Author: Casey Vander Ploeg
Urban finance issues are heavily discussed amongst Canadians, with long term financial prospects of the country’s cities being a recurring theme on the national and political agenda. Cities are facing a fiscal dilemma with a growing list of responsibilities, new social pressures, and traditional municipal services being strained by population growth.
Big City Revenue Sources explores this fiscal dilemma by undertaking a comparative assessment of the various tax tools and revenue levers available to the six large western Canadian metros and similar cities in the United States. The report looks at the type of available resources in western Canadian cities, how they work, their unique advantages and disadvantages, and compares them to our American counterparts.
This report was written by Senior Policy Analyst, Casey Vander Ploeg, of the Canada West Foundation. It is the fourth publication in a series that explore issues in urban finance and is a part of the Foundation’s Western Cities Project.