Murray commits to 2023 property tax freeze during CBC's Winnipeg mayoral debate

Glen Murray was the only mayoral candidate who committed to freezing Winnipeg's property tax during a live televised debate on CBC News Wednesday evening. 

Murray had previously not commented on the tax freeze.

The revelation came during a rapid-fire question round when CBC Information Radio host Marcy Markusa, the debate's moderator, asked the five candidates who participated to hold up a "yes" or "no" sign to indicate whether or not they would raise the property tax as mayor.

While all other candidates indicated "yes," Murray, after some apparent hesitation, held up his sign saying "no."

It was one of a number of significant points of difference that emerged during the one-hour debate, in which five of the 11 mayoral candidates — Scott Gillingham, Kevin Klein, Shaun Loney, Murray and Robert-Falcon Ouellette — told voters why they should be elected on Oct. 26.

When asked to clarify, Murray, who was mayor of Winnipeg from 1998 to 2004, repeated his intention to push the province to replace the city's operating grant with a single percentage point of the seven per cent provincial sales tax.

"I believe we really have to build the tax base. I think we've exhausted it," said Murray, who also served as a member of Ontario's Provincial Parliament from 2010 to 2017.

"We are in a hyper period of inflation right now.… Property taxes, if you raise them, you are raising the tax burden significantly."

In an interview following the debate, Murray did not say how he would balance the budget without the planned 2.33 per cent increase the city has imposed each year for the past eight years.

"I will take the first year to do the in-depth engagement and long-term budget planning that I committed to and we will lay out a plan that will show how that will happen," he said.

Other candidates challenged Murray on how he could accomplish the tax freeze with only months before the city's next budget will be presented to council.

"You don't have nearly enough time," said Klein, an outgoing city councillor who was elected in 2018 to represent Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood, in an interview after the debate.

Klein has committed to keeping the 2.33 per cent tax increase for at least 2023, the final year of the four-year budget process, but said he would look for ways to reduce it in future years.

"It would be irresponsible for me to say that I could fix the budget in 90 days before it has to go to council," Klein said during the debate.