City staff are set to unveil a proposed 2026 budget for Toronto that will include a 2.2 per cent increase for property owners. The increase will include a 0.7 per cent property tax increase, in addition to 1.5 per cent for the City Building Fund, Mayor Olivia Chow’s office said Wednesday evening. The proposed increase would be the lowest of Chow’s tenure and comes months ahead of the start of the municipal election period. Chow is widely expected to run for re-election, but she has not confirmed that she will do so. Chow passed budgets with increases of 9.5 per cent in 2024 and 6.9 per cent in 2025. While in previous years she has stressed that the city’s needs must be assessed through budget consultations before any property tax increase is proposed, she has signaled for months that she would be aiming for a smaller increase this year. She suddenly moved to dismiss the paid members of the Toronto Parking Authority Board in November, saying the city needed “to find every single dollar,” and weeks earlier rejected the idea of raising property taxes to cover unfunded shelter costs. The city also quietly implemented a hiring freeze for non-essential roles in the fall. Budget Chief Shelley Carroll has also consistently said this year’s budget will be “leaner” and more focused on affordability. “It’s what Torontonians need, and it shouldn’t come as a surprise, really,” Carroll told CP24 in an interview Wednesday evening. She said the relatively low proposed increase “is the fruit of working long term to solve problems” and is also possible because of a high number of efficiencies in this year’s budget. “We set targets, stringent targets, but tailored to each division,” Carroll said. In a statement, Chow said the budget is about “being responsible with public dollars while protecting the services people rely on every day.” The city has previously said this year’s budget will include another freeze on TTC fares, as well as a monthly cap on costs for riders – a move funded in part through a $35 million one-time reserve draw. “At a time when families and businesses are feeling real cost pressures, the city is focused on managing expenses carefully, enhancing community safety, and investing in the basics that support good jobs and a strong local economy,” Chow said. The TTC Board approved its proposed 2026 capital and operating budgets at a meeting Wednesday, with TTC Chair Jamaal Myers acknowledging the service needs to do more to attract customers in the face of disappointing ridership numbers. City staff are scheduled to provide a more detailed briefing about the proposed budget at an 11 a.m. news conference Thursday, and Chow is expected to hold a news conference of her own a few hours earlier. CP24 and CTV News Toronto will have full coverage of the budget process.
