Saskatoon faces historically high property tax increase of 8.23 per cent

Phil Tank · CBC News

· Posted: Nov 06, 2025 5:00 PM EST | Last Updated: 6 hours ago

Saskatoon is inactive staring down the largest spot taxation summation successful metropolis history.

The hike has been whittled backmost from the 9.9 per cent (2026) and 7.34 per cent (2027) preliminary increases released successful June, but it’s inactive historically precocious astatine 8.23 per cent for adjacent twelvemonth and 5.95 per cent successful 2027.

The erstwhile precocious people came successful 2014. That year, assembly accrued taxes by 7.43 per cent erstwhile a peculiar levy to repair roads was introduced. That’s believed to beryllium the largest summation to the city’s information of spot taxes, according to metropolis archivist Jeff O’Brien.

Population maturation and ostentation are combining to thrust the large increases, which correspond an estimation of the gross needed conscionable to support metropolis services, the city’s main fiscal officer, Clae Hack, told reporters astatine metropolis hallway connected Thursday.

“In presumption of growth, from 2022 to 2024, our metropolis added 25,000 people, much than the populations of Yorkton and Humboldt combined,” Hack said. “And we expect different 9,000 caller residents successful 2025.

“With that growth, we request much buses, much attraction for our increasing roadworthy web and much occurrence halls to support our work levels.”

In some years, the largest operator of the taxation increases is policing costs. The $12.5 cardinal summation adjacent twelvemonth accounts for astir a 3rd of the city's full spending increase, and the $9.8 cardinal summation successful 2027 represents astir a 4th of caller spending.

Saskatoon constabulary are asking for an 8.62 per cent emergence adjacent year, which is down from the archetypal estimate, followed by 6.16 per cent successful 2027.

Crime successful decline

The petition from constabulary comes adjacent though transgression declined successful Saskatoon from 9,814 transgression codification violations per 100,000 radical successful 2023 to 8,784 past twelvemonth — the lowest per capita fig since 8,141 successful 2020. Violent crime, however, roseate somewhat to 1,555 incidents past twelvemonth from 1,506 successful 2023.

The different large drivers of the city's fund summation see the occurrence department, roadways and bridges, transit and snowfall and crystal management.

Total spending connected some operating costs and superior projects soars to $1.7 cardinal successful some years, up from $1.5 cardinal this year.

WATCH | Sask. spot owners got their latest reassessment values this year:

The fund arsenic it exists anterior to council’s last determination would adhd 98 caller full-time employees to the city's payroll adjacent year, and 95 much successful 2027. Those numbers see 49 caller constabulary employees implicit the 2 years and 14 caller room positions.

City assembly volition statement the fund starting connected Nov. 25. Hack said assembly volition beryllium presented with much than 100 options to trim spending that could chopped the taxation hike to arsenic debased arsenic 5 per cent adjacent year. 

For an mean single-family location assessed astatine $394,200, the preliminary fund would construe to a spot taxation summation of $194.45 adjacent twelvemonth and $152.02 successful 2027.

The preliminary fund does not see definite spending, similar the city’s affordable lodging plan, which is estimated to outgo $8.6 cardinal and necessitate a further 1.3 per cent taxation increase. 

A imaginable program to adhd dedicated transit constabulary that was conscionable approved for information during fund talks would outgo an other $1.6 million.

Hack said assembly is besides expected to person a study that volition item the grade to which downloaded responsibilities from higher levels of authorities is expanding costs for metropolis hall.

“It surely creates caller and emerging challenges that we’ve had to woody with, whether it beryllium schoolhouse sites oregon societal issues we haven’t historically been portion of,” Hack said.

Rookies to statement budget

Six councillors volition beryllium deliberating connected a two-year fund for the archetypal clip aboriginal this month; this volition besides beryllium Mayor Cynthia Block’s archetypal clip overseeing fund talks..

Saskatoon Light and Power rates are expected to summation 3 per cent, contingent connected what SaskPower decides, and h2o rates are expected to leap by astir 5 per cent each year.

The metropolis is besides embarking connected 1 of the largest superior projects successful its past with improvements to and enlargement of the h2o attraction plant, which is expected to outgo $75 cardinal adjacent twelvemonth and $116.7 cardinal successful 2027.

A metropolis hallway examination betwixt the 11 largest cities successful Western Canada shows Saskatoon has the second-lowest spot taxes for metropolis operations for a median single-family home, astatine $2,618. Only Winnipeg is little astatine $2,475.