This Week in Barrie: Week of April 27

Thinking About Running for Office? Attend Our Information Sessions

The City is hosting two sessions to help prospective candidates and third-party advertisers prepare for the 2026 Municipal Election. If you’re interested in running in the 2026 Municipal Election for mayor, councillor, or school board trustee—or considering registering as a third-party advertiser, you’re encouraged to attend both sessions, as each offers different information. This session takes place in the City of Barrie Council Chambers, 2nd Floor of City Hall, 70 Collier Street. You can attend in person or participate virtually via Zoom.

Session One: May 11, 6 – 8 p.m.

Session Two: May 28, 6 – 8 p.m.

To learn more and for full details visit barrie.ca/election.

Curbside Textile Collection Week: May 4 – 8

Help keep clothes and other items out of the landfill by participating in the curbside collection of textiles (clothing, linens, towels, stuffed toys and shoes) from May 4 to 8.

To confirm your textile collection day (it’s a different day than your regular curbside collection day) and learn more, visit barrie.ca/TextileCollectionWeek.  

Spring street sweeping is underway!

This year’s spring street sweeping has started! The annual spring street sweeping program cleans all City streets of sand deposited during  winter road maintenance, and other debris. Sweeping is typically completed within approximately 10 to 14 weeks.

Visit barrie.ca/streetsweeping for progress updates.

See a pothole? Let us know

Last year, the City repaired over 12,900 potholes! Help us identify this year’s problem areas to ensure potholes are repaired in a timely manner. Pothole complaints are addressed on a priority and scheduling basis. To report one, please provide location details via one of the channels below. Include as much detail as possible (a landmark or nearest address) so crews can locate and fill the pothole as quickly as possible.

Report a pothole using any of the following:

• Online: ServiceBarrie.ca
• Phone: 705-726-4242
• Email: [email protected]
• Mobile App

For more details, visit barrie.ca/potholes.

Let’s Make Quality Compost – Together!

Did you know? Your yard waste is turned into compost for City parks and for sale to residents. To keep it clean: 

• Remove plastic pots, bags, toys 
• No food waste, pet waste, tools, or treated wood 

For more information about how the City turns your yard waste into compost, visit barrie.ca/composting.

Two-factor Authentication Coming to the Online Water Billing Portal

Beginning April 30, Multi Factor Authentication (MFA) will be required to sign in to the online water billing portal. MFA adds an extra layer of security by requiring a verification step in addition to your password. This helps protect your personal information, helps prevent unauthorized access, and keeps citizen data safe.

For details visit barrie.ca/WaterBilling.

Help Shape the Future of Centennial Park

The City is inviting residents to share their input on design proposals for a new Centennial Park Food and Activity Hub, a project intended to celebrate local food culture, improve public access to the waterfront, and create new opportunities for community activity and events in this important park. Two preliminary design concepts have been developed, and each explores different ways to organize the space around three core waterfront experiences: dance, dine, and play. 

Residents are encouraged to visit BuildingBarrie.ca/CentennialParkHub to review both design concepts and complete the online survey by Friday, May 1, 2026, for a chance to win a prize.

Join Us for a Building Services Open House This Spring

Thinking about a home renovation, addition, or building a deck? Drop in to a Building Services Open House!  The remaining sessions run 6–8 p.m. on Thursday, May 7 (Allandale Recreation Centre), and Thursday, June 4 (Peggy Hill Team Community Centre). Open houses are free and require no registration. This is an opportunity to learn about building permits and building inspections from City staff and pick up building project resources related to home renovation projects. 

Learn more about building in Barrie at barrie.ca/building.

City of Barrie presents Game On! World Cup Online Esports Tournament

The City of Barrie is celebrating the FIFA World Cup 2026 with a regional online gaming competition. The Game On! World Cup Esports Tournament will unite top qualifying players aged 14 to 24 from across Simcoe County for a FIFA / EA Sports FC showdown—featuring online play and a live, on-stage final experience. 

The event is presented in partnership with Bradford West Gwillimbury, Collingwood, Innisfil, Orillia, Oro-Medonte, Penetanguishene and Tiny Township and is hosted virtually by online interactive gaming entertainment company, We Got Game.

• Online municipal qualifiers May 29 to June 1, 2026
• In-person regional finals June 26, 2026, at Five Points Theatre in Barrie (1 Dunlop St. West)

For more information and to register by May 22 visit barrie.ca/GameOnWorldCup.

Reminder: Property tax installment due April 30

The second installment of the interim 2026 property tax bill is due on April 30. Interim tax bills are issued each January. If your taxes are paid through a mortgage company or a pre-authorized payment plan, you will not receive an interim tax bill. The final bill ​is issued each May and typically arrives in mailboxes by early June. Never miss a due date – enroll in the Pre-Authorized Payment Plan for hassle-free payments.

For details, visit barrie.ca/PropertyTaxes.

Presented by The City of Barrie