Residents were told Toronto’s 2025 budget makes city council’s priorities “crystal clear” – and then councillors debated how best to use a municipal program to criticize the billionaire industrialist Elon Musk.
On the day that council officially approved its 6.9% property tax hike, it was also asked to “temporarily restrict” any new Teslas from a grant program for vehicles to be used as taxis or limousines.
The Tesla motion, one of three put forth by Mayor Olivia Chow, passed 20-4. Her motion tied the Tesla exclusion specifically, but perhaps vaguely, to economic relations between Canada and the U.S. – running from March 1 “until such time as the negative U.S. trade action has ended.”
Councillors Brad Bradford, Stephen Holyday, James Pasternak and Michael Thompson voted against the Tesla idea.
Chow’s tweaks, some of the many made to the budget on Tuesday, included motions to encourage the use of local food at school programs and to ensure “very, very clear service improvements and budget savings,” as the mayor put it, in light of a damning audit of the parks department.
But the Tesla motion stood out – even amid all the talk about U.S. politics and impending tariffs – given how directly some on council spoke about Musk, who leads the automaker. Chow said the motion would “send a message to the White House.”
Holyday said he believed the singling out of one person like that could be a first for council. He asked Chow: “Do I understand this as a sanction on an individual?”
“No, no, not at all,” she replied, but did little by way of counter-argument, calling Musk “President (Donald) Trump’s right-hand man” and the “richest person in the world.
“It’s not really a sanction. It’s really using taxpayers’ money in the most effective way,” Chow said.
Mike Colle, councillor for Eglinton-Lawrence, then stood to tell Toronto he has “a Tesla dealership in my ward and I’m gonna do everything I can to get them to move out.”
Colle said he’d rather Tesla left because Musk had made a speech to members of the right-wing political party Alternative for Germany – in Colle’s words, “the German Nazi party” – and then, at Trump’s inauguration, “he had this accidental Nazi salute,” Colle said.
(No one at the Yorkdale dealership could be reached as Colle made the comment after business hours.)
Chow’s motion was changed to exclude used Teslas at the suggestion of Dianne Saxe, who said “no profit would go back to Mr. Musk” on a resale.
Holyday found irony in the situation, given Musk’s role in the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency.
“While I don’t necessarily agree with all their findings or their methodologies,” Holyday said, “boy, there is a concept in there that we sure could use in the City of Toronto is, maybe, a review.”
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Earlier Tuesday, Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik had said the budget made council’s “priorities crystal clear.” Money had been set aside to hire first responders, libraries will be open longer and councillors debated how to bring some degree of affordability back to Toronto.
Bradford, who slammed it as the “most expensive budget in Toronto’s history,” tried but failed to ease property taxes on industry and small business. Attempts by Holyday and Jon Burnside to lessen the tax burden with potential TTC fare increases were also rejected by council.
BUDGET NOTES
— Council struggled to pass a straightforward motion suggested by Burnside that would report on how property taxes might look should the municipal land transfer tax no longer provide revenue to city hall.
That motion was passed unanimously, but only after two re-votes. Malik and then Pasternak each inadvertently voted against the motion, prompting a couple of redos and some scattered laughter.
“We’re acting like a bunch of kids now,” Speaker Frances Nunziata said.
— City documents project film production spending in Toronto to hit $3 billion for 2025 and 2026. However, 2023’s total spend was just $1.6 billion and 2024 fell well below its $2.8-billion target and is projected to come in at just $2 billion.
The city had set a target of 3,000 film permits issued for 2024, but expects Toronto only saw about 2,400 last year. Both numbers were way above 2023’s 2,000 total permits, but the city still expects growth with a target of 3,250 for 2025.
In a document, city bureaucrats blamed the drop on the lingering effects of movie industry labour disruptions from 2023.
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— Heritage Toronto – perhaps best known for its plaques around the city, but also responsible for walking tours and lectures – is having trouble raising money.
City staff expected to see a drop in private donations and sponsorship revenues for 2024, but the projected numbers are even worse. Heritage Toronto saw a 6% drop in private donations and a 40% plummet in sponsorship money.
It’s worth noting attendance for Heritage Toronto’s tours and events has grown consistently since COVID-19 struck and digital programs are also increasingly popular, according to city figures.