While it will be months before a new city council debates Yellowknife’s 2027 budget, some community groups and residents are already sharing their funding requests.
At a meeting at City Hall on Wednesday, representatives of the Yellowknife Tennis Club, a composting business, and Shift NWT made presentations to councillors on projects they would like to see make it into next year’s budget.
The tennis club is asking the city for $340,000 to resurface two public tennis courts at McNiven Beach and a reservoir/pumphouse location. The club said the courts were last resurfaced in 2017.
“We have a vibrant tennis community here,” said Jim Martin, president of the club.
He said having safe and well-maintained tennis courts encourages people to use them, enables health and wellness, and supports community pride.
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“Making these investments now makes sense because you’re able to avoid a whole reconstruction of the courts, which is a much more expensive investment downstream than dealing with the proactive investments at this time through resurfacing,” he said.
Councillors approved $100,000 in the 2026 budget to repair one tennis court, deferring resurfacing of the two remaining courts to a future budget.
Some councillors said at the time they wanted a larger discussion about how much responsibility user groups like the tennis club should take for such infrastructure spending.
Waste to energy
Karine Gignac, owner of a private composting facility established in Yellowknife in 2023, pitched her plan to conduct feasibility and business case studies on the viability of a waste-to-energy system.
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She said a biodigester system could use organic waste and possibly sewage and slurry to generate electricity and heat, diverting that waste from the landfill and sewage lagoon.
Isabelle Rivard, a partner with the company, highlighted other potential benefits including decreased greenhouse gas emissions and a reduction in electricity and heat costs, offering the project as a potential model for other NWT communities.
Rivard and Gignac said the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Green Municipal Fund would cover up to 80 percent of the $200,000 cost for the study phase of the project.
They are asking the city to contribute $40,000 in funding or in-kind support such as infrastructure and equipment access or knowledge sharing.
Artwalks, crosswalks and bike racks
Finally, Becca Denley, co-founder of Shift NWT, asked the city to support two artwalks, or vibrantly painted crosswalks, near École Sir John Franklin High School and École William McDonald Middle School.
She said the project would bring students, artists and volunteers together to design and paint the artwalks and “draw the attention of drivers and act as a reminder to be vigilant and reduce speed.”
Denley is asking for municipal funding to cover some of the costs of paint, and for the city to give the organization permission to paint the crosswalks.
She also advocated for the city to install new crosswalks on Old Airport Road, Kam Lake Road and Finlayson Drive, as well as increase the number of bike racks throughout Yellowknife.
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“There’s been a marked increase in bike thefts in the past few years in Yellowknife,” Denley said.
“A bike is not just a toy or sporting equipment. For many Yellowknifers, it’s an essential means of transportation.”
Shift NWT made similar requests to city councillors last year ahead of 2026 budget deliberations.
The city is currently working on a transportation master plan that it says will “provide a clear roadmap” for improving roads, sidewalks, bike routes, trails and parking.
