For the better part of a decade, the County’s property taxes, like those of every other municipality in Ontario, have been at a standstill.

It’s been almost ten years since residents received a white envelope with a stylized blue acronym in the upper left corner announcing a property reassessment from MPAC, the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation.

Normally, MPAC updates real estate assessments every four years for every property across Ontario. It claims its ‘Current Value Assessment’ (CVA) considers 200 factors, although only five of those make up about 85 percent of the assessed value: location, lot size, living area, age of the property (adjusted for renovations), and quality of construction.

MPAC then shares that assessment with property owners and municipalities. That assessed value is the baseline for municipal and education tax rates.

MPAC last conducted a province-wide assessment in 2016. The 2020 reassessment was shelved by Covid-19.

That’s not to say the group keeping tabs on the largest assessment jurisdiction in North America has been idle since the province put a pause on the process. In 2024, MPAC added more than $42.7 billion in new assessments from new construction and improvements to existing properties.

Making an Impact

Nonetheless, the province did not reassess in 2024, either. Property taxes for the 2025 year will continue to be based on 2016 assessments. New properties added to the tax rolls and ones with larger scale improvements are being assessed at 2016 levels.

But there are growing concerns about the ad hoc system.

County Finance Director Arryn McNichol confirmed the pause in reassessment has had an impact on municipal operations.

The current municipal property tax system doesn’t reflect a decade of increases in the County’s real estate market.

“From an operations standpoint, the pause has added some complexity to our budgeting and planning,” he said. “It’s also led to questions from residents who are trying to understand why their taxes don’t align with what they know their properties are worth today.”

Reassessments restore fairness and equity to the system by updating the value of all properties based on current value. But that province-wide reassessment does not increase by itself the total amount of taxes the County collects. Council sets that amount during the annual budget process.

Redistribution

The reassessment redistributes the tax burden based on how much a property’s assessed value has changed compared to others in the County. If your property’s assessed value has gone up more than average for similar properties in the County, you will pay more. If there is no change or the change is less than the average, you will pay less.

Mr. McNichol said having updated property values will also help the County make more accurate projections and decisions.

“We do expect some shifts, particularly in areas like waterfront properties or where home values have risen quickly. But it’s a relative change. A jump in assessed value doesn’t necessarily mean a tax bill will spike. It really depends on how your property compares to similar ones across the County.”

The municipality will be communicating with residents, so people understand what’s coming and what it means for them. Staff are also planning to have MPAC attend a future Council meeting to explain the process.

In 2023, Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said he would conduct a review of the property assessment and taxation system to “focus on fairness, affordability and business competitiveness.”

Colin Blachar, the Director of Media, Issues, and Legislative Affairs for Minister Bethlenfalvy, said Ontario’s government does not support raising taxes or fees on the people of Ontario.

“The ministry is focusing on affordability and business competitiveness, as well as exploring modernized administration tools,” Mr. Blachar said in an email.