Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow proposes 6.9% property tax hike in $18.8 billion budget
News Jan 14, 2025 Alexa Duarte Mendez
By Fernando Bossoes and Alexa Mendez
Homeowners may pay more for their properties as Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow announced a 6.9 per cent property tax hike to help fund the proposed $18.8 billion operating budget for 2025.
At a press conference at city hall on Monday, Jan. 13, Chow said the budget would allow the city to continue the work she was elected to do a year-and-a-half ago of creating a “more affordable, caring and safer city where everyone belongs.”
That includes a 5.4 per cent property tax increase and a 1.5 per cent increase to the city building fund, allocated to supporting transit and housing.
According to the budget launch, an average home in Toronto is assessed at $692,031 — the property tax bill for this house would be $4,160 a year. Including the provincial education tax of 0.153 per cent, homeowners can expect an approximate $270 increase in their municipal taxes compared to the previous year.
Despite the increase being lower than last year’s historic 9.5 per cent hike, the proposed number was met with criticism. Coun. Brad Bradford (Ward 19, Beaches-East York) said in an email to Skedline that city hall should be focused on making life more affordable to residents, not more expensive.
Bradford said the proposed property tax increase is triple the rate of inflation and that the mayor has made Torontonians pay 16.4 per cent more in the last two years, but yet residents are anxious about the economy and improvements in city services.
“One thing is clear from today’s budget launch: Mayor Chow does not care about affordability,” the Beaches-East York representative said in his email.
Joe Mihevc, former city councillor for Ward 10, Spadina-Fort York and current adjunct professor at York University, supports the mayor’s decision to increase property tax. He said the 6.9 per cent is a “necessary number.”
Mihevc said since Toronto has the lowest property taxes in the GTA, if residents want a city that offers more services, it is going to cost money.
“Toronto has the lower property taxes in the GTA. So, catching up to them means that there is tax room, people should be able to afford to pay a little bit more to make the city a better place,” Mihevc said.
The city also released the spending plan for the average property tax bill, with transit and police services being the two largest expenditures at $803 and $708 per property tax bill, respectively.
The first draft of the budget also features $94 million in new spending for services, based on more than 12,000 residents’ feedback. The investment includes increased service hours for public libraries, food programs for over 8,000 new students, hiring of additional emergency service workers and more.
Council recently approved a 3.75 per cent increase in water and garbage rates, which will help fund the new spending budget.
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Joe Mihevc, former city councillor for Ward 10, Spadina-Fort York and current adjunct professor at York University, supports the mayor’s decision to increase property tax. He said the 6.9 per cent is a “necessary number.”
Mihevc said since Toronto has the lowest property taxes in the GTA, if residents want a city that offers more services, it is going to cost money.
“Toronto has the lower property taxes in the GTA. So, catching up to them means that there is tax room, people should be able to afford to pay a little bit more to make the city a better place,” Mihevc said.
As required by legislation, Chow has to propose the final draft of the budget by Feb. 1. The council will vote at a meeting scheduled for Feb. 11.
