Edmonton Business Confidence Survey: Municipal Budget

The City of Edmonton is soliciting feedback from individuals ahead of the 2027-2030 budget creation. This survey from the Edmonton Chamber focuses on the opinions of Edmonton's business community and allows for your business's voice to be heard.

Municipal taxes and the services they fund play a central role in shaping Edmonton’s business environment. Decisions around taxation levels, service priorities, infrastructure investment, and economic incentives can directly affect business costs, competitiveness, and long-term growth across the city.

This survey seeks to understand how businesses and organizations perceive the value they receive from municipal taxes, the trade-offs between taxes and services, and priorities for the City of Edmonton’s upcoming 2027–2030 budget cycle. It also explores views on economic growth strategies, governance scope, and policy tools that could strengthen Edmonton’s business climate.

Your feedback will help inform discussions on budget decisions, service prioritization, and policy approaches that impact economic vitality and investment confidence in Edmonton.

The City of Edmonton is also soliciting budget feedback, and we encourage our members to also fill out their comprehensive survey: https://engaged.edmonton.ca/budget

All responses are strictly confidential and will be reported only in aggregate. Individual respondents and organizations will not be identified.

Thank you for taking the time to share your perspective.

Estimated time: 5 minutes
Deadline: April 27, 2026

Question Title

* 1. Are you satisfied with the services your business gets from the municipal taxes you pay in the City of Edmonton?

Yes

Question Title

* 2. Would a significant increase to your municipal property tax help or harm your business/organization's economic success in Edmonton?

Yes, it would harm our economic success

Somewhat, it would not harm our economic success so long as service delivery greatly improves

No, it would not harm our economic success even if services remained the same

Question Title

* 3. From a business/organizational perspective, should the City of Edmonton be funding programs and services that fall under the mandate of other orders of government?

Yes, regardless of any tax increases

Yes, if it does not increase the taxes my business pays

No, the city should only spend on programs and services within their mandate

Question Title

* 4. What taxation strategy would you most like to see implemented for Edmonton's 2027-2030 municipal budget?

Highest Tax: Better Services and Addresses Infrastructure Backlog

Higher Tax: Moderately Better Services but no Action on Infrastructure Backlog

Maintain the Service Status Quo: Increases Aligned with Inflation

Same Taxes: Reduced Services

Lower Taxes: Significantly Reduced Services

Question Title

* 5. What three municipal services or programs are the most important to your business/organization?

Affordable housing and homelessness initiatives

Arts, culture, tourism, inclusion and economic development

Bylaw enforcement and education

Community safety and social development programs

Edmonton Police Service (EPS)

Edmonton Public Library

Edmonton Transit Service (ETS)

Environment and climate

Fire Rescue Services

Neighbourhood Renewal

Parks, sports fields and forestry

Recreation facilities, pools and attractions

Safe Mobility

Summer road and pathway maintenance

Winter road and pathway maintenance

Question Title

* 6. What three municipal services or programs are the least important to your business/organization?

Affordable housing and homelessness initiatives

Arts, culture, tourism, inclusion and economic development

Bylaw enforcement and education

Community safety and social development programs

Edmonton Police Service (EPS)

Edmonton Public Library

Edmonton Transit Service (ETS)

Environment and climate

Fire Rescue Services

Neighbourhood Renewal

Parks, sports fields and forestry

Recreation facilities, pools and attractions

Safe Mobility

Summer road and pathway maintenance

Winter road and pathway maintenance

Question Title

* 7. From the below initiatives, which of the following do you believe would help spur economic growth in our city the most?

Require a "Return on Investment" section in each Council report that outlines costs, benefits, disadvantages, and broader economic impacts for all items requiring Council approval.

A Non-residential Property Tax Competitiveness Target to bring Edmonton's commercial tax rates closer to the regional average over the next budget cycle.

Shift from One-off grants to Incentives that have built-in terms such as time-limited property tax abatements, levy offsets, and strict Return on Investment tests.

Create a Beautification Tax Break or Incentive for businesses and developers to include or add increased beautification measures in their planned or existing capital assets to increase public safety, strengthen community, and boost overall vibrancy.

I think something else would help more (please specify)

Question Title

* 8. (OPTIONAL) Do you have any other thoughts you'd like to share regarding the 2027-2030 City of Edmonton budget?

Question Title

* 9. In February 2026, Edmonton City Council approved four strategic priorities for the rest of their term. They have said that these priorities will guide them in restructuring their budget.

Please rank the importance of these priorities for your business/organization from most important (1) to least important (4):

Safety

Growth Management

Economic Development

Quality Services

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* 10. Are you, your business, or your employer a member of the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce?

Yes

Unsure

Question Title

* 11. What is the size of your business or your employer's business?

1-4 employees

5-19 employees

20-99 employees

100-499 employees

500+ employees

Uncertain

Question Title

* 12. Which of the following best describes the type of business you or your employer operate?

Sole proprietorship

Partnership

Corporation

Franchise

Not-for-profit

Public sector (agencies, boards, commissions, government, colleges, universities)

Uncertain

Question Title

* 13. Which sector does your business or your employer's business primarily operate in?

Accommodation and food services

Administrative and support, waste management and remediation services

Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting

Arts, entertainment and recreation

Construction

Educational services

Finance and insurance

Health care and social assistance

Information and cultural industries

Management of companies and enterprises

Manufacturing

Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction

Other services (except public administration)

Professional, scientific and technical services

Public administration

Real estate and rental and leasing

Retail trade

Transportation and warehousing

Utilities

Wholesale trade

Uncertain

Question Title

* 14. Where is your business primarily located?

Central Edmonton

North Edmonton

East Edmonton

South Edmonton

West Edmonton

Outside Edmonton

Uncertain

Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey.