Calgary council approves 8.9% residential property tax increase, slams provincial rate hike

Calgary homeowners will pay 8.9 per cent more in property taxes in 2025, despite what the city is calling the lowest municipal property tax rate hike of all major cities in Canada.

Calgary city council approved the rate change on Tuesday, after the province revealed in its recent budget that it will collect more in property taxes to fund rising education costs.

The city has finalized a 3.4 per cent increase in municipal property tax rates.

Meanwhile, the provincial portion of property taxes climbed by 17.5 per cent this year, totalling more than $1 billion.

It's the most any Alberta municipality is sending the province, per capita, according to the city. 

"It is a significant increase over previous years, and it is not something that they indicated to us in November when we were deliberating the budget," said Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek. 

"Would have been nice to know that they were going to hammer through their promise to cut your income taxes. But guess what, Calgary? You're going to make up for that in your property taxes." 

There will be an overall property tax hike of 6.4 per cent, with residential property taxes increasing by 8.9 per cent, and non-residential properties increasing by 2.8 per cent over last year. 

Homeowners will pay an additional $352 in property taxes for a typical $697,000 single-family home, according to the city.

The municipal property tax rate increase translates to an added $134 for a typical single-family home, while the provincial property tax increase will cost those property owners another $218, according to the city.

Ward 14 Coun. Peter Demong has concerns about explaining the rate hike to his constituents. 

"We get raked over the coals for months on end on a 3.5 to five per cent property tax increase," he said during Tuesday's council meeting.

"I've been doing this for 14 years and this is the most egregious situation I've ever come across. It's absolutely laughable." 

The city estimates it will cost $10 million to collect the $1 billion in education property taxes for the province. 

Council agreed to bill the Alberta government for the cost of collecting that money on Tuesday.

"We are doing their invoicing for them. They are taking 37 per cent of the taxes that we are collecting from residential properties," said Gondek. "This isn't a political stunt. This wasn't just a whim. This is something that we need to take seriously."

Ward 10 Coun. Andre Chabot said the city could consider sending residents separate bills for municipal and provincial property taxes, to make it clear who's responsible for raising taxes. 

"People don't take the time to look at who it is, what money is going where. All they see is this is what I have to pay, this is how much it's changed year over year. We get the blame for all of it," said Chabot.

"It's a huge increase ... It's really hard for Calgarians to absorb that or even to rationalize why there's such a huge increase year over year."

But the province says, if Calgarians are upset about shelling out more money, they should point their finger at city hall. 

"City council is making an attempt to save their re-election campaigns by blaming their rampant overspending on the province," a spokesperson for the finance minister said in a statement Tuesday. 

"If the city can't manage collecting the taxes, we're sure someone will step forward in October's election that can."

The statement also said 18 new schools in Calgary and the surrounding area were included in the 2025 budget, and the provincial property tax increase in Calgary will not come close to funding the cost of those schools.

Property tax revenue makes up 29 per cent of the education operating budget in Alberta. 

The province froze education taxes last year. The tax rates in the coming fiscal year will be $2.72 per $1,000 assessed values for homes and farms, and $4.00 per $1,000 for commercial properties.

Alberta lowered income taxes for nearly all working residents in the 2025 budget. 

Calgary property owners will receive their bills in May and payments are due by June 30.