Number of St. Catharines properties in tax arrears soars under current council

The number of property tax accounts in arrears has risen sharply in St. Catharines since 2022, according to documents obtained by The Pointer through a Freedom of Information request. The disturbing increase aligns with the controversial hikes in municipal tax rates introduced by the current City Council.

Residents of Niagara’s largest city were shocked in mid-2023 when, just six months into his first term, Mayor Mat Siscoe—backed by six councillors—pushed through a record high 10.5 percent property tax increase. The historic increase was set in motion when Councillor Caleb Ratzlaff introduced the motion, which was promptly seconded by his ward mate, Councillor Robin McPherson. With council deadlocked 6–6 on the highly controversial issue, it was Mayor Siscoe who cast the tie-breaking vote in favour of the increase—sealing the decision and leaving many residents reeling.  

Residents Lily and Melissa Smith, writing in an op-ed for The Pointer, captured the widespread “despair, dismay, and disgust” felt across St. Catharines in response to the tax hike, which they described as “dangerous.” In detailing the events inside the council chambers that night, they warned that “for low or fixed-income households and other vulnerable individuals, the tax hike could be catastrophic.” 

The information recently obtained by The Pointer suggests their warning was prescient.

The Pointer requested data on the number of properties declared in arrears (those with unpaid tax amounts) citywide over the past seven years. 

In the four years prior to Mayor Siscoe’s council taking office, the number of properties failing to pay their taxes fluctuated modestly from year to year. Between 2019 and 2022, the average number of delinquent properties was approximately 3,474 annually, with each year falling within a few hundred of that average.  At the end of 2022, Siscoe assumed the role of mayor and initiated a steady escalation of property taxes with the support of a majority of local councillors. This appears to be contributing to a growing number of residents struggling to keep up with their property tax obligations. In 2023, Siscoe’s first year as mayor, the number of properties in arrears rose to 4,139—an increase of 596 properties over the previous year and a 17 percent jump compared to the previous four-year average. The situation further deteriorated in 2024, with arrears climbing to 4,654 properties—an increase of 1,180 over the pre-Siscoe average, a 34 percent rise.

The years 2023 and 2024 represent a 34 percent spike in the number of properties in arrears since the new Council increased taxes by more than 20 percent in their first two years.

(Data City of St. Catharines/Graphic The Pointer)

Mayor Siscoe was asked by the Pointer whether Council had been made aware of the dramatic rise in the number of property owners potentially falling into financial distress during his term. He did not respond.

Chief Administrative Officer David Oakes was also asked about what the numbers suggest. He provided the following statement:

“For 2023, Taxes Receivable as a percentage of Tax Levies for Ontario municipalities ranged from 5.3% on the low end to 7.7% on the high end. The City of St. Catharines is at 4.1%. This data comes from an annual BMA study comparing municipalities across Ontario (attached). For 2024, this percentage has increased to 5.1%, primarily due to additional charges being added to tax accounts.”

The figures Oakes uses are the result of a much larger property tax revenue pool because the overall tax rate has increased so dramatically during the current term of council. His statement illustrates the problem: while residents who can afford to pay their property tax and, according to property data, own homes that have a much higher value on average, are not as severely impacted by the dramatic tax rate hike, the FOI documents clearly suggest that more and more homeowners who cannot afford the sharp tax increases are struggling. These residents most likely include more individuals on a fixed income and others lower down the household income ladder. Oakes is effectively confirming this when he states those who can afford the higher taxes are contributing to the larger share of overall taxes being paid (for properties with higher assessed values), while the FOI documents show the number of homeowners who can’t afford their taxes has jumped by approximately 30 percent.  

Clockwise from top left: Mayor Mat Siscoe along with councillors Greg Miller, Matt Harris, Robin McPherson, Caleb Ratzlaff, Kevin Townsend and Mark Stevens have consistently supported tax increases since being elected in 2022.

(City of St. Catharines) 

The rising number of delinquent accounts, the portfolio of non-performing tax receivables, could impact long-term instability in collections. This pattern is especially concerning from an equity standpoint, as it is likely to disproportionately affect lower-income households, who are less able to absorb rising property tax burdens.  Reporting only the percentage of revenue in arrears, without context around the number of affected properties, neglects the financial distress more residents are facing.

According to CAO Oakes, the properties in arrears “do not comprise a significant factor in our financial reporting but are certainly available to Council should they require the information.” 

It’s unclear why Oakes described the amount owing as not a “significant factor”. As of the end of last year the figure stood at $16.6 million; not including water and wastewater costs, it would take a 7 percent increase on average, on the property tax bill to cover this amount. 

During this council’s first two years in office, 1,180 additional properties in St. Catharines have fallen into tax arrears—yet council has not been advised of this troubling trend. While the CAO may not view the number of affected properties as a significant metric, ignoring this growing issue poses real risks. If the trend continues unchecked, this council could ultimately be responsible for a doubling of that figure by the end of its four-year term.

Data obtained by The Pointer show the total dollar value of tax arrears in St. Catharines has surpassed $16 million.

(City of St. Catharines)

John Waylett is the Chair and CEO of the Property Taxpayers Alliance (PTA). The not-for-profit corporation advocates for efficient and effective use of property tax dollars collected by municipalities across Ontario. The organization's website describes a “property tax affordability problem” that manifests in the fact that “lower income households are really suffering”.  

Asked for comment on the data provided by St. Catharines, Waylett said: “We believe that annual municipal budgets should be based on property taxation at or below the rate of inflation. This should be the target set at the beginning of the budget cycle.” 

The increase Siscoe pushed through at the start of his term as mayor was approximately four times the average rate of inflation in Ontario over the previous decade. The 10.5 percent increase was not due to inflationary pressures impacting most residents across the province at the time (with food, housing and fuel costs that had soared), it was largely due to excessive labour costs. 

As an illustration, the salary increases Oakes has received do not reflect the rates of inflation across Ontario. In 2008 he was the City’s director of economic development and earned $105,000. In 2013, his salary for the same role was $141,000 (part of that year’s increase would have reflected a promotion that was not shown on the annual salary list until the following year). As CAO, the City’s top bureaucratic role, he earned $263,000 last year. In 2023, his first full year on the job, his salary went up 6.2 percent (it was then reduced by .7 percent last year). 

The characterization by Oakes–whose salary in different roles with the City increased 152 percent in 15 years–that the taxes in arrears is not a significant factor in the City’s financial reporting, does not reflect the difficulty lower income earners are facing.

Waylett noted that in Cambridge properties in arrears also started rising sharply after property tax increases rose sharply in the period from 2021 through 2024.

Between July 2023 and January 2025, St. Catharines Council approved property tax increases totaling more than 20 percent. In contrast, according to Statistics Canada, inflation during the same period was 3.9 percent in 2023 and 2.4 percent in 2024.

Waylett calls a situation like this an “existential issue” and says that without proper checks and balances more and more people, especially those on the margins, will start to lose their homes.

Allan McKay, Manager of the Niagara Region branch of the PTA and a resident of St. Catharines, called the data “shocking, but not surprising.” In comments emailed to The Pointer, he outlined how taxpayers in the city have been subjected to “massive, unsustainable property tax increases layered on top of a disintegration of basic services.” 

McKay noted that he has been requesting similar data from the City for some time, but officials have repeatedly refused to release it to him, insisting instead that it can only be obtained through the Freedom of Information process. Until now, he has declined to pay for information he believes should be freely accessible to residents and should also be reported to Council on an annual basis. He also pointed out that other municipalities in Ontario make such information available without charge. The Pointer was required to pay $35 to obtain the data from St. Catharines through the FOI system.

While the data doesn’t specify which residents have been most severely impacted by the increase in arrears, Waylett said it is generally lower-income earners and McKay noted it’s reasonable to assume the burden has fallen heaviest on those with fixed incomes—seniors relying on pensions, new homeowners stretched to their financial limits and individuals living near or below the poverty line.

Since Siscoe took office in November 2022, councillors have been divided over fiscal policy—starting with the 10.5 percent tax increase passed in 2023. Councillors including Joe Kushner, Carlos Garcia (Councillor Garcia passed away in December last year) and Dawn Dodge, repeatedly voiced concern about the real-life consequences of these hikes, citing constituents who are struggling to make ends meet. They have argued for restraint and stronger fiscal accountability, and introduced motions aimed at pausing or minimizing tax increases.

Meanwhile, the majority bloc—often led by Siscoe, along with Councillors McPherson and Ratzlaff—has defended the increases as necessary to deal with long-term infrastructure investments, inflationary pressures and service sustainability, while directing much of it to top up reserve accounts at the city.

The annual Ontario salary disclosure list (the Sunshine list) which shows those in the province’s public sector who earn $100,000 or more, tells a different story. In 2008 there were 17 employees of the City of St. Catharines on the list. Last year, 242 people working for the City made the list. After the 10.5 percent property tax increase, the number of employees working for the City who earned more than $100,000 went from 203 in 2023 to 242 in 2024, an almost 20 percent increase in one year, after the City hiked property taxes by more than 10 percent. The overall salary paid to those who earned $100,000 or more went up 19 percent in just one year, from 2023 to 2024, largely due to the extra 39 employees who made the list. 

This tension over the impacts of excessive tax increases that owners of more than 4,600 properties cannot afford has been repeatedly highlighted in The Pointer, especially during budget debates when members of the public have shared their struggles, only to be met with procedural roadblocks or slim majority votes overruling motions for relief.  

This tension has become a defining feature past the midway point of Siscoe’s tenure. There are 1,180 additional properties in financial distress that illustrate this.

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