A new report from the Business Council of British Columbia (BCBC) finds that municipal spending across the province has grown far faster than inflation and population growth over the past 14 years, driving property taxes to among the highest increases in Canada.
According to the report, B.C. municipalities accumulated approximately $6.5 billion in excess spending — defined as spending beyond what would have been required to keep pace with inflation and population growth — between 2010 and 2024. Municipal operating spending increased 94 per cent over that period, compared to population growth of 28 per cent and overall inflation of 36 per cent.
Property taxes on owner-occupied housing have climbed 110 per cent since 2010, nearly double the national average increase of 62 per cent.
The report, titled The Runaway Train is Accelerating: An Updated Look at Growth in B.C. Municipal Spending, also found that 135 of 153 B.C. municipalities — 88 per cent — increased real, inflation-adjusted operating spending faster than population growth. The excess spending amounts to approximately $1,280 per resident over the 14-year period.
In Metro Vancouver, operating spending increased 97 per cent between 2010 and 2024, compared to regional population growth of 31 per cent. According to the report, nearly all of that excess spending occurred in the past three years.
“The train isn’t slowing; it’s sped up over the past two electoral cycles,” said David Williams, BCBC vice president of economics. “The province must act. Otherwise, British Columbians will continue to pay the price through property tax increases that far outpace every other province in Canada.”
The report recommends that municipal governments anchor operating spending growth to inflation and population growth, and that the province require councils to justify any spending above that benchmark with measurable service improvements. It also recommends expanding the B.C. Auditor General’s mandate to cover municipalities and regional districts, and reviewing Metro Vancouver’s governance and internal audit functions.
According to the report, the concern is not that population growth and inflation increase the cost of delivering services, but that most municipalities have consistently exceeded those pressures — and the trend is worsening with each electoral cycle.
BCBC has launched an interactive tool at BCSpending.ca allowing residents to compare operating spending and population growth for any B.C. municipality between 2010 and 2024.
