{"id":504574,"date":"2026-02-28T05:06:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T05:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/504574\/"},"modified":"2026-02-28T05:06:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T05:06:10","slug":"provincial-education-property-tax-increase-egregious-without-meaningful-benefit-for-calgary-farkas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/504574\/","title":{"rendered":"Provincial education property tax increase ‘egregious’ without meaningful benefit for Calgary: Farkas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Saddling Calgary taxpayers with nearly an additional $350 in annual education property tax charges without getting meaningful provincial aid for things like infrastructure is \u201cegregious,\u201d according to Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas.<\/p>\n

Mayor Farkas mulled the Alberta budget for 12 hours after giving his initial impressions shortly after the province delivered it Thursday<\/a>, saying that more transparency is needed in how collected provincial tax dollars are doled out to Calgary.<\/p>\n

On Friday morning, he told Calgary reporters that this was the biggest provincial education tax hike in history.<\/p>\n

Alberta\u2019s education property tax rate went up $0.12 per $1,000 in residential assessed value, from $2.72 per $1,000 assessed, to $2.84 per $1,000. The total provincial education tax requisition went from $3.124 billion in 2025-26 to $3.592 billion in 2026-27.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to understand what we\u2019re getting when we\u2019re paying nearly $350 a year more for the average Calgary home. That\u2019s a lot of money. That\u2019s money a family can\u2019t use on hockey equipment, on groceries, or on taking the kids to a movie,\u201d Farkas said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is money that\u2019s going to the province, and frankly, right now, I\u2019m not convinced we\u2019re going to see a meaningful benefit to our city based on this increase and where that money is going.\u201d<\/p>\n

The mayor acknowledged that there is some good news in the budget. He said $2 million in grants in place of property tax is welcome, as is the $300 million for funding for seniors\u2019 facilities, housing capital, and renewal. There\u2019s also continued participation in the Alberta Affordable Housing Program.<\/p>\n

The province is also continuing with already committed cash for Deerfoot Trail improvements and the Green Line project. The Government of Alberta also announced progress on 14 new schools for Calgary.<\/a><\/p>\n

He said they were hoping for cash to continue work on the Prairie Economic Gateway, or for help with the Bearspaw South feeder main repairs and replacement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are many ways that we can work together to unleash what Calgary has to offer, but Calgarians need to understand what they\u2019re getting when they\u2019re paying this much to the province,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The mayor has called for a special meeting of Calgary city council on March 4 to discuss the impact of the latest provincial budget. <\/p>\n

Updated Municipal fiscal gap report sought<\/p>\n

Mayor Farkas said Calgary is getting closer to sending half of every tax dollar to the Alberta government without getting a commensurate return. He likened the situation to that of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith\u2019s spat with Ottawa.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not seeing the investment here back to Calgary, but it is looking a lot like Calgary\u2019s deal in Alberta is very similar to what Danielle Smith says Alberta\u2019s deal is in Canada,\u201d Farkas said.<\/p>\n

He brought up the ongoing revenue issues around the province\u2019s removal of automated enforcement for Calgary police and not ponying up at least half for Calgary\u2019s Low Income Transit Pass.<\/p>\n

Ward 4 Coun. DJ Kelly reiterated the message being delivered by Mayor Farkas, particularly around the province\u2019s unwillingness to come to the table on areas that typically fall under their jurisdiction. Both Kelly and Farkas said a clearer division of tax bills should be examined to clearly delineate the difference in tax increases between the two orders of government, especially when most Calgarians will see their tax bills and assume it\u2019s the City of Calgary digging into their pocketbooks. <\/p>\n

Kelly said there\u2019s no additional support for Familly and Community Support Services (FCSS), nothing additional for mental health, addictions and homelessness, the Calgary Multisport fieldhouse, nor the airport connector that Premier Smith has lobbied for in the past.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s supposed to be a partnership. There are many areas of shared responsibility between the province and the city,\u201d Kelly said.<\/p>\n

Next week, he\u2019ll bring forth a Notice of Motion that asks for an update of the Municipal Fiscal Gap report. In the past, those updates have shown that the gap in services provided by the City of Calgary that are in areas of provincial or federal responsibility is as much as $469 million annually.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019re really looking to do is to actually see where our dollars currently are going that are more in areas of provincial responsibility, so that we can actually better advocate to the provincial government for the things that, in addition to our asks, are actually the things that we\u2019re already covering,\u201d Kelly said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are some of those things that we need to continue to put the pressure on. We can\u2019t constantly be downloading to lower levels of government.\u201d<\/p>\n

That motion is up for technical review on March 3. If approved, it would go to a future meeting of city council for full debate. If approved, it would recommend that a new report be brought by Q2 2026.<\/p>\n

Liked it? Take a second to support Darren Krause on Patreon!<\/p>\n

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