With the Oct. 26 municipal election approaching, many things are weighing heavily on the minds of voters.
What can the winning mayoral candidate and council do to ease the cost of living after Oct. 26?
While municipal leaders can do little to directly control the cost of food and gas, would lower property taxes give more room to breathe as people pay out at the grocery stores and gas pumps?
SooToday asked people what they thought the incoming mayor and council could do to help with the cost of living.
“Probably the only area that they can have an influence on would be property taxes,” said Dan Dodson.
“There are things they can do with property taxes to make it more effective for the rest of us in the Sault. They can attract more businesses, which helps build the tax base.”
Meanwhile, Dodson, like many others, is altering his grocery shopping practices.
“I’ll go to places where my overall cost of purchasing food is less. I’m certainly looking for sales and sometimes buying in bulk.”
Bernie Heintzman agreed a municipal tax break would be nice but for now he’s looking to the senior levels of government for relief with food prices.
“I think we should wait a little more to see what Mr. Carney can do for us,” Heintzman said.
Keeping property taxes as low as possible would help, said one economist.
“Cost of living issues should be the focus of federal and provincial governments and not exclusively the target of municipal property tax policy, though naturally keeping (property tax) increases reasonable should be an aim of municipal government,” said Livio Di Matteo, a professor of economics at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay.
Growing the tax base through attracting more businesses to the Sault would help keep property taxes lower and put more money in people’s pockets.
“In the case of businesses, it is of assistance in attracting businesses if property taxes are competitive relative to other jurisdictions,” Di Matteo said in an email to SooToday.
Di Matteo said a financial analysis of Ontario municipalities prepared by BMA Management Consulting Inc. for 2025 shows the average property tax for a bungalow in the Sault is $3,707 annually, the lowest of the five major northern Ontario cities including Sudbury ($4,077), Timmins ($4,976), Thunder Bay ($4,615) and North Bay ($4,242).The median in the north is $3,825.
For a two-storey home, Timmins’ average is also the highest in the North at $7,053. Thunder Bay is $7,050, Sudbury is $6,463, Sault Ste. Marie $6,018 and. North Bay $5,730. The median in the North is $5,874.
“Given that municipalities in Ontario are creatures of the provinces and have become more so over time with many services and standards mandated by the province and therefore similar across cities, this suggests that the Sault has been quite efficient relative to other northern Ontario cities,” Di Matteo said.
Meanwhile, people are still finding it tough.
“Any help for retirees would be good,” said Sault resident Eric Schoahs.
“I make good money and it’s still not enough,” said Kyrsten Leishman.
While Leishman said the mayor and council should do something to help with the cost of groceries and rent, she also questioned the federal government’s quarterly Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (CGEB).
“They’re giving us that benefit for groceries. Why not just lower the cost of groceries instead? It doesn’t make much sense.”