HALIFAX: The Halifax Regional Municipality’s Regional Council has approved the 2026/27 municipal budget.
The 2026/27 municipal budget – which includes an operating budget of $1.45 billion and a capital budget of $316.7 million – funds all costs associated with servicing a growing municipality.
This includes day-to-day municipal operations (e.g. transit, police, fire, garbage collection, snow clearing), capital priority initiatives approved by Regional Council, as well as capital projects and investments to purchase, construct, rehabilitate and replace municipal assets like buildings, roads, active transportation, parks and bridges.
“Council has made its decision, and now our focus is on delivering for residents,” says Mayor Andy Fillmore.
“We know affordability remains a real concern, and we’ll continue working to deliver services in a way that is responsible and sustainable over the long term.”
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The tax bill is the collection of all necessary levies, including the general property taxes, area charges and provincial contributions.
For more information on how to understand the tax bill, including how tax rates are applied, visit: halifax.ca/taxes.
The approved 2026/27 municipal budget includes a 7.5 per cent increase to the average residential and commercial property tax bill. This means the average residential tax bill for a single-family home will increase by $284 based on the average single-family home assessment value of $357,500.
The residential rate and commercial rates for each tier and tax area will be updated on halifax.ca/taxrates by no later than the end of the day on April 1.
“The 2026/27 municipal budget was about striking the right balance between our rapid population growth, increase in service demands, while acknowledging affordability challenges our residents face,” says Brad Anguish, Acting Chief Administrative Officer.
“I wish to extend my thanks to our finance team, and all municipal staff for their dedication throughout this budget process. This intensive work has found savings and efficiencies, all while making future investments that will position our municipality for success.”
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Highlights from the 2026/27 municipal budget include:
enhancing Halifax Transit service by adding 10 articulated buses and 24 bus Operators to fast-track the Core Service Plan;
enhancing community safety by adding 10 firefighters and eight Emergency Response Communicators;
improving road safety through implementation of the municipality’s Road Safety Program and public education campaign;
demonstrating fiscal responsibility through saving for capital projects, lowering debt servicing costs and decreasing municipal pension contributions;
supporting and strengthening vulnerable communities through key partnerships, like the African Nova Scotian Road to Economic Prosperity and tax relief to non-profit organizations;
reducing environmental impacts by eliminating paper voting ballots and printed Halifax Transit Riders’ Guides and Route Maps;
introducing revenue generating measures like paid parking on Saturdays, parking fee increases and a $0.25 transit fare increase; and,
strengthening long-term fiscal sustainability by approving reserve funding in accordance with the municipality’s Reserve Funding Strategy and establishing debt guardrails to maintain debt servicing costs at or below 12 per cent of municipal revenues.
For more information on the 2026/27 municipal budget, including all associated budget resources, visit: halifax.ca/budget.