A group of lakefront property owners in the RM of Gimli say they were shocked when they opened their tax bills and saw increases ranging from 10 to 61 per cent.
They’re expecting to reduce their spending to pay for what they’re calling an unfair tax burden on those who live along the lake.
The Express met with five taxpayers – four homeowners and one cottage owner – a few weeks ago and reviewed their tax statements, including past statements. Two homeowners shared their property tax information as they could not attend the meeting.
None of the property owners want to be identified, citing negative assumptions in the community about those who live along the lake (i.e., rich people with no right to complain), as well as the sometimes pettish nature of municipal politics in small towns where repercussions are possible when people speak out.
They say the RM of Gimli and the Evergreen School Division haven’t “done enough” to cushion the blow of the excessive tax hike they’re facing and are happy to receive their respective windfalls.
“The RM and the school division could have reduced their mill rates to offset this increase in our taxes,” said one of the residents. “The school division typically lowers its mill rate when assessments go up.”
All of the taxpayers live either south or north of Gimli on properties fronting Lake Winnipeg. All are older adults who are retired, except for one person who continues to work.
Individually, they’ve been saddled with property tax increases of 10, 22, 24, 31, 35 and 40 per cent. The person with the cottage – a second residence – is facing a whopping 61 per cent increase in their tax bill.
The homeowner with the 24 per cent tax increase paid over $5,000 in taxes in 2024. They’ll be shelling out over $6,200 this year, an increase of almost $1,200. The homeowner with the 40 per cent increase paid over $3,500 in 2024 and will have to pay over $4,900 this year, an increase of $1,400.
“Lakefront property owners have always paid more, but this new tax formula is burdening these properties,” said a resident who lives north of Gimli. “This is being unevenly shared among all taxpayers.”
The provincial NDP government reformed the property tax regime after it was elected in 2023. It removed (for 2025) the previous Progressive Conservative government’s 50 per cent tax break, which had benefitted residential properties with higher assessed values. The NDP also got rid of the $350 education tax credit. In place of those former tax breaks, it introduced a flat $1,500 credit called the Homeowners Affordability Tax Credit (HATC). The change has resulted in higher valued properties having to pay more tax and lower valued properties paying less. The flat credit applies only to principal residences; cottages and other secondary residences don’t receive a tax break.
In addition to the change in the tax regime, the five lakefront property owners in the RM of Gimli questioned the province’s 2025 reassessment, saying some have had their properties for 35-40 years and have not made any major upgrades.
“I’ve been here for a long time. My lot was around $20,000 when I bought it,” said a resident who lives south of Gimli. “None of our houses are new.”
Another resident said they polled some people in the RM who don’t own lakefront properties and found that some of them “saw their taxes go down. One person has to pay a “reasonable” increase of about $80.
The Express asked a homeowner in Siglavik – whose property is technically on a marsh rather than the lake – whether they’re facing a significant property tax increase; they said they’re not.
With the cost of insurance, Hydro and home maintenance – not to mention the rising cost of food and other goods – the five lakefront taxpayers said they’ll have to find ways to trim their budgets or consider re-entering the workforce.
“When you’re on a fixed income, things will have to be cut,” said a resident who lives south of Gimli.
One retiree already calculated the hourly rate and duration they’d have to work to cover their increased taxes.
“If I got a part-time job to pay for the extra increase in my tax, I’d have to be paid $20 an hour and work for 12 weeks,” they said.
While all the taxpayers acknowledged that the RM of Gimli decreased its tax rate by 2.261 mills to help offset the province’s new tax formula, they said it wasn’t enough and that “no one should have to pay 40 or 61 per cent more” in property taxes.
The RM of Gimli is expecting to raise an additional $2,315,834 from taxes in 2025, said one property owner who reviewed the RM’s tax levy in its spring budget. The RM raised $17,959,663 from taxes in 2024 and expects to bring in $20,175,497 this year.
Many of the residents questioned the RM’s spending priorities, particularly council having voted itself an increase in salary and expenses shortly after taking office, several past and future purchases for the Gimli Fire Department, one of which is a new aerial truck “we don’t need” that’s pegged at almost $1.7 million in the 2025 capital spending budget, an “abandoned waterfront project” in favour of an “old lagoon” that’s to be turned into a wetland, as well as “neglecting” to address streets in poor condition.
As for the Evergreen School Division, it neither raised nor lowered its existing mill rate; but sitting on the fence did nothing to help the taxpayers facing a big bill this year.
“Because the school division is maintaining its mill rate, it will end up receiving an increase in revenue of 21 per cent more,” said one resident.
Although there’s nothing the RM and the school division can do to shift the 2025 tax burden facing lakefront property owners, they can make adjustments next year.
“There’s nothing we [taxpayers] can do this year; we have to pay this bill or they’ll fine you,” said a resident who lives north of Gimli. “But they can both reduce their mill rates for next year.”
The Express reached out to the RM of Gimli and council, asking if council’s willing to and can find a way to address the tax discrepancy between lakefront and non-lakefront properties next year.
“The RM of Gimli recognizes the concerns raised by lakefront property owners following the 2025 provincial reassessment and rebate changes,” said council spokesperson Christine Payne. “While the RM reduced its municipal mill rate by over 18% [from 14.788 to 12.527 mills or 2.261 mills], rising property values and the removal of the school tax rebate for seasonal properties—decisions made by the province—have led to higher tax bills.”
In addition to the province changing its property tax system, the province reassessed properties, which resulted in many lakefront properties “seeing increases in assessed value due to rising market demand” and that also caused higher property tax bills for 2025, she added.
When the Express asked if the Evergreen School Division is willing to lower its mill rate next year to help those with high property tax bills, superintendent Scott Hill said that would be premature given the possibility the province will make changes to education funding.
“It would be premature for our board to make a determination now concerning the local mill rate for the 2026-2027 budget,” said Hill. “The provincial government is currently undertaking a process to consider and plan potential changes to the funding model for public education next year, so the board will appropriately consider the outcome of that provincial work, along with local considerations in early 2026, as part of its budget deliberations.”
When asked to confirm that ESD will see a 21 per cent increase in revenue this year, Hill said the revenue increase compared to 2024-2025 is 11.89 per cent.
Because ESD held its mill rate this year, he said many homeowners will actually see a reduction in taxes.
“In light of the provincial tax credit system, holding the mill rate this year actually meant a reduction in education taxes for many, many local home owners. Many will not pay any education tax at all,” said Hill. “As discussed during budget deliberations, owners of a primary residence with an assessed value of approximately $700,000 and greater will have seen an increase to their education taxes. Cottage owners will also have seen an increase in education taxes when their cottage is not their primary residence.”
Prior to the 2024-2025 school year, Hill said the board experienced a period of seven years of “funding cuts and funding below inflation” and it’s now re-investing in “thoughtful ways” to support ESD students and its schools while being mindful of the impact on local taxpayers.
A spokesperson for the provincial government said the 2025 property reassessment reflected changes in the value of properties on the market, but increases in property values don’t necessarily translate into people having to pay higher taxes.
“Reassessments ensure that property taxes are fairly distributed based on the value of properties. However, an increase in the assessed value of a property does not mean that the property’s taxes will increase,” said the spokesperson. “Properties would only see an increase in their share of property taxes if the value of their property increased more than the average within their municipality and school division.”
The spokesperson went on to say that municipalities and school divisions make financial decisions that “often have a significant effect on how much municipal and school property tax people are required to pay.” And both entities are required to engage the public when passing their budgets.
HATC was designed to provide tax relief to people who need it most, he said, and it will be bumped up for 2026.
“The new system is intended to provide relief to those that need it most, with the majority of Manitoba homeowners receiving as much or more in school tax relief on their principal residences compared to the previous system,” said the spokesperson. “Manitoba Budget 2025 announced the HATC will be increased to $1,600 from $1,500 for the 2026 tax year.”
Taxpayers with concerns about their property’s assessed market value can contact an assessor or appeal to their local municipality’s Board of Revision, said the spokesperson.
Interlake-Gimli MLA Derek Johnson (PC) said the NDP government is “making life more expensive, plain and simple” for Manitoba’s taxpayers.
“I’ve been hearing from a lot of folks right across the constituency, from St. Laurent to Gimli, and there’s real concern about the impacts of this new education tax scheme,” said Johnson. “The flat $1,500 rebate is a big part of the problem. It doesn’t take into account factors like inflation, rising property values and mill rates. So as property assessments keep climbing, families are left paying more.”
The NDP’s 2025 budget shows $182 million more to be collected in education property taxes, money “taken” from Manitoba families, said Johnson, and that should tell people all they need to know: that they’re paying more under the NDP, not less.
Johnson said the previous percentage-based property tax system was more “responsive” compared to the NDP’s flat rebate, which isn’t “fair” and “really punishes” communities like Gimli.
“On top of that, the decision to remove the rebate from recreational properties has hit cottage families especially hard. These aren’t necessarily wealthy households. A lot of cottages have been in families for generations, and just because you own one doesn’t mean you have the resources to keep up with these new costs,” said Johnson. “Families are now being squeezed with disproportionately higher taxes, even when they’ve owned these properties for decades.”
The NDP also made changes to taxation by scrapping the indexation of the basic personal allowance and tax brackets to inflation, and they got rid of the $350 education tax credit, said Johnson. Those moves are putting a lot of tax pressure on people at a time when the cost of living continues to rise.
“It all adds up to Manitobans being taxed more at a time when they can least afford it,” said Johnson. “Inflation is already eating away at family budgets, and now people are paying what amounts to a higher tax rate while also losing meaningful tax relief.”
