Sales of alcohol declined for the fourth straight year in 2024-25, according to a Statistics Canada report released Wednesday.

From April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025, sales dropped by three per cent to 2,898 million litres on a volume basis, marking the fourth consecutive year volume sales have declined.

This was also reported as “the largest annual decrease since Statistics Canada began tracking this series in 2004/2005.”

Liquor authorities and other retail outlets “sold $25.8 billion worth of alcoholic beverages in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025, down 1.6 per cent from fiscal year 2023/2024.”

This decrease happened despite a 1.6 per cent increase “in the price of alcoholic beverages in stores from March 2024 to March 2025.”

The overall dollar value of beer sales by liquor stores, agencies and other retail outlets dropped 1.6 per cent to $9.1 billion in the 2024-25 fiscal year.

By volume, beer sales declined 3.8 per cent to 1,876 million litres in 2024-25, the ninth consecutive annual drop in beer sales by volume.

However, beer held its position as the top-selling beverage category in 2024-25; its market share went unchanged from a year earlier at just over one-third (35.1 per cent) of total sales.

Following the tariffs imposed by the U.S. on aluminum and steel, Canadian breweries have noted a struggle with producing beer cans in Canada, as the country switched gears from U.S.-reliant supply chains and as consumers double down on the “Buy Canadian” sentiment.

In addition, American alcohol was removed from the shelves of many provincial liquor stores in response to the first round of tariffs levied by U.S. President Donald Trump on March 4, 2025.

Ontario imported roughly $965 million worth of booze from America before the ban.

As a result, roughly $2 million worth of U.S. products have either expired or will expire in the next few months. Most of those products, according to the government, are beer, ready-to-drink beverages and wine.

Wine sales fell 2.2 per cent to $7.7 billion in 2024-25, which was driven by a decline in imported wine sales (-3.9 per cent). Imported wine accounted for 70 per cent of total wine sales.

The report noted that “this was the first time imported wine sales have decreased since Statistics Canada began tracking alcohol sales by origin in 1992/1993.”

Domestic wine sales were found to be stable, increasing 1.9 per cent to $2.3 billion.

This was the fourth consecutive year of decline for wine sales by volume, equalling 460 million litres.

Ontario (-5.3 per cent) and Quebec (-4.3 per cent) saw the largest declines in imported wine sales in 2024-25.

Total sales of spirits dropped 3.2 per cent to $6.7 billion in 2024-25. Whisky (29.6 per cent), vodka (22.9 per cent) and liqueurs (15.4 per cent) were the top-selling spirits by share of total sales.

Overall, sales of spirits by volume decreased by 4.4 per cent to 177 million litres in 2024-25.

Trending Now

• The Bank of Canada says these are the 3 warning signs for mortgage default

• Cher’s son, Elijah Blue Allman, arrested for 2nd time in 3 days

However, spirits were found to be the top seller in the Northwest Territories (44.1 per cent) and British Columbia (30.8 per cent).

For the second straight year, ciders and coolers were the sole alcoholic beverage category with increased sales.

Sales of ciders and coolers rose 4.8 per cent from the previous fiscal year to $2.4 billion in 2024-25, seeing increases in nine provinces and two territories but down in British Columbia (-2.0 per cent) and Yukon (-1.8 per cent).

The volume of ciders and coolers sold also rose by 2.2 per cent to 385 million litres.

Despite the sales of alcohol tanking across the country, cannabis sales are rising.

The report also evaluates the sales of cannabis in Canada, finding that recreational cannabis garnered $2.5 billion in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025, up 11.5 per cent.

Sales of recreational cannabis by provincial cannabis authorities and other retail outlets also increased 6.1 per cent, rising $0.3 billion from the previous fiscal year to $5.5 billion in 2024-25.

Yukon was found to have the highest sales per person with an average of $384, while Quebec had the lowest with $105.

Quebec’s lower sales partly reflect restrictions in effect during the fiscal year, including a ban on cannabis vaping products and topicals, as well as limited edible offerings.

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Ontario Provincial Police are asking hunters not to target cattle that broke free from their trailer earlier this week.

OPP in Kenora say at roughly 10 a.m. March 1, a crash involving a commercial vehicle caused cattle to break free from their trailer.

Officers say the cattle are in the area around Highway 17 and Inglis Lake Road, adding there is a plan to safely remove the remaining cows from the area.

“In the interest of public safety and the safety of the removal team, Kenora OPP is asking to refrain from hunting,” the force said.

Trending Now

“Hunting the cattle may result in charges under the Trespass to Property Act as well as Criminal Code charges such as discharging a firearm recklessly, careless use of a firearm, and theft.”

Anyone who sees cattle along Highway 17 near Inglis Lake Road is asked to contact the OPP.

A study released by the Montreal Economic Institute estimates the federal government’s “Buy Canadian” policy could increase the cost of large infrastructure projects by more than $12 billion per year.

The study states that, among Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, total expenditures on public procurement accounted for 12.9 per cent of gross domestic product in 2021.

In Canada, that number was slightly higher, at 13.4 per cent, highlighting how the Canadian government’s purchases of goods and services are a significant part of the Canadian economy, larger than the OECD average.

The study states that following trade tensions between Canada and the U.S., Canada had only engaged in public procurement “more sparingly.”

Now, with Canada’s new policy, this practice has grown in Canada due to public procurement, which refers to “the purchase by governments and state-owned enterprises of goods, services and works.”

The study states that the “Buy Canadian” policy “creates tighter controls to avoid tariff jumping,” which refers to foreign firms avoiding tariffs by establishing a formal local presence.

As a result, the study finds that the federal policy “proposes a form of bid preference whereby Canadian suppliers are treated as being cheaper for the purpose of evaluating their bids.”

It is also noted that provincial governments have engaged with “similar types of procurement protectionism.”

The study references a program created in California that offered resident small businesses a five per cent bid preference over non-resident firms. As a result, total procurement costs rose on these projects by 3.6 per cent, while larger firms that were more competitive left the market.

Therefore, it is suggested that Canada could adopt a system similar to California’s for all procurement spending. It is estimated that costs per Canadian would increase between $124 and $320.

In addition, the study suggests that “as governments grow larger, individual accountability weakens, responsibility becomes more diffuse, and coordination among monitors deteriorates, all of which increases the scope for corrupt behaviour.”

“Procurement protectionism exacerbates this problem, as less competition means larger possible rents for winning firms, which can in turn offer to share some of the spoils with politicians and bureaucrats,” the study states.

Trending Now

• Carney says Canadian military participation in Middle East war can’t be ruled out

• More than half of small businesses say U.S. no longer reliable: CFIB data

“Procurement protectionism ends up reducing competition for bids, leading to costlier projects and less efficient results. In the end, taxpayers and service consumers are left worse off.”

Enacted in December 2025, the policy aims to make “Canada its own best customer by strengthening domestic industries, supporting Canadian workers, and building a more resilient and diversified economy in a rapidly changing global trade environment.”

The policy currently applies to “large, strategic procurements valued at $25 million and over,” and will “expand to contracts valued at $5 million and above by spring 2026.”

With “Buy Canadian” in action, the federal government states that it is “leveraging federal procurement as a strategic economic tool, the Buy Canadian Policy strengthens Canada’s industrial capacity, supports domestic workers and businesses, and positions Canada to compete more effectively in global markets, now and for the long term.”

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

The metal-clad portable classrooms are arranged in a semicircle on a snowy sports field at Tumbler Ridge Elementary.

It’s a 15-minute walk from the community’s secondary school, where five students and a teacher’s aide were shot dead about three weeks ago and B.C.’s infrastructure minister calls the new buildings “an important step toward restoring routine & connection for students & staff” of the secondary school.

While some mental health experts say they understand the “knee-jerk reaction” to move the students, they warn of risks associated with “avoidance” and the unintended long-term impacts that may ensue.

Dr. Arash Javanbakht, a psychiatrist and the founding director of the Stress, Trauma and Anxiety Research Clinic at Wayne State University in Michigan, said there is a high likelihood of PTSD, depression or anxiety in the aftermath of such an event.

He said his research into childhood trauma shows PTSD does not always fade with time and can have ripple effects such as substance abuse or social anxiety that will need long-term interventions.

“Trauma at this level needs experts,” Javanbakht said in an interview. “It’s good to have experts available to screen these kids, find out who is impacted and then address it, offer the treatment and therapies when needed.”

He noted that PTSD often triggers avoidance, especially of locations where the trauma occurred. That, he said, should be prevented if possible.

Christy Fennell, the superintendent of the Peace River South school district, said in a letter to families on Feb. 13, just three days after the shootings, that students were not expected to return to Tumbler Ridge Secondary School.

The next week, the B.C. government announced that portables were being sent to the remote community in the Peace Region of northeast B.C., about 1,200 kilometres from Vancouver.

The Education Ministry said some students headed back to classes last Thursday, with the district planning a “gradual, trauma-informed return to learning.”

Ma shared photos of the temporary classrooms being installed in a post to social media on Tuesday.

“In the face of such loss, our focus is on providing stability, safety and a clear path forward for students,” she wrote.

The installation followed through on a promise made to students by B.C. Premier David Eby, at a vigil in Tumbler Ridge in the days after the attack, where he said “not one of you will ever be forced to go back to that school.”

Javanbakht said the decision to erect portables may have made sense in the immediate aftermath of the attack.

But he warned about reinforcing avoidance — and closing Tumbler Ridge Secondary permanently, he said, may have that unintended effect.

“Gradual exposure back to the school is important,” he said in an interview.

Javanbakht has not worked directly with the survivors in Tumbler Ridge, but said his suggestion would be to talk to the students and gauge whether they’d like to return.

“If the kids are able and willing and understanding, I wouldn’t deny them the right to going back to their own school.”

Amin Asfari is the Law Foundation of Saskatchewan Chair in Police Studies at the University of Regina, and has long studied mass shootings. He agreed with Javanbakht.

“I get the kind of immediate knee-jerk reaction, but does that actually address the underlying psychological trauma that they just experienced? No,” he said.

“Aside from making it easier for them to access education, it doesn’t change the fact that they’ve just witnessed something, whether vicariously or personally, deeply traumatizing.”

Instead, he said evidence suggests making trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy or group therapy with survivors readily available would be a better course of action.

‘THERE’S A GAP THERE’

The Feb. 10 tragedy — in which 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar shot dead her mother and 11-year-old half-brother at their home, before continuing the murders at the school where she also shot herself — has shone a spotlight on gaps in rural mental health care.

Police said officers visited the killer’s home on several occasions due to concerns about mental health. At least twice, they said, Van Rootselaar was apprehended under B.C.’s mental health act and taken to hospital.

Jonathan Morris, CEO of the Canadian Mental Health Association’s B.C. division, said aftercare from a hospital stay of that nature could include an outpatient treatment plan, assessing whether medication is working, or a psychiatry or physician followup. But it is applied unevenly, he said.

“If you’ve gone to this hospital and you’re four hours away from home, there’s a gap there,” he said.

Morris said the availability of mental health care across B.C. and Canada can “absolutely depend on where you live.”

“There isn’t an even spread of a core basket of accessible mental health services that every community can rely on in this country,” he said.

Now, as Tumbler Ridge’s looks to recover, the need to fill those health care caps seems even more crucial.

Javanbakht, the psychiatrist, said the impacts may go beyond those with direct trauma exposure, such witnesses or first responders.

“The society, especially in such a small community, can also be impacted because everyone knows someone who died,” he said. “The other thing that happens at a national level is the feeling of safety reduced.”

Days after the shooting Mayor Darryl Krakowka said the town needed counsellors with “boots on the ground”

“We’re not looking for short-term help when it comes to counsellors. We’re looking for the long term,” he said in an interview with CTV on Feb. 12, noting he said the same to Eby. “I’m looking six months, a year, (or) whatever is needed to make sure we have these counsellors with feet on the ground, not doing it remote via Zoom and stuff.”

B.C.’s Health Ministry said in a statement that supports sent to the community included a children’s psychiatrist and about ten mental health clinicians at Tumbler Ridge Health Centre, “available at all times to support patients.”

It said RCMP Victim Services had made more than 30 victim services staff available “on the ground,” while Northern Health had sent additional mental health clinicians to the town.

“We continue to assess the needs of the community on an ongoing basis and will adjust supports as needed to ensure residents receive the care and assistance they require,” it said.

Trending Now

• Carney says Canadian military participation in Middle East war can’t be ruled out

• Cher’s son, Elijah Blue Allman, arrested for 2nd time in 3 days

Morris said a number of incidents, including the Tumbler Ridge shooting, had sharpened focus on what resources need to be brought into a community in the aftermath of tragedy, as well as what supports are available on an average day to members of small or remote communities.

He said virtual mental health care can resolve some of that equity gap in rural communities “but it isn’t a substitute to replace fully in-person services.”

Mandated standards to ensure care in small communities would “go a long way” in ensuring access to care, Morris added.

Riley Skinner, the executive director of the Crisis Prevention, Intervention and Information Centre for Northern BC, said the call centre had seen an uptick in inquiries since the Tumbler Ridge tragedy. He said the role of the centre is to help connect people to supports, which is especially challenging in rural areas of northern B.C.

“We see calls come in from people who are directly impacted, so people who are family, who are survivors of this tragic event,” he said. “Beyond that we see a larger ripple effect.”

Skinner said the centre, funded by the Provincial Health Authority and federal government, receives about 20,000 calls per year. That has been on the rise since 2020, specifically as it relates to anxiety and isolation, issues he said are exacerbated by the geographic size of northern B.C.

“There are serious gaps for accessing both care and support, but also personal support systems like friends, family,” Skinner said. “Sometimes, friends and family might be a town over, but that might be four hours away, and we see that on the lines.”

B.C.’s Health Ministry said in its statement that the province has the highest number of psychiatrists per capita and “leads the country in mental health spending” but, it said, “we know there is more to do.”

‘MAINSTREAMING’ MENTAL HEALTH

B.C. is not the first province to grapple with the aftermath of a mass shooting.

After the 2020 massacre in Portapique, N.S., left 17 people dead, the Nova Scotia government’s Mass Casualty Commission issued recommendations to make communities safer.

It found that Nova Scotia and Canadian health care systems failed to adequately integrate mental health care into their services.

“These systemic inadequacies contributed to the inability of the Nova Scotia Health Authority to adequately respond to the mental health needs of those affected by the mass casualty,” the report said.

It recommended “mainstreaming” and increasing availability of mental health services. It also suggested federal, provincial and territorial governments develop a national plan to better integrate preventive and supportive mental care into the health system and put access on the same level as that of physical health care.

Asked if B.C. government would set up a similar commission, the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General said it was currently “focused on supporting the community and first responders.”

“This remains an active police investigation, and the police are continuing to piece together the events that led to this incident,” the statement said.

B.C.’s chief coroner, Dr. Jatinder Baidwan, announced on Tuesday that there would be an inquest into the Tumbler Ridge deaths that will examine how the mental health and public safety systems intersect. It will also consider how northern and rural communities in B.C. access mental health support.

In the meantime, Skinner said he expected the community to band together to support each other.

He said though small towns may not have the same supports available to metropolitan areas, they often “end up building really robust internal systems” that allow them to lean on each other.

“They’re often really tight-knit and these communities know how to turn to one another and ask for support when they need it, and I think that’s something that should not be missed while looking at a case like Tumbler Ridge,” he said.

“I think it’s really easy to look at all the things that went wrong and all the things that are missing, and sometimes that can eclipse how important community is — and northern and rural communities are so, so good at putting community first.”

A group representing Quebec’s dairy industry says it’s eyeing a special designation — similar to the one applied to Bordeaux wine or champagne — for the squeaky cheese curds best known as a key ingredient in poutine.

The Conseil des Industriels laitiers du Québec is seeking a protected geographical indication — a status similar to a trademark that links products to a specific region — for “Quebec poutine cheese.”

A protected indication “is a public intellectual property right that is defended by the state,” explains Marjolaine Mondon, a project coordinator at the Conseil des appellations réservées et des termes valorisants — CARTV — a group that oversees product designations in the province.

Currently, products that have the designation include Quebec icewine, Neuville sweet corn and Charlevoix lamb.

In order to get the protected status, a product has to be linked to the territory where it’s produced and “possess a particular quality, a reputation or another characteristic that is attributable to its geographical origin,” Mondon said.

For Charles Langlois, the head of the Conseil des Industriels laitiers du Québec, the goal is to protect Quebec’s food heritage and see how many producers are interested in having their curds certified.

“It’s also our … ‘national’ dish, which is part of our heritage, and we want to be able to tell outside consumers that if you want the original, you need Quebec cheese curds with the reserved designation seal,” he said.

Other products around the world have similar designations, famously France’s sparkling wine known as champagne, which obtained the status in 1936. According to the French government, products labelled “champagne” must come from a specific geographic area in northeast France extending over five departments from “vineyards planted at elevations between 90 and 300 metres and composed mainly of chalky soils.”

Langlois said the designation will also help promote Quebec cheese curds internationally, at a time when poutine is becoming increasingly popular outside the province’s borders.

Trending Now

• Muslim mothers barred from volunteering at Quebec schools over hijabs

• The Bank of Canada says these are the 3 warning signs for mortgage default

“There’s an interest in the American market in certain high-value restaurants for more niche products, specialty products,” he said. “And also in Europe, especially in France and Germany.”

There are still several steps to go before a protected geographical indication can be granted. The dairy group has to formally present their request to the CARTV. Quebec law, which governs the certification process, stipulates that the CARTV must hold public consultations on the request for designation.

After the status is obtained, the CARTV has “powers of inspection and monitoring once the products are on the market. There are monitoring plans for public markets, websites, online marketplaces, businesses, kiosks, and of course all retail outlets, to ensure that the designation is being used correctly.”

Langlois, meanwhile, said the initiative is well underway, and both he and Mondon believe they could have a decision by 2027.

Mondon notes that the designation isn’t easy to get, and the process will have to determine the precise qualities the product will need to meet to be certified, including how it melts, its heat resistance, and maybe even how squeaky it is.

An independent body will also have to review each producer’s certification on an annual basis to ensure they meet the standard.

&copy 2026 The Canadian Press

Home sales in the Greater Toronto Area fell last month, along with new listings and average selling prices, as the city’s real estate board believes potential buyers are waiting for the market to bottom out before making a move.

The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board says 3,868 homes changed hands in February, down 6.3 per cent from the same month last year, as sales also declined one per cent on a seasonally adjusted basis from January.

Get daily National news

Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

The average selling price was down 7.1 per cent from February 2025 to $1,008,968, and the composite benchmark price, meant to represent the typical home, was down 7.9 per cent year-over-year

TRREB president Daniel Steinfeld says that if new listings continue to trend lower through the spring, competition between homebuyers will increase, which could in turn lead to higher home prices and an upswing in sales.

Trending Now

• More than half of small businesses say U.S. no longer reliable: CFIB data

• Cher’s son, Elijah Blue Allman, arrested for 2nd time in 3 days

There were 10,705 new listings on the market in February, down 17.7 per cent from last year.

Story continues below advertisement

Inventory decreased 2.4 per cent as there were 19,414 total active listings in the Greater Toronto Area.

More on Toronto
More videos

The head of Ontario’s transit planning agency says Metrolinx is working to “build public trust” months after the launch of the problem-plagued Finch West LRT that left riders feeling frustrated with the transit system.

In late December, the Finch West LRT became the first transit system to open in Toronto since 2022 — an 18-stop, 10-kilometre surface line that replaced the bus network with high-speed rail.

It didn’t take long, however, for the line to hit trouble. Freezing temperatures wreaked havoc with its switching systems, suspending service and forcing passengers onto shuttle buses.

Data on the Finch West LRT’s performance, shared with Global News by Metrolinx, shows service availability during a one-week period dropped to 88 per cent.

In a sit-down interview with Focus Ontario, Metrolinx CEO Michael Lindsay struck an apologetic tone and said Metrolinx should have tested the track switches “more rigorously” and ultimately failed to properly set expectations for riders about the potential disruptions they were about to face.

“I wouldn’t say it’s acceptable,” Lindsay said of the constant closures caused by frigid temperatures and heavy snowstorms.

“We get that every disrupted commuter and rider has a very personal story of impact of why the system didn’t work. We acknowledge that and I have a deep empathy,” the CEO added.

Lindsay said, looking back, Metrolinx should have worked with the construction consortium on the “maintenance protocols associated with clearing switches” to ensure a smoother process to get service back on track.

“I wish we had worked with Mosaic (Transit Group) to test those a little bit more rigorously,” Lindsay acknowledged. “Maybe through the course of the last winter, when we were doing some of the final operator driver training.”

Still, Lindsay said it wasn’t a mistake to open the transit line in the middle of winter and suggested the issues would have eventually arisen regardless of the opening date.

“Imagine a world wherein we waited until spring, and then we had seven predictable months of service on the Finch West LRT, only then to discover as the Canadian winter presented itself next year that we’re facing these issues,” Lindsay said.

Trending Now

• ‘An eyesore’: Trump’s White House ballroom plans receive deluge of public comments

• Carney says Canadian military participation in Middle East war can’t be ruled out

The number of switch-related incidents, Lindsay said, has been whittled down to single digits after Mosaic and Metrolinx “perfected” a response protocol on how to handle the issue.

While Metrolinx has yet to address the mechanism to thaw out the infrastructure, the agency is offering confidence that the transit line won’t be plagued with the same switching issues next winter.

Ultimately, Lindsay said, one of the biggest lessons learned was communication and that the agency failed to prepare the public for what to expect.

“These sorts of issues on new transit lines are also not unanticipated, right?” Lindsay said. “It isn’t just Ontario as a jurisdiction that has struggled with some of the initial performance of systems like this one and has had to deal with outages or switch issues and these types of things.”

“I certainly wish that we had done more to stress and underline for people: this was meant to be a soft launch of the Finch West LRT,” Lindsay said.

An extended version of the Focus Ontario conversation with Metrolinx CEO Michael Lindsay will air on Saturday, March 7, 2026.

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Federal Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon says the CEO of OpenAI has agreed to take several actions to bolster safety, including providing a report outlining the new systems the firm is developing to identify high-risk offenders and policy violators.

A statement from Solomon following his meeting Wednesday with Sam Altman says the minister will also ask the Canadian AI Safety Institute to examine the company’s model and provide expert technical advice to his office.

The meeting follows the revelation that OpenAI banned the mass shooter in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., from using its ChatGPT chatbot last June due to worrisome interactions but did not alert law enforcement before the killings last month.

OpenAI has said new protocols would have resulted in Jesse Van Rootselaar’s interactions being flagged to police, but Solomon says the tragedy “demands answers and stronger safeguards when powerful AI technologies are involved.”

Solomon says the actions Altman has agreed to take include establishing a direct point of contact with RCMP and implementing safety protocols that direct people “experiencing distress” to appropriate local services.

The minister says Altman also confirmed the company would apply its new safety standards retroactively and review previously flagged cases.

“This will determine whether additional incidents that would have been referred to law enforcement under OpenAI’s new safety standards were missed, and ensure they are promptly reported to the RCMP,” Solomon’s statement says.

Trending Now

• ‘An eyesore’: Trump’s White House ballroom plans receive deluge of public comments

• More than half of small businesses say U.S. no longer reliable: CFIB data

It says the company has also committed to assessing how they would include Canadian privacy, mental health and law enforcement experts into the process to identify and review high-risk cases involving Canadian users of OpenAI technology.

Van Rootselaar fatally shot eight people in Tumbler Ridge on Feb. 10, including six children, before killing herself.

B.C. Attorney General Niki Sharma said Eby would meet Altman to find out whether the company could have prevented the shootings.

Sharma said there is a larger question for Ottawa when it comes to regulating and overseeing platforms like OpenAI.

The Altman meetings come after B.C.’s chief coroner, Dr. Jatinder Baidwan, on Tuesday announced an inquest into the shootings that will consider the role of artificial intelligence.

Sharma said she hopes OpenAI will participate in the inquest and share whatever it knows.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 4, 2026.

&copy 2026 The Canadian Press

Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas is floating the idea of a city-wide plebiscite on the amount of property taxes the city sends the provincial government, as city council mulls its options to respond to the latest provincial budget.

Farkas made the comments during a special meeting of council Wednesday, in which city councillors discussed the impacts of the provincial budget on Calgarians.

“Asking any question of Calgarians is very serious, but we want to continue to fight for our fair share,” Farkas told reporters following the meeting.

Last week, the provincial government tabled its 2026 budget, which included a $9.4 billion deficit as well as a $200 million increase to the amount of property taxes it collects from Calgarians to cover the education budget.

The province expects to generate $3.6 billion from the education property tax this year; $1.2 billion of that has been requisitioned from the City of Calgary and $639 million from the City of Edmonton.

When combined with the reduced 1.6 per cent property tax increase approved by city council last year, the typical homeowner in Calgary will pay an additional $388 this year, while the average commercial property will face a hike of $2,945 in 2026.

“The fact that Calgarians are paying double what the City of Edmonton pays, there’s something wrong there,” Ward 6 Coun. John Pantazopoulos said. “I think it’s a bit disappointing.”

According to data presented to council Wednesday, the provincial property tax requisition from Calgary has increased by 58.6 per cent over the last four years.

“We’ve seen nowhere near a 60 per cent boost in the services or the infrastructure that the City of Calgary receives from the province,” Farkas said.

City officials told council that many of the funding requests from the City of Calgary went unfulfilled in this year’s provincial budget, including cost-sharing for utility and transportation infrastructure for Prairie Economic Gateway, an increase of support for the low-income transit pass, and matching funding for the city’s mental health and addictions strategy.

However, officials said the province did boost funding for the Affordable Housing Partnership Program, as well as to build 14 new schools in Calgary.

In response, a spokesperson for Alberta’s education minister said both major school boards in Calgary will receive $2.24 billion in operating funding this year, and the new schools bring the total to 45 projects underway in the city.  They also noted a $144 million investment for Calgary charter schools in the budget.

Trending Now

• Carney reaffirms Canada’s support for strikes on Iran ‘with regret’

• Canadians involved in tourist bus crash in Dominican Republic, embassy says

“So clearly the province is investing far more than it receives from Calgarians, back into the city’s school system,” Garrett Koehler said in statement.

The statement went on to say the province understands the mayor’s “desire to ensure that property taxes are transparent and that Calgarians understand how they are used to improve the services they receive.”

“I’m not here to defend the province,” Ward 13 Coun. Dan McLean told reporters. “But everybody asked for more teachers, more schools, more supports, and that comes at a cost.”

To help differentiate between the municipal and provincial property tax increase, Farkas suggested the City of Calgary send out two separate bills to homeowners and businesses.

City officials said the provincial property tax increase will be larger and bolded on upcoming bills, but legislation prevents the city from sending multiple bills.

Some on council questioned the purpose of Wednesday’s special meeting, which ended with few actions to respond to the provincial property tax increase.

“Just performative, we didn’t really accomplish anything today,” Ward 14 Coun. Landon Johnston said. “A lot of questions could’ve been sent through an email.”

However, experts suggest the city is limited in its ability to respond to the budget because municipalities fall within provincial jurisdiction.

“There’s a lot of latitude for the province, and not much, at least jurisdictionally in terms of actual powers that belong to the municipal government,” said Lori Williams, an associate professor of policy studies at Mount-Royal University in Calgary.

“But I think there’s something that can be done politically, and that’s exactly what I think (city council) is trying to do.”

During the meeting, Farkas asked about the potential for a plebiscite on the issue, and made the comparison to the referendum question from the province to remove equalization payments from the Canadian Constitution during the 2021 municipal election.

However, no formal motion was introduced to start the process or craft a question to be considered for a vote.

City chief returning officer Kate Martin said Elections Calgary would require six months from the time a question is determined to hold a vote, which could cost upwards of $12 million.

“At this point, we’re just asking questions,” Farkas said.

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Officials say getting together to make connections in the Indigenous community plays a big role in reconciliation.

The 5th annual Indigenous Business Gathering, hosted by the government of Saskatchewan on Wednesday, allowed people to do just that.

“The more that we can get together to be able to compare notes, especially with the federal government having ideas in the province in regards to what policy they put in place, but at the same time the important part is having entrepreneurs meet and have a gathering like this to be to share stories, but more importantly, how do we… begin to create better business partnerships,” said Glen McCallum, president of Métis Nation Saskatchewan.

Indigenous businesses and companies at the event say it’s important to them to have a place to connect.

“It’s all about relationship building in the Indigenous community. So, we get to come together, we get to see our good friends here, people we’ve worked with in the past, meet new people, see what’s up and coming in the indigenous business sector,” said Dawn Deguire, an independent consultant at Truth Inside Coaching and Healing.

Trending Now

• Cher’s son, Elijah Blue Allman, arrested for 2nd time in 3 days

• Gold often soars during crises. Not this time — so what’s going on?

“If I was looking for a screenprinting company that is indigenous owned for me to hit my targets of Indigenous procurement, I can look around a room like this and find one of them,” said Brad Spence, director of trading and employment for George Gordon Development.

With many different companies of different sizes at Prairieland, partnerships can make a big difference.

“There’s a lot of businesses that don’t have the spotlight that others do, so we try make sure that we all get that same kind of attention they need,” said Ron Hyggen, CEO of Kitsaki Management.

Watch above for more on how the Indigenous Business Gathering helps the community connect.

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.