Property tax increase being floated as Toronto missing key housing funds from feds, province

['Erica Natividad', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width', 'Vertical-Align Bottom .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Vertical-Align Middle .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar Is .Alignleft .Alignright'] CityNews Toronto 2025-09-29 00:00:00

A potential property tax increase is being floated at City Hall as officials determine how to cover a gap in housing funds from the provincial and federal governments. According to Mayor Olivia Chow, Ontario will be allocating under $8 million to Toronto under the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit (COHB) next year, a decrease from the nearly $20 million the city received in 2025. The COHB subsidizes rent, allowing those in shelters to move into rental housing more quickly and free up space in the shelter system. News of the reduction comes on top of the latest refugee shelter funding offer from the federal government which leaves the city $107 million short of what’s needed this year. “When our shelter system is bursting at the seams, that affects our transit system, it affects our libraries, if affects our parks.