Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas calls out Alta. premier over property taxes

Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas says a 2022 interview Danielle Smith did supports his views in a current dispute with the province over property tax rates.

Calgary’s mayor has taken issue with Premier Danielle Smith’s government hike to property taxes, and he isn’t being shy about it.

Jeromy Farkas posted on X on Wednesday, questioning the premier’s decision to take nearly half of the tax bill from homeowners in Calgary and other communities.

“Nearly half of your property tax bill goes to the province, in an equalization formula,” Farkas wrote, including a video of Smith detailing the idea.

He says this method will bump a property tax increase of 1.2 per cent, which was approved by council, to a rate 10 times higher.

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The video, of an interview Smith gave when she announced her bid for UCP leadership in 2022, has her state municipalities can’t be subjected to an equalization formula.

“I think Mayor Gondek has a great point. I’ve looked at it too – the amount of money that gets taken out of Calgary in education property taxes versus what gets transferred back in municipal grants,” she said.

Smith questioned the current method of the province taking a share of property taxes and putting them into general revenues.

“Are we just going to keep on doing this, having all that money go into general revenues or are we actually, finally going to develop a fair deal for our cities?”

Government is ‘consistent’

Alberta’s Municipal Affairs Minister Dan Williams, when asked about Farkas’ post, said the government is “consistent” with a focus on the core needs of municipalities.

“I’m open to having conversations with any municipality on a path forward. I know ABMunis has brought up Property Tax Reimagined and they have initiative they want to look at,” Williams said.

“I have been saying for months I am open to alternate forms of revenue and where we can get new forms of trying to support public infrastructure that I’m excited to keep working on.”

Williams says, despite the opposition from Farkas on the property tax issue, his ministry has “a good working relationship” with municipalities.

“Of course there are going to be differences from time to time. Fundamentally, what we’re telling the City of Calgary right now is that education is not going away. We are building 161 new schools across the province, we’ve announced 14 new in the Calgary region, we have a school accelerator fund of over $8 billion and we’re also funding $10.2 billion of operational funding.”

Education property taxes play into those investments, Williams said.

“I appreciate the City of Calgary as doing their bit to tighten their belts but, when it comes to delivering core services, this is and always has been a priority for the government of Alberta.”

‘Not seeking acrimony’: Farkas

According to the mayor, the Alberta UCP increased its portion of property taxes by 57 per cent over the past four years.

“Their latest 21 per cent increase represents about $339 more per household. Chestermere and Airdrie will pay even more than that. By contrast, Edmonton homeowners will only pay $154 more,” Farkas said.

Speaking previously with CTV News, he said he wants to come to “a common ground” with the provincial government.

“On that property tax issue, for me, it’s more about holding the premier to her word. When she characterized the current system that we have as equalization, I fully agree with those comments. When she stated that she’s seeking more reasonable deal for Alberta municipalities, I also agree with that, too,” Farkas said.

“That said, I’m holding the, provincial government to account, but at the end of the day, we need them to succeed.”

He also said while there are differences of opinion, he isn’t looking for any difficulties in the relationship.

“I’m not seeking acrimony. I’m not seeking a dysfunctional relationship. The ministers know that I pick up the phone and call them regularly and vice versa,” he said.

“We need to continue that open line of dialogue.”

Farkas says he’s still committed to seek “a fair deal” with the provincial government.

“Our council team cares about affordability,” he wrote. “We will continue to push for responsible spending while investing in core services like safety and infrastructure.

“Let’s work together for a fair deal for municipalities and deliver transparency for where property tax dollars actually go.”

CTV News reached out to the provincial government for more comment on this story and while the premier’s office did not provide anything more, the press secretary for Alberta Education said the government is “investing far more than it receives from Calgarians.”

“In 2026, we will collect $976.4 million from Calgary homeowners and $271 million from business owners for the education property tax requisition,” said Garett Koehler, senior press secretary for Demetrios Nicolaides, Alberta’s minister of education and childcare.

“We’ll be providing the two major boards with $2.24 billion in operating in the 2026/27 school year. We also have 45 school projects underway which will cost the province between $2.32 billion and $3.79 billion. We will also invest over $144 million for Calgary charter schools in Budget 2026.”

Koehler said the government appreciates Farkas’ desire to ensure property taxes are transparent and Calgarians know what they are paying for.

“We look forward to continuing to work with the city to share this information widely.”