Commentary
Austin Thompson

In municipalities across Metro Vancouver, voters recently elected mayors, city councillors and other government officials. How these new governments will govern remains to be seen.

But it’s worth noting that in recent years every municipal government in Metro Vancouver has increased spending, even after accounting for inflation and population growth. That additional spending must ultimately be financed through property taxes, fees for municipal services and taxpayer-funded transfers from the provincial government—meaning higher tax bills for many residents.

The rise in municipal spending across Metro Vancouver was not inevitable. It reflects decisions by mayors and councils about how much to spend and which services to prioritize. Those choices deserve closer attention.

In 2024, the latest year of comparable data, the average Metro Vancouver municipality spent $2,387 per resident—that’s $303 more than in 2009, or an increase of 14.5 per cent (all figures in inflation-adjusted 2024 dollars). That Metro-wide increase, however, masks substantial differences in how much individual municipalities spend and how their spending has changed over time (see the chart below, per-person municipal Spending in Metro Vancouver, inflation-adjusted, in 2009 and 2024).

Surrey stands out as a revealing example.

As in every other Metro Vancouver municipality, spending growth in Surrey outpaced population growth and inflation combined, rising from $1,413 per person in 2009 to $1,646 in 2024. Yet Surrey had the lowest per-person spending among Metro Vancouver municipalities in 2009, and it remained the lowest spender in 2024. The differences are stark—Surrey spent about half as much per resident as the City of Vancouver in both 2009 and 2024.

Surrey’s relatively low overall per-person spending shows up across several major spending categories (see chart below, with municipal spending by category in 2024).

Surrey’s spending growth between 2009 and 2024, amounting to $233 per resident, largely reflected increases in per-person spending in the “General Government” (+$135) and “Protective Services” (+$110) operating spending categories. Nearly half (47 per cent) of the increase in spending between 2009 and 2024 on a per-person basis was on “Protective Services,” a core responsibility of municipal governments, while “General Government” accounted for slightly more of the increase. However, even after those increases, Surrey spent less per person in both categories than most Metro Vancouver municipalities in 2024.

And Surrey spent $211 per person in the “General Government” category in 2024, the lowest level of any Metro Vancouver municipality. This category includes functions shared across municipal departments such as legal services, accounting, payroll and human resources.

And the pattern extends beyond those two areas. Surrey’s per-person spending was below the Metro Vancouver average in every major category in 2024.

Surrey’s experience, and the wide range of spending outcomes across Metro Vancouver, demonstrate that changes in municipal spending reflect decisions made at city hall. Citizens have good reason to ask whether those choices deliver good value for tax dollars. - Austin Thompson is a Senior Policy Analyst with the Fraser Institute’s Centre for Municipal Studies.

What Metro Van Cities Spend Per Resident

Annual municipal spending per resident in 2024, ranked highest to lowest:

•  West Vancouver: $3,879

•  Vancouver: $3,076

•  New Westminster: $2,940

•  District of North Vancouver: $2,533

•  Delta: $2,525

•  Port Moody: $2,464

•  City of North Vancouver: $2,431

•  Richmond: $2,401

•  Pitt Meadows: $2,337

•  Burnaby: $2,250

•  White Rock: $2,206

•  Township of Langley: $2,169

•  Coquitlam: $2,081

•  Port Coquitlam: $1,959

•  Maple Ridge: $1,846

•  City of Langley: $1,842

•  Surrey: $1,646

Metro Vancouver municipal average: $2,387 per resident.

Where spending rose the most

•  Pitt Meadows: 30.6%

•  Port Moody: 24.3%

•  West Vancouver: 19.9%

•  Vancouver: 19.1%

•  Burnaby: 16.7%

•  Surrey: 16.5%

•  Port Coquitlam: 16.3%

•  White Rock: 15.1%

•  District of North Vancouver: 14.8%

•  Township of Langley: 12.8%

•  Delta: 11.7%

•  Richmond: 11.7%

•  Coquitlam: 11.5%

•  New Westminster: 8.8%

•  Maple Ridge: 7.8%

•  City of North Vancouver: 5.1%

•  City of Langley: 3.8%

Where cities collected the most revenue

•  West Vancouver: $4,387

•  Vancouver: $4,226

•  New Westminster: $3,484

•  Coquitlam: $3,436

•  Richmond: $3,364

•  Burnaby: $3,301

•  Township of Langley: $3,157

•  District of North Vancouver: $3,079

•  Port Moody: $2,989

•  White Rock: $2,917

•  Delta: $2,821

•  Pitt Meadows: $2,810

•  City of North Vancouver: $2,721

•  Maple Ridge: $2,564

•  Surrey: $2,516

•  Port Coquitlam: $2,479

•  City of Langley: $2,463

Metro Vancouver municipal average: $3,101 per resident.