LAKELAND – Albertans are compensating for the unpaid municipal property taxes of many oil and gas companies, according to Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA).
Unpaid municipal taxes from oil and gas companies in the last seven years have reached $253.9 million in 2025, Kara Westerlund, president of the RMA, told Lakeland This Week.
While some companies are bankrupt or insolvent, others simply continue to operate without paying their dues. And without legislative consequences, these companies continue to operate despite outstanding debts, said Westerlund.
In 2023, there was $42.9 million worth of unpaid taxes, and $67.8 million in 2024, she explained. But since 2015, in addition to the $253.9 million, rural municipalities have already written off over $450 million in unpaid taxes, she said.
What does this mean for Albertans?
Westerland said addressing the issue is crucial because it is the everyday Albertan who is paying to compensate for the shortfall.
To cover the lost revenue, municipalities have to increase property taxes or cancel/delay major infrastructure projects like road repairs, bridges, and other essential services, she said.
“We have municipalities having to make changes to their property taxes and to their mill rates and pushing them up just to cover the basics that we’re in charge of,” she explained.
“We're having to cancel projects, and we’re delaying the inevitable. We’re not asking to build the Taj Mahal or massive sports complexes in our communities. We're asking to make sure that we have good road networks and making sure that we've got access to the market by way of those roads with culverts and bridges.”
The work rural municipalities do is very important and vital not only to industry, but to residents and the province, but it isn’t free.
School requisition
“It's also important to know that a portion of that $253.9 million, [helps cover] the school requisition that municipalities have to pay to the province, no matter what,” said Westerlund.
She said even if municipalities are not getting their taxes from oil and gas companies, they are still legislated to pay requisitions to the province.
“Again, that money has to come from somewhere.”
Private landowners also not being paid
Westerlund also said that at least $26 million is owed to private property owners who have allowed oil and gas companies to install equipment like pipelines and pump jacks on their land.
“So, I know we're talking about the municipal side of things [with regard to unpaid oil and gas taxes], but this affects a far greater amount of people than just the municipalities,” she explained.
Why aren’t they paying?
When asked what the reason may be why companies do not pay their dues to municipalities, Westerlund said the RMA feels as if there is no legislation in place to stop the issue from happening.
RMA is calling for a Property Tax Accountability Strategy (PTAS), which involves a task force, as well as a formal commitment from the province, industry, and municipalities to address the issue once and for all.
She said talks with Alberta’s Municipal Affairs and Energy ministries have begun, with hopes of forming that task force to investigate and address potential regulatory gaps. But also, to formulate solutions on related issues that could be immediately addressed.
“The one that seems fairly low hanging fruit for us is obviously the companies that continue to operate on the landscape,” yet still have such large outstanding tax bills, she said. "It just blows my mind that we can continue to allow companies like this to exist and operate.”
What are municipalities doing?
Asked what municipalities can do to better advocate for themselves to ensure they are being paid, Westerlund said, “It’s difficult.”
She said many municipalities have already attempted to directly reach out to oil and gas companies, especially those continuing to operate in their areas, but have come up with no resolution.
“Unfortunately, we're not having much success in those types of conversations and negotiations,” she said. “We've been dealing with this issue now for over seven years. We are on our third Premier, our third Prime Minister, [and] our third president of [the] RMA . . . and it's time to put a stop to this.”
M.D of Bonnyville
The M.D. of Bonnyville is host to multiple oil and gas companies and operations. Reeve Barry Kalinski said companies “who should be paying their taxes should pay their taxes.”
“But here in the M.D. of Bonnyville, everyone within our limits pay their taxes.”
Alberta Municipalities
Alberta Municipalities (ABmunis) has also expressed support for the RMA’s work.
“Oil and gas companies play a vital role in Alberta’s economy, but that doesn’t entitle them to be excluded from paying whatever municipal property taxes they owe,” reads ABmunis President Tyler Gandam’s statement in a March 18 press release.
ABmunis is also asking oil and gas companies to ask delinquent companies to pay their taxes.
