Simon Fraser University Professor Andrey Pavlov recently produced a graph with the bold claim that “City of Vancouver currently has the highest property taxes in Canada”. The graph is based on multiplying MLS Detached Benchmark prices by the tax rate .

Cities don’t use MLS Detached Benchmark prices to calculate property taxes. Cities use assessed values from official assessment bodies. I spent the evening digging up the official assessment values for some of the cities in Prof. Pavlov’s graph. And here’s my graph.

My conclusion, based on official published data, is that Prof Pavlov’s claim “City of Vancouver currently has the highest property taxes in Canada” is inaccurate.

Here’s my math.

City Reported Metric 2017 Assessment Property Tax Rate Property Taxes Toronto Typical $596,750 6.62 $3,950 Ottawa Typical $419,363 10.68 $4,479 Vancouver Median $1,207,000 2.55 $3,078 Calgary Median $460,000 6.5 $2,990

Ease in Calculations 2012 2016 2017 Phase-in Toronto $539,000 $770,000 $596,750 Ottawa $415,484 $431,000 $419,363

Here are my sources of data.