Developers want Alberta government to intervene on Canmore vacancy tax
The Building Industry and Land Development (BILD) Alberta Association is asking the Government of Alberta to review Canmore's vacancy tax bylaw , citing concerns about the precedent it would establish, according to the provincial lobbying registry.
The Town of Canmore passed a bylaw in August 2024 that divided residential properties into five sub-classes and allows the administration to set different tax rates for primary residences, tourist homes and vacant properties.
This is the first time a municipality has used its power to establish a higher tax bracket for vacant homes. In April, a Court of King's Bench judge ruled the bylaw was valid after it was challenged by a group of individuals and real estate management companies.
Located about 20 minutes east of Banff National Park, Canmore's housing crisis is very different from other Alberta municipalities, and the administration required an equally unique solution, according to Mayor Sean Krausert.
'Like many mountain destinations before us, our limited footprint combined with global desirability leads to housing prices that are out of reach of the average person, and certainly beyond the means of many people who will need to make a living in the community,' Krausert told the IJF.
The town has estimated that about 26 per cent of properties in Canmore are second homes that are not occupied by full-time residents. It's aiming to collect $12 million from these vacant properties through the Livability Tax Program. All revenue from the additional tax will be used to support the development of 2,000 non-market housing units.
BILD Alberta is also lobbying the province for 'clearer definitions of municipal taxation authorities' and to consider intervention if a municipality's use of its powers 'deviates from their intended purpose.'
Krausert said the province encourages municipalities to address their own respective issues where possible, and that 'given the great need and unique circumstances in Canmore, which will not be satisfied in another manner, I have significant concern with potential intervention by the province on our Livability Tax Program.'
BILD Alberta did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Globe and Mail
36 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
Energy Plug Technologies Grants Stock Options
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 8, 2025) - Energy Plug Technologies Corp. (CSE: PLUG) (OTCQB: PLGGF) (FSE: 6GQ) ("Energy Plug") announces the granting of an aggregate amount of 950,000 stock options of the Company (the "Stock Options") to consultants of the Company. The Stock Options are exercisable at a price of $0.15 per share and are valid for a term of five years. The Stock Options are granted and governed by the Company's Stock Option Plan, approved by shareholders at the Company's annual general meeting held on March 17, 2025. The Stock Options vest over a term of one to two years and are subject to a statutory hold period of four month and one day in accordance with Canadian securities laws. About Energy Plug Technologies Corp. Energy Plug Technologies Corp. is a Canadian leader in advanced energy storage solutions, serving residential, commercial, and utility-scale markets with an emphasis on cybersecurity, grid resilience, and Indigenous economic development. For more information, visit Media Contact: Energy Plug Technologies Corp. Paul Dickson, CEO info@ +1 (604) 283-1262 Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements." Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Energy Plug Technologies Corp.'s actual results, performance or achievements, or developments in the industry to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will," "would," "may," "could" or "should" occur. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
CTV News
41 minutes ago
- CTV News
Trump says he will hit copper imports with 50 per cent tariffs
U.S. President Donald Trump says he will be announcing a 50 per cent tariff on copper imports, but hasn't said when it will take effect. WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday he will impose a 50 per cent tariff on copper imports -- but hasn't said yet when it will take effect. 'Today we are doing copper,' Trump told reporters at a cabinet meeting. 'I believe the tariff on copper, we are going to make it 50 per cent.' The level of tariff was reiterated in the meeting by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. But the president was not scheduled to sign any executive orders Tuesday to implement the duties. Data from Natural Resources Canada shows the United States accounted for 52 per cent of Canada's copper export value in 2023. Canada's total exports of copper and copper-based products that year were valued at $9.3 billion. It's estimated Canada has less than one per cent of global copper reserves and it ranked 12th in the world's 2023 copper production, behind other major producers like Chile, Peru, the Democratic Republic of Congo, China and the United States. After Trump's remarks, shares in mining company Freeport-McMoRan were up 4.6 per cent and the price of copper was up 8.7 per cent to $5.47 per pound. Markets have seen large swings for months due to Trump's on-and-off efforts to realign global trade through tariffs. The looming copper tariffs are a sign that Trump plans to go ahead with a list of sectoral levies beyond his current import taxes on steel, aluminum and automobiles. Citing national security concerns, Trump earlier this year launched investigations under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 into multiple products, including copper and pharmaceuticals. Trump said he will soon announce duties on pharmaceuticals but suggested he would give manufacturers a year before introducing those tariffs. 'After that they're going to be tariffed if they have to bring the pharmaceuticals into the country, the drugs and other things, into the country,' Trump said. 'They're going to be tariffed at a very, very high rate, like 200 per cent.' The Section 232 tariffs are separate from Trump's massive global tariff regime, which he delayed Monday in order to give his administration more time for trade negotiations. Devastating U.S. duties against countries around the world were set to come into force Wednesday before Trump pushed back the deadline to Aug. 1. Canada was not targeted by those global tariffs and has committed to coming up with some sort of bilateral deal with the U.S. by July 21. The Prime Minister's Office said Monday it was still working toward that deadline. Meanwhile, Canada's Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne sent letters to provinces, territories and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities on Tuesday calling on them to support domestic steel and aluminum industries through 'strategic procurement policies.' Ottawa last month introduced rules to limit federal procurement to using steel and aluminum from Canada and 'reliable trading partners,' among other measures. In Champagne's letter, posted on social media, the minister urged his counterparts in other levels of government to 'take meaningful steps to implement similar policies in your jurisdictions.' 'A co-ordinated approach across jurisdictions would send a strong signal of unity and reinforce Canada's resolve to secure fair treatment for our businesses and workers,' the letter said. -- With files from The Associated Press U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday he will impose a 50 per cent tariff on copper imports -- but hasn't said yet when it will take effect. 'Today we are doing copper,' Trump told reporters at a cabinet meeting. 'I believe the tariff on copper, we are going to make it 50 per cent.' The level of tariff was reiterated in the meeting by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. But the president was not scheduled to sign any executive orders Tuesday to implement the duties. Data from Natural Resources Canada shows the United States accounted for 52 per cent of Canada's copper export value in 2023. Canada's total exports of copper and copper-based products that year were valued at $9.3 billion. It's estimated Canada has less than one per cent of global copper reserves and it ranked 12th in the world's 2023 copper production, behind other major producers like Chile, Peru, the Democratic Republic of Congo, China and the United States. After Trump's remarks, shares in mining company Freeport-McMoRan were up 4.6 per cent and the price of copper was up 8.7 per cent to $5.47 per pound. Markets have seen large swings for months due to Trump's on-and-off efforts to realign global trade through tariffs. The looming copper tariffs are a sign that Trump plans to go ahead with a list of sectoral levies beyond his current import taxes on steel, aluminum and automobiles. Citing national security concerns, Trump earlier this year launched investigations under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 into multiple products, including copper and pharmaceuticals. Trump said he will soon announce duties on pharmaceuticals but suggested he would give manufacturers a year before introducing those tariffs. 'After that they're going to be tariffed if they have to bring the pharmaceuticals into the country, the drugs and other things, into the country,' Trump said. 'They're going to be tariffed at a very, very high rate, like 200 per cent.' The Section 232 tariffs are separate from Trump's massive global tariff regime, which he delayed Monday in order to give his administration more time for trade negotiations. Devastating U.S. duties against countries around the world were set to come into force Wednesday before Trump pushed back the deadline to Aug. 1. Canada was not targeted by those global tariffs and has committed to coming up with some sort of bilateral deal with the U.S. by July 21. The Prime Minister's Office said Monday it was still working toward that deadline. Meanwhile, Canada's Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne sent letters to provinces, territories and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities on Tuesday calling on them to support domestic steel and aluminum industries through 'strategic procurement policies.' Ottawa last month introduced rules to limit federal procurement to using steel and aluminum from Canada and 'reliable trading partners,' among other measures. In Champagne's letter, posted on social media, the minister urged his counterparts in other levels of government to 'take meaningful steps to implement similar policies in your jurisdictions.' 'A co-ordinated approach across jurisdictions would send a strong signal of unity and reinforce Canada's resolve to secure fair treatment for our businesses and workers,' the letter said. -- With files from The Associated Press By Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 8, 2025
CTV News
42 minutes ago
- CTV News
Unions warn public service will be ‘bearing the brunt' of federal government's savings plan
A sign for the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) in Ottawa on March 25, 2025. (Peter Szperling/CTV News Ottawa) Unions representing federal workers say Canadians will bear the cost of expected cuts to the public service as Prime Minister Mark Carney's government prepares to tighten the belt and find savings in day-to-day operating costs. CTV News learned Monday that federal ministers have been asked to find 7.5 per cent savings for the 2026-27 fiscal year that begins on April 1, 2026 followed by 10 per cent in 2027-28 and 15 per cent in 2028-29 in an effort to find 'long-term savings,' a promise Carney made during the election campaign. 'I'm very concerned by this announcement. The prime minister promised caps and not cuts and it definitely feels like the public service workers are going to be bearing the brunt of this,' Sharon DeSousa, president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), told CTV News Ottawa on Tuesday. 'We need to be working together. The government needs to work with its workers and unions and not around them. I think there's a better approach then the same old lazy austerity measures.' PSAC and other unions received a briefing from the federal government on Tuesday outlining the expenditure review called by the federal government. DeSousa says she wished the government had consulted with workers and unions before announcing the measures, saying workers know where gaps and efficiencies can be found to cut costs. 'There's no obligation to consult, so once again, we have department heads making decisions and that's what worries me the most is that you're not consulting people with expertise that are actually doing the jobs,' she said. Carney has pledged a slate of spending measures aimed to boost affordability and defence. It includes a middle-class tax cut and a $9.3 billion to meet NATO's defence spending target of two per cent of GDP by this fiscal year. During the federal election, Carney had promised to find savings from 'increased government efficiency' with $6 billion in savings in 2026-27 and $13 billion a year in 2028-29. A report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says $13 billion in savings will 'mostly be in personnel expenditures in non-defence departments,' amounting to a 24 per cent cut in government spending. It suggested Carney's election promises could bring about the 'worst cuts in modern history' to the federal public service. The move comes as the federal government prepares a 2025 budget set to be tabled this fall. Canadian Association of Professional Employees (CAPE) president Nathan Prier said arbitrary austerity measures' would undermine the workers who will carry out the government's wishes to build major nation-building projects. 'When governments make big promises to Canadians, public sector employees are the ones who deliver on them. And when ideological governments directly undermine their productivity, Canadians ultimately suffer the consequences,' Prier said in a statement. 'Mark Carney's current proposals are another rehash of the last Liberal government – arbitrary austerity measures completely disconnected from the question of who is going to deliver on his promises to Canadians.' Prier said the union is advocating for cost-cutting measures that don't 'attack' the federal workforce and seeks changes to 'bloated' management ranks, dependence on private contractors and reiterated a desire to reduce the public service's real estate footprint by allowing workers to work from home. A report from the C.D. Howe Institute released last week said it projects Canada's deficit could top $92 billion this fiscal year alone, in part due to the government's defence spending commitments. William Robson, who serves as the CEO of the C.D. Howe Institute, believes it's possible the government can make savings in its operating spending without degrading the quality of public services. 'When you look at a lot of things that the federal government does and you look at the increased in spending that occurred over the last decade and the increased in headcount over the last decade, its not obvious there's any direct connection between the costs of operating the federal government and the quality of the services that we're getting,' he said. Robson is calling on the government to make steeper cuts to program spending and reduce federal transfers to provinces. 'If you're going to have these very expensive traditional defence commitments, you need to either look at a source of revenue that isn't personal or corporate income taxes or you have to look at spending cuts,' Robson said. 'Something has to give.' Statistics released by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat in the spring show 357,965 people worked for the federal government as of March 31, down from 367,772 people in 2024. With files from CTV News Ottawa's Austin Lee and CTV's Stephanie Ha
