Trigon and Municipal Property Tax

Protecting Competitiveness, Encouraging Investment

For a trading nation like Canada, modern and efficient port infrastructure is essential to a strong economy and high living standards. Our ports must have reasonable cost structures and be able to attract investment and build the infrastructure needed to get our exports to market and to keep pace with competitors on the U.S. Pacific coast.

In 2004, the provincial government took an important step to create a more stable and predictable tax environment for port terminal operators. It capped property taxes paid, while partially compensating municipalities like Prince Rupert through Port Competitiveness Grants.

The strategy has worked – helping to drive significant infrastructure investment and new jobs and other economic benefits – and in 2014 this approach was made permanent.

A 2018 study found that over the preceding 10 years, $3.2 billion in capital investments by BC port terminal operators generated $1.8 billion in provincial GDP and more than 17,000 full-time-equivalent years of employment – and more than 90% of those benefits were realized in port communities.

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