The City of Vancouver’s budget just passed. Here’s what it all means

What happened: In what can best be described as a pre-positioning election budget, Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim and his ABC Party councillors approved a zero per cent property tax increase, which resulted in cuts to departments across the city. All opposition councillors voted against the budget.

Background: You might be asking, why doesn’t the city just run a deficit like the province or the federal government? Municipalities are not allowed to run deficits, so any shortfall in funding will result in cuts somewhere if revenue isn’t increased.

• You know that saying that the government should run a budget like a household? Well, unlike a household in this situation, they cannot take out a loan to pay for increased costs.

What’s getting cut: The brunt of the cuts will hit the Planning, Urban Design & Sustainability department, the Arts, Culture and Community Services department and corporate services, according to CBC. 

While the cuts garnered much attention, it’s the user fees that many locals will start to notice. The park board had to increase fees by $11 million to cover the funding shortfall from city council. To cover part of that shortfall, they are expecting a 32.3 per cent increase in revenue generated from parking (sorry drivers).

• The full fee breakdown at the park board can be found here.  

On Monday, almost 120 companies spoke out about the elimination of the dedicated sustainability and climate team, which is part of a 14 per cent reduction in the planning, urban design and sustainability departments, according to the National Observer. 

What’s getting money: The Vancouver Police Department got an additional $50 million, or a 10 per cent increase, along with a six per cent increase for the Fire and Rescue Department, three per cent for libraries and two per cent for utilities, according to CBC.

There is still some uncertainty on what is and isn’t getting cut, according to CBC, that won’t be determined until the final vote in early 2026, when line item cuts will be shared. The lack of details for this budget has been a sore point for councillors opposed to the cuts. 

Meanwhile…: The budget for the new PNE Amphitheatre that will host the FIFA World Cup festival grew from $137 million to $183 million earlier this year — which was disclosed this week — already up from $65 million in 2021, according to the Vancouver Sun. 

What it means: With the police budget seeing the most significant increase in funding, it’s another reminder that the mayor is increasingly focusing his election campaign on public safety, as voters go to the polls in 2026. 

One way to think about this is that, rather than the money being collected through property taxes and redistributed, it is instead acquired through many other ways residents interact with the city, such as increased parking fees. 

• Dig deeper: We break down the challenges facing Ken Sim’s re-election in 2026.