2026 City Budget
- Jan 25
- 2 min read
On Tuesday evening, Council adopted Pointe-Claire’s 2026 municipal budget. For residential homeowners, this will mean an average property tax increase of 3%, within the rate of inflation for the Province of Québec and the Greater Montreal Area.
I say “average” because of the way our tax system works. Pointe-Claire taxes based on a “mill rate” calculated based on every $100 of your property’s value. In 2025 you were charged a tax rate of 0.6374 on every $100. For a property worth $700,000 this would mean a tax bill of $4,461.80. Every three years the Montreal Agglomeration re-evaluates properties in Pointe-Claire. Nearly all residential properties saw their overall value increase this year, by an average of 7.5%, but with significant differences between properties and neighbourhoods. Since Pointe-Claire isn’t looking to raise taxes by 7.5% or more, the City has to adjust by lowering the mill rate to reflect the amount of revenue it needs. In 2026, the rate was decreased from 0.6374 to 0.6112 on every $100. This will mean a tax increase of 3% for the average home. Some, whose property evaluations have gone up by more than usual, will see a bigger tax increase. Others, whose property values have gone up by less, will see their tax bill go up by less than 3%.
The budget did include bigger tax increases on commercial and industrial properties. The main reason was an increase in Pointe-Claire’s “quote-part”, charges imposed by the Agglomeration of Montreal for some shared services and projects (such as policing) and others from which we get no benefit (including libraries, parks and infrastructure projects in downtown Montreal). At $15 million, this year’s was the biggest increase since Pointe-Claire demerged from Montreal in 2005. In the long run, we can’t sustain these kinds of increases. Pointe-Claire now pays 58% of its tax revenue to Montreal. Growing our tax base (whether through commercial and/or residential development) is not a solution, since the Agglomeration’s funding mechanism will be adjusted to charge more as a result. I’ve long believed Pointe-Claire needs to look at reducing spending and finding savings, as well as redirecting what we spend on major projects (like the Public Works building expansion and arena renovations) towards more urgent priorities (road repair and flooding infrastructure), but even those efforts wouldn’t be enough to close a $15 million gap. Reform of the Agglomeration Council is urgently, as its current use of suburban tax revenue to stabilize Montreal’s finances is not just unfair, but a threat to our city’s ability to function as a separate entity.
More information on the budget here:
