{"id":4530,"date":"2025-10-05T06:05:04","date_gmt":"2025-10-05T06:05:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/?p=4530"},"modified":"2025-10-05T06:05:04","modified_gmt":"2025-10-05T06:05:04","slug":"flood-of-trudeau-carney-illegals-may-cause-toronto-to-hike-property-taxes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/?p=4530","title":{"rendered":"Flood of Trudeau\/Carney Illegals May Cause Toronto to Hike Property Taxes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Chow Warns Toronto Faces 2% Tax Hike Without Federal Support for Asylum Seeker Housing<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

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Mayor Olivia Chow<\/strong> is warning that Toronto residents could face an \u201cat least two per cent\u201d property tax increase<\/strong> unless the federal government steps up funding to cover the city\u2019s mounting costs for housing asylum seekers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking at City Hall ahead of an executive committee meeting, Chow said Toronto has already depleted its reserve funds<\/strong> to keep refugee housing and shelter programs running.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cBecause the federal government hasn\u2019t been paying their bills, we\u2019ve been taking money from the reserve funds in order to continue the services to shelter these refugee claimants,\u201d Chow said. \u201cWe can either stop sheltering refugee claimants, leaving them on the street, or Torontonians will have to pay for it through their property taxes. Neither is fair.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

$107M Shortfall<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A city staff report projects a $105.4 million year-end deficit<\/strong>, largely due to shortfalls in the federal Interim Housing Assistance Program (IHAP)<\/strong>. Chow is urging council to request $107 million for 2025\u20132026<\/strong> to support housing costs for refugees and asylum seekers already in Toronto\u2019s shelter system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mayor warned that without new funding by October, the city will no longer be able to transition people out of shelters and into permanent housing\u2014just as colder weather sets in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Provincial Cuts Add Pressure<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The situation is compounded by cuts to the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit (COHB)<\/strong>. Toronto\u2019s allocation will fall to $7.95 million in 2026<\/strong>, down from $19.75 million this year<\/strong> and $38 million in 2024<\/strong>. The COHB provides rent supplements that Chow called \u201cthe single most effective tool we have for freeing up shelter beds.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

National Responsibility<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Since 2017, Ottawa has provided municipalities with $1.5 billion<\/strong> to help offset refugee housing costs, including $670 million for Toronto<\/strong>. But Chow argued this is no longer sufficient, given the number of claimants arriving in the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cToronto and Canada have a history of settling newcomers, and we\u2019ve done well because of it,\u201d Chow said. \u201cBut now, the federal government must fulfill its responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Advocates Call Cuts a \u201cRecipe for Disaster\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Local advocacy group Progress Toronto<\/strong>, which held a protest outside City Hall Monday, echoed Chow\u2019s warning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe Canadian government must acknowledge its responsibility to cities and take immediate action to address the growing crisis of homelessness \u2014 a national human rights issue,\u201d the group said, urging Ottawa to cover 95 per cent of refugee housing costs<\/strong>, lift the 90-day shelter stay limit<\/strong>, and establish a coordinated resettlement response<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The funding fight mirrors a 2023 crisis, when Toronto briefly stopped admitting asylum seekers to shelters, leaving many sleeping on sidewalks until federal funding was restored.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chow Warns Toronto Faces 2% Tax Hike Without Federal Support for Asylum Seeker Housing Sep 29, 2025 Mayor Olivia Chow is warning that Toronto residents could face an \u201cat least two per cent\u201d property tax increase unless the federal government steps up funding to cover the city\u2019s mounting costs for housing asylum seekers. Speaking at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[92,3162,2155,3161],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4530"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4530"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4530\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4531,"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4530\/revisions\/4531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}