Moncton, February 4, 2026 - Last week, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) presented more than 2,100 signed petitions from small business owners across New Brunswick to the Minister of Local Government, Aaron Kennedy. Collected throughout the past year, these petitions reflect widespread concern regarding the government’s election‑cycle commitment to remove the fixed multiplier for commercial properties and to grant municipalities additional taxation powers.
“The ongoing consultations and the potential introduction of property tax reforms that will increase costs for small businesses in the next legislative session are a serious concern,” said Louis‑Philippe Gauthier, CFIB Vice-President, Atlantic. “The impacts of the last round of property tax changes are still being felt directly by small firms.”
Under the previous government’s municipal reform, the long‑standing fixed commercial property tax multiplier of 1.5 was replaced with a variable range of 1.4 to 1.7, allowing municipalities to set their own rate. As a result, 67% of municipalities increased their multiplier above 1.5, and 51% adopted the maximum 1.7 multiplier.
“Past behaviour is unfortunately a strong indicator of what’s to come. If the provincial government grants municipalities new taxation powers experience tells us they will turn to small businesses, rather than show the restraint they reserve for residential property owners,” added Gauthier.
The petition urges the provincial government to:
- Maintain the fixed multiplier for commercial properties;
- Amend legislation to ensure municipalities can only apply a commercial multiplier of 1.5 or lower;
- Develop a plan to gradually reduce the multiplier to 1.0 over time.
CFIB members are also calling on the province to implement a four‑year plan to progressively reduce the provincial property tax rate to align with Nova Scotia, with the objective of fully vacating provincial property taxation, like in Newfoundland and Labrador.
“For more than 50 years, the provincial government has generated billions in property tax revenue from the business sector, while primary residences have contributed nothing, unlike every other province but one,” concluded Gauthier. “It’s time for this practice to end. Fairness must be the guiding principle moving forward.”
CFIB continues to gather signed petitions from its members directly. Business owners who are non members can also sign the petition found at CFIB.ca/PETITIONS.
For media enquiries or interviews, please contact:
Louis-Philippe Gauthier, CFIB Vice-President, Atlantic
506-961-5706
Louis-Philippe.Gauthier@cfib.ca
About CFIB
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada’s largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 103,000 members across every industry and region including 3,700 members in New Brunswick. CFIB is dedicated to increasing business owners’ chances of success by driving policy change at all levels of government, providing expert advice and tools, and negotiating exclusive savings. Learn more at cfib.ca.
Print Article
Share Article
