Scant support for higher property taxes in Edmonton, city survey shows
CBC
Few Edmontonians seem to have an appetite for a higher property tax hike next year, according to a survey the City of Edmonton conducted this fall.
The online survey shows only 16 per cent of respondents are comfortable with further tax increases than what was already approved for the 2023-26 operating and capital budgets.
The finance branch is suggesting a 8.1 per cent tax increase for 2025 — up from the previously approved 7 per cent — largely to maintain existing services and user fees.
The city did the public opinion research survey between Oct. 3 and 10 and received responses from 528 people.
The results were weighted after the survey closed using Census data from 2021 to match the Edmonton population. The survey indicates that "a margin of error is not reported" because the study used non-probability sampling.
The survey shows 42 per cent support higher user fees and 33 per cent are OK with a reduced level of service.
Stacey Padbury, deputy city manager of finance and corporate services, said respondents still expect the same services.
"The things that were always important are still important, but people are wanting us to spend less to deliver those same things and they're willing to take reductions," Padbury said.
Some of the city's 70-plus services are partially funded through fees like charging entry to recreation facilities and city attractions like the Muttart Conservatory, and asking people to pay to take transit and get development permits.
The survey results are part of the budget package presented to city councillors at city hall on Wednesday.
Coun. Sarah Hamilton, of Ward sipiwiyiniwak, said the survey doesn't reveal what residents actually want to see reduced or boosted.
"It doesn't give us direction in terms of what Edmontonians want to focus on, it gives you a bunch of themes but it doesn't tell you like ten to one, people prefer this thing over this thing."
Survey respondents are reflective of age, gender, income and regional proportions of Edmontonians, the report says.
The majority — 61 per cent — of survey respondents said their financial situation has become more challenging compared to the same time last year.
Cambridge council has voted to request a pedestrian safety review of Cedar Street from the region after two back-to-back collisions last week, one of which killed a three-year-old girl.
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Foundation has received a $1-million donation to create an endowment fund that it will use to upgrade common areas at the Charlottetown hospital.
A new study by the Center for European Policy Analysis suggests Russia and China are pulling ahead of NATO nations, including Canada, in the race to develop and field drones capable of operating in harsh Arctic conditions.
Prime Minister Mark Carney says U.S. President Donald Trump hasn't given him any indication that he's willing to walk away from the North American free trade deal that was struck during his first term at the White House.
A Toronto man has been charged for allegedly defrauding 28 investors of $6.6 million they provided to trade in foreign exchange.
Flu season has started early this year, according to an update from local health officials, who report hospitals are seeing more admissions, emergency room visits, and community outbreaks.
U.S. President Donald Trump's point-person on trade laid out a series of conditions Wednesday that Canada must meet in order to extend the Canada-U.S.-Mexico agreement (CUSMA) when it comes up for a review next year — revealing publicly for the first time what the administration expects Prime Minister Mark Carney to do to keep the pact for the long term.
Mitchell Rose, 32, is now facing a third charge of attempted murder following a series of attacks in an apartment building on Anspach Street in St. John's last week.
Nova Scotia’s population dropped by nearly 1,400 people in the third quarter of 2025, marking the first decline since 2020 and the largest decline in a decade.
Horizon Health says it has a comprehensive surge plan for the holiday season but is asking people to consider other options to avoid crowding emergency rooms.
The four aerial ski lifts at Mont‑Sainte‑Anne are set to resume operations after Quebec’s building authority lifted an order that had shut them down last week over electrical safety concerns.
WARNING: This story contains profanity and details of racist language.
Blizzard conditions in Saskatoon will ease throughout the evening Wednesday, but the bad weather in Regina and southeastern Saskatchewan will last well into the night, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC).