Mill rates, property tax increases approved for 6 Winnipeg school divisions

Homeowners in Winnipeg's six English-speaking school divisions will be paying more in education property taxes — some for the second consecutive school year — before factoring in the province's new property tax credit.

Manitoba's NDP government in 2024 lifted a multi-year freeze put in place by the former Progressive Conservative government on the property taxes school divisions can levy. 

Trustees at the Winnipeg School Division (WSD) approved the 2025-26 budget early this week, including a five per cent rise in its mill rate taken into account to calculate property taxes.

It's the second year in a row Manitoba's largest school division has passed a tax hike, after a 3.4 per cent increase last year. 

With a raise on this year's property reassessments — determined by the City of Winnipeg every two years — sitting at 8.2 per cent in the WSD and the mill rate increase passed, the average household in the division is expected to pay roughly $214 more in gross property taxes annually, the school division said in a news release. 

The WSD budget for the upcoming school year rose by 9.4 per cent compared with last year. Matt Henderson, the division's superintendent, says the WSD is facing pressures to reduce class sizes, deal with aging infrastructure and upgrade the cybersecurity network.

"Those are necessary expenses," he said. 

"But I would say more than that … we have some of the poorest postal codes in Canada and it's really important that WSD is well funded so that we can address some of those frontline needs of our families." 

St. James-Assiniboia School Division approved its 2025-26 budget with a gross property tax increase of 6.2 per cent on the average home, before the province's rebate, after passing an increase of 2.14  per cent to its mill rate. 

The average homeowner in St. James-Assiniboia can expect to pay roughly $110 more annually, or $9 a month, for school taxes, the division said in a news release. Last year the school division adopted a 4.12 per cent bump to the property tax.

The hike comes as operating expenditures have increased by nine per cent from last year's budget. The impact of those costs are partly tempered by a two per cent boost in provincial support, including nutrition funding.

With the approved $141 million budget, the school division plans to increase staff, reduce supply fees for some students and maintain small class sizes as it prepares to welcome at least 150 new students in the upcoming school year. 

The Louis Riel School Division is increasing its mill rate 6.4 per cent to address enrolment growth, inflation and absorb increased costs from the current teacher collective agreement, the division said in a news release.

The division's approved budget for the 2025-26 school year sits at $273 million, a roughly $26 million bump from last year.

Part of the budget will be allocated to maintain class sizes by increasing staff, as well as to begin a six-year plan to retrofit air conditioning systems at 10 schools.

The division is also spending $250,000 to enhance cybersecurity and $100,000 on its water safety pilot program for Grade 3 and Grade 4 students, the news release said. 

Seven Oaks School Division will see a 4.5 per cent mill rate increase, so the average homeowner will face an increase of $274 annually, or roughly $23 a month.

This is the second consecutive year Seven Oaks has approved a tax hike, after a two per cent increase in the 2024-25 school year. 

Pembina Trails School Division approved a 3.8 per cent increase to its mill rate to raise funds for a $248 million budget it said would invest in cyber security, crossing guard service and summer programming.

NDP, PCs spar over tax hikes

During question period at the Manitoba Legislature on Thursday, Progressive Conservative Party education critic Grant Jackson attacked the NDP, saying the governing party hasn't done enough to fund education.

He cited a proposed 15.5 per cent tax increase in the River East Transcona School Division. The division approved its budget earlier this week with a $117 hike a month for the average home after a mill rate bump of 5.8 per cent. 

"Despite promising in the 2023 election campaign that they were going to revamp the education model, this education minister failed to deliver," Jackson said. "How does she think this is acceptable at a time of looming Trump tariffs and increasing affordability challenges." 

PC finance critic Lauren Stone said many school divisions across Manitoba are proposing tax increases, with the largest so far — 16.55 per cent — at Turtle Mountain School Division.

"Nobody from these government benches are taking accountability for their poor financial decisions," Stone said.

Manitoba Education Minister Tracy Schmidt said the PCs slashed school funding while they were in office, adding that under the NDP's government, property owners will be saving on their taxes through a recently implemented credit.

Last year, the NDP scrapped a package of education-tax rebates in favour of a single $1,500 property tax credit for every home starting this year, which Finance Minister Adrien Sala said will lower school taxes "for the vast majority of Manitobans."