56% of Typical Canmore Property Tax Bill Now Goes to Province

More than half of the property tax bill on a typical detached home in Canmore now goes to the Alberta government rather than the town, as rising property values push provincial education taxes higher across the Bow Valley.

During Canmore’s May 26 council meeting, administration said a detached home assessed at roughly $1.7 million would face an annual property tax bill of about $7,800 under the town’s 2026 tax rates, with about $4,400 of that total going toward the province’s education tax. 

Administration said the amount Canmore collects for the province’s education requisition is increasing 14% this year to more than $41.1 million following sharp increases in local property values.

In March, the Town said its total taxable property value rose nearly 14% heading into 2026, increasing from roughly $13 billion to more than $14.5 billion. Detached home values increased about 15.4%, with most of the growth tied to rising market prices rather than new construction.

Municipalities collect education taxes through local property tax bills and send the money to the Alberta government, which uses it to help fund schools across the province. For 2026-27, the province increased the residential education tax rate to $2.84 for every $1,000 of assessed property value and the non-residential rate to $4.17.

The province says the increase is needed to help fund Alberta’s growing K-12 education system. But several mountain municipalities say residents are increasingly blaming local governments for rising property tax bills even though a growing share of the increase comes from provincial education taxes.

Canmore Mayor Sean Krausert said communities like Canmore are being disproportionately affected because Alberta’s education tax system is tied directly to property values, which have climbed sharply in mountain communities over the last several decades.

“You can't spend assessed value. And your income may not have changed,” Krausert said. “We recognize that, and we try our best to keep our municipal taxes as low as possible.”

The issue is not limited to Canmore.

During a recent Banff council meeting, Mayor Corrie DiManno criticized the province’s education tax increase while discussing Banff’s own 2026 tax rates.

“It is extremely frustrating to spend weeks working to reduce the municipal tax increase to its lowest level in a decade only to see a significant provincial education tax increase imposed without clear consideration of the impact on Banff residents and businesses,” DiManno said.

She said Banff has seen a cumulative 52% increase in provincial education taxes since 2024.

“To be clear, there is no equal transfer of funding back to our community,” DiManno said. “We are not seeing new schools or any educational enhancements in Banff.”

Banff Coun. David Fullerton echoed the frustration.

“It’s very frustrating that this council worked so hard to deliver a budget that was essentially an inflationary increase for our residents only to have the province suck the wind out of our sails with such a large educational tax increase,” Fullerton said.

Similar concerns have emerged in the MD of Bighorn, where the amount collected for the province’s education tax is rising 21% this year, from $4.17 million to $5.03 million. In the MD, the education tax on a typical $1-million home is expected to increase by about $183 this year, over double the roughly $71 increase tied to the municipal portion of the bill.

Reeve Lisa Rosvold said residents need to understand why property tax bills are rising.

“Costs are going up, but our revenues are going down from the province,” Rosvold said during a May 12 council meeting.

She also pointed to rising policing costs and growing infrastructure responsibilities, including bridges, culverts and creek maintenance, that municipalities increasingly say are being shifted onto local governments.

As property values continue rising in mountain communities, local leaders warn a growing share of property tax hikes is being driven not by municipal spending, but by Alberta’s education funding system.