Pay up, Alberta.

The City of Calgary has voted in favour of asking the province to relinquish part of its increased take of the education portion of property taxes, and to pay the full freight of Calgary tax on properties it owns within the city limit.

An item of urgent business was added to Tuesday’s regular meeting of Calgary city council under the title Intergovernmental Affairs (IGA) update. The item was pushed to a closed session portion of that meeting. This decision was the result of that closed session.

It asks for a decrease in the province’s property tax requisition, something they increased this year, to offset the provincial cut to the program. They also want a grant equivalent to the full amount of property taxes they owe on provincially-owned properties in the city. During debate, Ward 8 Coun. Courtney Walcott said that the province only pays 50 per cent of their required tax, down from 75 per cent in prior years. City of Calgary administration will return back to council on June 18 with recommendations to continue the program.

The mayor spoke with reporters Tuesday afternoon, critical of the province’s decision to cut funding.

“I don’t think there’s any way to explain this other than saying it’s just cruel. This is an absolute cruelty to low-income Calgarians who absolutely need this funding to be able to get through their lives,” she said, noting that it’s another example of the province offloading costs to municipalities.

“They’re expecting us to find the money somewhere to make this whole, and you also know what that means – that impacts your property taxes.”

The mayor said Calgary already foots 83 per cent of the $38 million – or $31.8 million.

“That’s how much we care about low-income Calgarians and seniors. The provincial government was only in for 6.2 and they can’t even come up with that,” the mayor said.

Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi also issued a statement on the province’s decision.  He said the low-income transit pass program was an overwhelming success in that city.

“At a time when Edmontonians are struggling to afford their basic needs and demand for this program has increased 150 per cent since 2016, the decision to defund this program in Edmonton and Calgary shows that the Province’s priorities are in the wrong place.”

The province responded late Tuesday afternoon. They outlined the investments they’re making in large transit infrastructure projects in Calgary, along with providing additional funding for social supports, and rural transportation, where the help is needed most.

“As transit is a municipal responsibility in the two big cities, we are investing more in core services delivered by the province like homelessness and housing. We are also providing support to the two cities through the Family and Community Support Services program which provides Calgary FCSS with $31 million to support low-income Albertans and Edmonton FCSS with $23.3 million,” read a response from Alexandru Cioban, press secretary for Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services, Jason Nixon.

“Budget 2024 also provides $41 million for Homeward Trust in Edmonton and $41 million for Calgary Homeless Foundation to provide important services in the largest cities. Alberta’s government also spends over $108.1 million for the province wide homeless shelters budget to protect the most vulnerable.”

Big uptick in LITP

Calgary has provided a low-income transit pass since 2005, according to the City. In 2017, the province began providing annual grants for $4.5 million to help offset the cost of delivering the program.  In 2023, the province topped up the Calgary program by $1.7 million after they’d asked for it to be extended to seniors living in multigenerational housing.

According to City of Calgary data, 129,000+ Calgarians accessed the program between January and March this year. That’s a 27 per cent increase compared to Q1 2023.

Ward 5 Coun. Raj Dhaliwal said the City of Calgary having to cover the cost means an additional quarter-point added to a property tax increase. They’ve already capped the max property tax increase for 2025, so they’re going to have the find the dollars from somewhere, he said. He said this decision by the province could push more people into extreme poverty.

“These people are already struggling and that’s the reason they qualify for this kind of program. Now you’re picking the most vulnerable group for this. That to me does not make sense,” he said.