The City of Toronto is proposing a combined 6.9 per cent tax increase to help fund its budget for 2025.
Mayor Olivia Chow and budget chief Coun. Shelley Carroll revealed the figure to reporters Monday as part of the city’s proposed budget this year, which includes a 5.4 per cent residential property tax hike and 1.5 per cent increase to the City Building Fund.
“This proposed budget will mean change in Torontonians’ lives today. Change means libraries open seven days a week, transit fares frozen while TTC service increases and thousands more kids fed meals at schools and summer camps,” Chow told reporters at city hall.
“Pools open sooner and longer; renovictions prevented by taking housing off the market and more support for tenants; traffic agents to keep Toronto moving and emergency responders arriving sooner when you need them most.”
In a presentation to the budget committee Monday, staff outlined how the 5.4 per cent residential property tax increase will support a proposed $18.8 billion operating budget.
Staff said those funds will be put towards maintaining critical services with added investments in affordable living, transit, community services and public safety.
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The 1.5 per cent hike to the City Building Fund supports the 2025-2034 capital budget and plan, a $59.6 billion proposal, staff said.
It’s the largest-ever 10-year capital plan, staff said, and invests in state-of-good-repair as well as critical infrastructure.
The tax increase builds on last year’s record 9.5 per cent hike – the highest since Toronto amalgamated into one city in 1998.
It was Chow’s first budget since she was elected in June 2023, and one she said that while it did increase spending, it met her key priorities.
Before Monday’s reveal, residents were starting to get an idea of what the 2025 budget would look like as multiple bodies solidified their operating budgets.
Last month, the Toronto Police Service Board approved its 2025 operational budget: a $1.2 billion budget, which would be a $46.2 million increase from last year’s request.
The board said in a news release the funds will support increased frontline and investigative capacity, and the expansion of the Neighbourhood Community Officer Program.
Meanwhile last week, the TTC board approved its 2025 operating and capital budgets, which will freeze fares for the second straight year.
The board said the $2.8-billion ask represents a 6.5 per cent increase over the approved 2024 budgets, and will ensure reliable and affordable service, safety and cleanliness and investments in long-term capital projects.
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