Canmore Awaits New Recommendations Before Final Livability Tax Decision

Canmore council has delayed final consideration of proposed changes to its livability tax program until next week pending recommendations from a newly re-established Property Tax Task Force.

Council voted unanimously Tuesday to postpone consideration of the proposed amendments to a special meeting scheduled for May 12, saying it wanted time to review the task force’s final report before it is released publicly Friday ahead of the meeting.

The report is expected to include broader property tax recommendations, including recommendations tied to implementation of the livability tax.

The Property Tax Task Force was originally convened in 2013 to help recommend property tax policies for the town, but was re-established in late 2025 as council prepared to implement the livability tax program.

Mayor Sean Krausert said the task force was brought back “to advise Council on property tax policy” following “the significant growth and change our community has experienced since then, as well as the introduction of the Livability Tax.”

The livability tax creates different residential tax categories based on how homes are occupied. Under the proposed system, homes not occupied as a primary residence for at least 183 days per year, including at least 60 consecutive days, would face a higher municipal tax rate. Revenue from the tax is intended to help fund affordable and below-market housing projects in Canmore.

The program has faced legal challenges and scrutiny from the provincial government since it was approved, but Alberta courts have upheld the town’s authority to proceed. Proposed provincial amendments to Alberta’s Municipal Government Act would allow the program to continue while exempting Albertans from the higher tax category. The change would significantly reduce the number of eligible properties.

The town originally projected the livability tax would generate roughly $10.3 million annually for affordable and non-market housing initiatives, but proposed provincial amendments exempting Albertans from the program are expected to cut projected revenues roughly in half.

Council’s postponement came amid broader debate over whether the revised program should continue unchanged following provincial amendments expected to significantly reduce projected revenues.

Coun. Wade Graham defended the tax in a Facebook post following the meeting, saying the community still faces a major affordable housing funding gap.

“We have a need for 2000 units of non-market homes over the next while,” Graham wrote. “We need direct, consistent and reliable funding for 1000 units in Palliser. That is an estimated $100M shortfall in funding.”

Graham also criticized suggestions the program could be delayed or cancelled.

“How will we move these essential community projects forward without a tool to do so?” he said. “A tool that I might say has been tested and verified by the courts twice.”

During Tuesday’s meeting, council defeated a motion from Coun. Foubert that would have directed administration to include options for cancelling the livability tax program or delaying it by one year as part of future analysis. The amendment failed in a 5-2 vote, with Coun. Jen Marran also voting in support.

Foubert argued council should remain open to reconsidering the program following both the provincial legislative changes and the task force recommendations.

“To restrict the options and not actually include these is more prescriptive than including them,” Foubert said. “I believe that is our job and our role, to remain open-minded and reassess when new information is presented.”

Marran similarly argued council should consider all available options before making a final decision.

“This is the first time that we have reviewed the livability tax since the changes with Bill 28 and with the Property Tax Task Force recommendations,” Marran said, referring to recent provincial legislation affecting the program. “I think having all of those options available to Council is important because there have been significant changes.”

A majority of council rejected the amendment, arguing the municipality has already spent years developing, defending and adapting the program through court challenges and negotiations with the province.

“We have defended ourselves on multiple occasions in the courts successfully,” Krausert said during debate. “We have worked with the government, and there is currently an amendment to the Municipal Government Act that specifically deals with this program that allows it to go forward.”

Several councillors tied the program directly to worsening housing affordability and the need to fund below-market housing projects. The town says approximately 25% of homes are not occupied by full-time residents, despite the community’s rental vacancy rate sitting at just 0.9%.

“With median assessed values exceeding $1.48 million for single-detached homes and $800,000 for condos, our essential workers who sustain tourism, health care, education, trades, and so much more are being priced out of our community,” Krausert said.

The mayor added the town is expected to require approximately 3,400 new below-market or affordable homes by 2041 and described the livability tax as “one of the key tools” intended to help fund those housing efforts.