Property tax rates jump, more money for homelessness in Montreal budget

Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada’s first city budget includes an average residential property tax rate hike of nearly four per cent — beyond last year's rate of inflation — to help pay for its $7.7 billion budget.

Martinez Ferrada’s budget includes increases to counter homelessness, build more housing and improve citizen services at the borough level. 

"I know that expectations are very high. We’re delivering on every promise, ensuring that every dollar that we spend is in the interest of Montrealers," she said at a news conference.

The budget includes cost-cutting measures that saved $79 million, the city said. But the overall budget rose by 5.4 per cent over last year, as the new administration sought to pay down the debt.

"The credit card of the city was maxed out — actually, over the limit," Martinez Ferrada said.

During last fall’s election campaign, Martinez Ferrada promised to cap property tax rates at the rate of inflation. 

On Monday, the mayor insisted she kept that promise by maintaining an average residential rate increase of 3.4 per cent at the central city level, below the rate of inflation in the area of Montreal between September 2024 and September 2025. 

For the whole of 2025, however, inflation was closer to 2.6 per cent in the Montreal area, and the forecast is 2.1 per cent for 2026.

Combined with increases at the borough level, homeowners will see an average property tax rate increase of 3.8 per cent.

Ericka Alneus, the interim leader of Projet Montréal, said Martinez Ferrada's promise wasn't fulfilled. 

"That wasn’t what was expected from the people," she told reporters Monday.

Here are some of the other key takeaways from the budget.

The budget sets aside more money to address the city’s housing crisis — an issue Martinez Ferrada campaigned on as her top priority. 

The city plans to invest $579 million over a decade to acquire “strategic buildings” to convert into housing.