New construction activity in Oliver Paipoonge is anticipated to be fairly robust for another straight year, largely fuelled by an ongoing overhaul of a nearby hydro-electric station.
“I would not be surprised if we had another solid construction year in 2026,” the municipality’s chief administrator, Wayne Hanchard, said in an email last week.
In 2025, Ontario Power Generation (OPG) took out two “huge building permits” for $98 million worth of work on its Kakabeka Falls power station, which falls within the municipality.
But even with the value of the power station work taken out, the municipality still registered nearly $17 million worth of other construction work last year, according to a municipal building-permit chart.
Between 2017 and 2025, annual construction value based on permits that didn’t include the power station project ranged from $9 million to just over $22 million.
The strong numbers come as Oliver Paipoonge’s council contemplates raising the cost of building permits, possibly on April 1.
Mayor Lucy Kloosterhuis has said building permit fees could rise “a bit” to meet the cost incurred by the municipality when evaluating construction proposals.
Oliver Paipoonge issued 72 building permits last year, compared to 98 in 2023.
“I anticipate more permits for the OPG (power station) project, which was initially estimated to cost $200 million,” Hanchard said.
Ontario Power Generation’s upgrade at its Kakabeka Falls station is expected to keep the facility operating for another 90 years, and increase its output by 12 per cent to 27 megawatts.
The station, which currently produces enough electricity to power 25,000 homes, is located just downstream from the picturesque Kakabeka Falls waterfall.
