Ongoing efforts to bankroll Marathon’s new $93-million recreational complex received a huge boost on Friday from an unexpected source, while the 100,000-square-foot waterfront project remains a work-in-progress both in terms of construction and financing.
Municipal and federal officials gathered at town hall on Friday morning in a sometimes giddy ceremony to announce the project’s large federal share of $37 million.
If the federal portion seems unusually high for a small Northern town, it may be because it comes from a relatively new fund created under Prime Minister Mark Carney.
The Build Communities Strong Fund is a $51-billion program for “a wide range of infrastructure projects across the country that support economic prosperity, housing, sport, education, health, transit, and climate adaptation, a federal backgrounder says.
Marathon Mayor Rick Dumas called the amount for his town “a total grant.”
According to a news release, the federal fund is to be matched by “nearly $17 billion” in provincial money.
In an updated Town of Marathon report about its recreational complex project, the municipality says it has asked the province for a separate amount of $25 million. The report says that request is in the “submitted” stage.
A chart showing a breakdown of how the complex will be paid for also requires $9 million from local taxpayers. How property taxes will be impacted aren’t yet known, something that has been a sore point with some ratepayers.
Said Dumas: “We are still working with the provincial government and the corporate world. We hope to have more definitive numbers in the fall.”
The chart also references $10 million from a federal green municipal fund and $8 million from unnamed private sector partners with “legal agreements to be finalized in 2026.” The project is also to require $2 million in local fundraising, the chart says.
Meanwhile, preliminary construction on the complex that started this spring under a contract with Thunder Bay’s Finnway General Contractor Inc. continues.
Even after the building has been erected by the end of 2028, with some equipment placed inside, it likely won’t be operational.
The building won’t be put into service until after the completion of the project’s third stage, which by itself will require $33 million of the total price tag, the municipality has said.
In a news release following Friday’s funding announcement, Dumas extolled the facility, calling it “not simply a recreation project (but) a vital investment in the health, well-being, and the long-term sustainability of Marathon.”
The funding news comes as Dumas faces a challenge for the mayor’s chair from retired town deputy clerk Louise Hamilton in the Oct. 26 municipal election.
In an email on Friday, Hamilton, who had earlier expressed reservations about the size of the recreational complex project, called the funding announcement “great news for all residents of Marathon and our neighbouring communities.”
“These excellent results are due to the hard work of town administration and council,” she added.
By Carl Clutchey, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Original Published on Aug 08, 2026 at 10:00
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