Businesses in Atlantic Canada pay two to three times more in property taxes than residential.

The Canadian Federation of independent Business says its members are being taxed unfairly with the worst offenders being St. John’s, Charlottetown, Cape Breton Regional Municipality, and Campbellton.

Commercial property in St. John’s would be billed $7,599 more than a residential property says the CFIB, if it was valued at the average home sale price in April 2025.

Duncan Robertson, the director of legislative affairs, says the unfairness has a real impact on small businesses and, in turn, their customers with over half the companies having to increase prices to keep up with the rising occupancy costs.

The organization is calling on local and provincial governments to ease the burden by reducing commercial tax rates and to be more mindful of sustainable spending practices.