As Victoria’s city council discussed budget cuts for the 2026-30 Draft Financial Plan, staff were directed to report back on how much is spent on City’s membership fees to organizations.
Council gave City staff this direction during a meeting on December 11th, with the purpose of exploring whether all the fees being paid are necessary, or if Victoria should cease membership for any of the many organizations.
Staff determined that in 2025, the City spent $66,239 on its membership fees for a total of 12 organizations.
The corporate membership fees are as follows:
- Federation of Canadian Municipalities – $21,900
- Union of BC Municipalities – $19,801
- Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities – $11,321
- Urban Sustainability Directors Network – $2,653
- BC Recreation & Parks Association – $2,480
- Civic Info BC – $2,031
- ICLEI Canada – $1,898
- The Chamber of Commerce – $1,880
- Urban Development Institute – $1,500
- Canadian Home Builders’ Association – Vancouver Island – $1,405
- Community Energy Association – $750
- Canadian Capital Cities Organization – $500
City staff also detailed the reasoning for each membership, and what Victoria has to gain from each organization.
These reasons include advocacy, networking opportunities, leveraging external grant funding and partnerships and supporting access to best and emerging practices through professional development.
The report details what corporate memberships Victoria holds specifically, but City staff noted that the City also holds a number of memberships with several professional associations.
Some examples of these organizations are the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs, Canadian Association of Fire Investigators, Government Finance Officers Association, Chartered Professional Accountants of BC and Canada, and more.
City staff say that the memberships Victoria holds are required and staff do not recommend reducing any of the associated budgets.
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