Edmonton homeowners to face higher provincial property tax in Budget 2026

The provincial government will add to the burden of an almost seven per cent property tax increase Edmontonians can expect to pay this year with Budget 2026.

The average Edmonton homeowner can expect to pay more in provincial property taxes in the coming year, and municipalities across the province will see decreases to the overall funding pool in Budget 2026.

The Alberta government unveiled its $9.4-billion deficit budget for the upcoming year on Thursday.

• Alberta budget slated to run in red for next 3 years as 2026-27 deficit balloons to $9.4B

That afternoon, Edmonton Mayor Andrew Knack told reporters the province’s budget was “status quo” for Edmonton. While there were no significant cuts, he said, there were also no plans for increases to address recent population surges.

But the province’s deficit does mean a bump to its education levy, meaning the provincial portion of Edmontonians’ property tax bills will increase by about 13 per cent, from $2.72 per $1,000 of assessed residential and farm properties to $2.84.

“When we send out our tax bill, people need to remember that about 25 per cent of the property tax bill Edmontonians receive goes directly to the provincial government,” Knack said. “We collect that on their behalf.”

Edmonton had previously asked for small-scale infrastructure, safety, transit and addictions supports funding totalling around $75 million from the provincial budget, while acknowledging they were one city in a host of municipalities asking for financial support.

Through the Local Government Fiscal Framework (LGFF), which the province uses to allocate funding to municipal governments, Edmonton is set to receive $563 million over three years for general municipal priorities. Yearly, that amounts to about $187 million.

In general, the LGFF along with Alberta community grants are set to decrease by $24 million in Budget 2026.

Knack called for the LGFF to return to 2011 levels to support municipalities with critical infrastructure and social service demands. Edmonton’s infrastructure deficit is projected to be $1.5 billion.

“Addressing infrastructure deficits, addressing the social services that we need … those issues aren’t going away. They’re not going to leave us,” he said.

Alberta Municipalities (ABmunis), which represents more than 200 villages, towns and cities in the province, calculated 2011 LGFF levels per person to be $424. In 2023, that number was $154.

Finance minister Nate Horner said ahead of Thursday’s budget tabling that many Alberta municipalities will not get what they asked for.

“I know the needs are real, but you can see where we’re at with this deficit,” he told reporters. “We’re all feeling the pinch obviously, and we’re in this together.”

The province has put a total of $1.4 billion into the Ministry of Municipal Affairs for 2026-27, an $18-million reduction from its funding last year.

Another $34 million is being cut from other municipal affairs payments to account for $20 million the province expects to pay for grants in place of taxes, or property taxes on local government buildings. Knack gave Premier Danielle Smith credit on Thursday for the restoration of that program.

Horner said the restoration of grants in place of taxes to 100-per-cent was a “non-negotiable” for Smith in the budget.

“If that didn’t come back … that would mean municipalities would have to raise property taxes to offset that funding,” Knack explained.

Additional Edmonton funding and projects

The province is set to spend $300 million on addiction recovery support centres in both Edmonton and Calgary combined.

The Edmonton Event Park will also see $13 million from the province.

Knack called the event park funding a “nice-to-have.”

“At the end of the day, I’m not interested in nice-to-have. I’m interested in making sure we can maintain and fix all of the infrastructure that we have,” he said.

The province is also set to maintain spending on major projects it has already committed to, such as $1.3 billion over three years for Edmonton’s LRT expansions.

The city’s project turning Terwillegar Drive into an expressway is also set to receive $99 million from the province in the next three years.

Horner said to anticipate less spending on major projects as the government shifts its focus to health care and education.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Jeremy Thompson