Tory bill gives cottage owners right to vote in school board elections

A private member’s bill proposed by a Progressive Conservative MLA would enable non-resident property owners to vote in school board elections.

Midland MLA Lauren Stone’s bill would allow all property owners, including cottage owners, who are Canadian citizens over the age of 18, to vote in local school board elections where their secondary properties are located.

The Municipal Councils and School Boards Elections Amendment Act, which has practically no chance of becoming law with an NDP majority government, would limit voting to two non-resident owners per property.

“Manitobans continue to face historic, unprecedented education property tax hikes,” Stone said during question period Tuesday. She pointed to the NDP scrapping the education property tax rebate and a two per cent cap on school division budget increases.

In 2024, the NDP announced that starting this year, it would end the previous Tory government’s 50 per cent education property tax rebate and the education property tax credit, replacing it with a homeowners tax credit of up to $1,500 on principal residences. It effectively eliminated education property taxes for homes with assessed values of approximately $285,000.

Stone called on the NDP to reverse the tax hikes and remove education taxes from properties.

“When this NDP cancelled the 50 per cent education property tax rebate, they left out cottage owners and small businesses,” the PC finance critic said.

She pointed to cottage owners in the R.M. of Victoria Beach who received a 27 per cent education property tax hike on their “generational properties,” but cannot vote in local school board elections.

“Despite being unsustainably taxed, these property owners do not even have a say in who they vote for in school divisions,” said Stone.

Finance Minister Adrien Sala said the province is increasing the homeowners tax credit to $1,600 in 2026, and called out the PCs for not making life more affordable when they were in office.

“We brought in a permanent gas-tax cut and, beyond those education property tax reductions, we also brought in a middle-class tax cut to support Manitobans across the province,” Sala said during question period.

“They made life more expensive for Manitobans year after year. They didn’t take action.”

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca