
  
  
• To help fund meaningful City projects, City staff will be taking advantage of Federal and Provincial grant opportunities(External link), including the Green & Inclusive Community Building Program (GICB), the Community Sport and Recreation Infrastructure Fund and Stream 2 of the Community Sport and Recreation Infrastructure Fund (CSRIF).
  
  

Strategic Focus: Celebrate community diversity

• The Pickering Museum Village Restoration Project wins the Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Award for Excellence in Conservation.(External link)
  
  
• Council approves public art designs for two remembrance-themed crosswalks.(External link)
  
  
• The City of Pickering is named 2025 Municipality of the Year by Festivals & Events Ontario.(External link)
  
  
• The City’s Cultural Fusion Festival is named one of the Top 100 Festivals & Events in Ontario for 2025.(External link)
  
  
• City of Pickering invests in arts, heritage, and culture with the start of construction of the new Pickering Heritage & Community Centre(External link).
  
  
• On the Backs of Fish(External link), Pickering’s new permanent public art, opens at Pickering Museum Village.
  
  
• (External link)(External link)Artist, Linfeng Zhou, awarded poppy marker public art commission(External link).
  
  

Strategic Focus: Promote community safety

• Council endorses the Community Risk Assessment and Fire Master Plan(External link), addressing fire protection services and emergency response needs over the next 7–10 years.
  
  
• Council approves the creation of a Community Safety Zone on Liverpool Road(External link).
  
  
• Pickering Fire kicks off its annual fire education campaign, ‘FireSafe Pickering’(External link), to educate residents about fire safety and fire-related issues in the community.
  
  
• Local Fire Departments launch ‘Spring into Summer Safety’ Campaign(External link) to share critical fire safety tips to keep community members safe.
  
  
• Council endorses Community Safety & Well-Being Plan(External link).
  
  
• City approves security camera investments at City Facilities and Parks(External link), enhancing the level of security for both the public and staff at City parks and facilities.
  
  

Strategic Focus: Provide equitable access to municipal services and programs

• eScribe, an electronic meeting management software, is launched to produce fully AODA-compliant HTML versions of agendas for public Council, Standing Committee, and Statutory Public Meetings.
  
  
• Pickering enhances access and transparency to Council meetings with a new live streaming service that includes optional closed captioning.
  
  
• St. Mary Park Playground reopens(External link) with accessibility upgrades that are fully compliant with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).
  
  
• City enhances Pothole Repair Program with the addition of two additional asphalt hot boxes, equipping staff with resources needed to fix potholes(External link) in a timely manner
  
  
• Council endorses schematic design for renovations to the Council Chamber (Pickering Civic Complex)(External link), authorizing staff to proceed with next steps related to building and construction requirements.
  
  
• (External link)(External link)City of Pickering and Town of Whitby partner on pre-approved design program for Additional Dwelling Units (ADUs)(External link).
  
  

Strategic Focus: Advocate for and work with partners to increase access to health care facilities and medical practitioners

• (External link)(External link)Memorandum of Understanding among the City of Pickering, the Regional Municipality of Durham and all Durham local municipalities is approved(External link) to fund, create, and deliver a family physician recruitment program in Durham.
  
  

Strategic Focus: Promote and support responsible planning and sustainable growth

• Council approves new pickleball courts at Diana, Princess of Wales Park.(External link)
  
  
• Council endorses the 2024–2029 Corporate Energy Management Plan (CEMP),(External link) providing a roadmap for planning and decision-making in the next phase of the City’s Corporate Energy Management Program.
  
  
• City of Pickering invests in arts, heritage, and culture with Pickering Heritage & Community Centre(External link) as its first zero-carbon Community Centre.
  
  
• At the December 16, 2024 Council Meeting, staff receive Council’s enactment of the City-wide final Consolidated Zoning By-law(External link).
  
  

Strategic Focus: Promote community connectivity and accessibility

• The City of Pickering hosts a Public Information Centre to share findings of the City Centre Transportation Master Plan(External link) and gather feedback on proposed directions for the transportation network.
  
  
• The City to launch a Shared E-Scooter Pilot Program(External link).
  
  
• Council approves City’s Recreation & Parks – Ten Year Plan(External link) (2024 – 2034), which will help guide future investments for community centres, ice rinks, sports fields, pools and splash pads, playgrounds, and more.
  
  
• City to develop a 2025 Road Needs Study(External link), which is required to establish lifecycle funding requirements and determine the improvement needs of the City’s road system (both hard and loose surfaces) over the next 10 years.
  
  
• The High Frequency Rail (HFR) project(External link) completed its second phase and Council endorsed the Corridor Design for a proposed station stop in Pickering.
  
  

Strategic Focus: Build environmental and infrastructure resilience through proactive climate change mitigation and adaptation measures

• Sustainable Housing Foundation honours the City for its commitment to working with the building community through the Integrated Sustainable Design Standards (ISDS).
  
  
• City staff share an update on the Electric Vehicle Charging Station Pilot(External link), highlighting that chargers have delivered 108.2 megawatt-hours of energy to date.
  
  
• Council endorses the 2024–2029 Corporate Energy Management Plan (CEMP),(External link) providing a roadmap for planning and decision-making in the next phase of the City’s energy program.
  
  
• Council endorses the Community Climate Adaptation Plan.
  
  
• Pickering Council approves the new modernized Tree Protection By-law(External link).

• The City of Pickering completed its Pine Creek Erosion Municipal Class Environmental Assessment Study(External link) (Class EA), enabling staff to identify and prioritize erosion-related risks within the study area, and to develop a list of high priority sites in need of rehabilitation.
  
  

Strategic Focus: Demonstrate environmental leadership and innovation

• The City launches a new anti-littering campaign(External link) to address careless littering and illegal dumping, especially along the waterfront, parks, and trail systems.
  
  
• The City to update the Urban Forest Study and Tree Canopy Assessment(External link).

Strategic Focus: Address community needs through collaboration and partnerships

• Pickering renews key licence agreements to continue supporting community events, arts programming, and private rentals at several northern facilities(External link).
  
  
• Council directs City staff to send a letter urging the Ontario Provincial Government to significantly increase payments to Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program.
  
  

Strategic Focus: Build Relationships

• Pickering introduces Ratepayer Association Registry(External link) to better profile and support local Ratepayer Associations.
  
  

Strategic Focus: Act as a community connector and community builder through partnerships and collaboration

• Council approves expansion of parking area for Valley Plentiful Community Garden(External link), enabling Valley Plentiful Community Garden users to better access the site.
  
  

Strategic Focus: Make information and services readily accessible and available to all community members

• Pickering enhances access and transparency to Council meetings through the launch of eScribe and a new live streaming service with optional closed captioning.
  
  
• The City employs a range of engagement methods for its anti-littering campaign.(External link)
  
  
• Pickering Council endorses the Digital Readiness Assessment and Strategy(External link), outlining an investment and implementation framework to leverage digital technology to improve operational efficiency and service delivery.
  
  

Strategic Focus: Promote civic education and pride

• Pickering celebrates its 25th anniversary through key events such as the Mayor’s New Year’s Levee, unveiling of commemorative art banners, and the planting of 25 Silver Maple trees.
  
  
• Pickering City Council approves the naming of the exhibit gallery at the future Dorsay Community & Heritage Centre in honour of former Mayor John E. Anderson(External link).
  
  
• Launched Conversations in the Community page(External link) to provide community members with accurate information around topics of interest.

Special Meeting of Council

Members of Council participated in a facilitated discussion on strategic focus areas, goals, priority actions, responsibilities, and success factors.

Monday, March 20th, 2023 (View Agenda)(External link)
11 am
Watch on the City's YouTube channel(External link) (External link)