Most Financially Irresponsible Cities

*Difference between a city's planned spending changes, and what it actually reports, 2003 to 2012.

24 (WORST): Halton Region, Ont.
Includes Burlington, Oakville.

Budget inaccuracy*: 22.2%

23: Vaughan, Ont.
Budget inaccuracy*: 19.9%

22: Brampton, Ont.
Budget inaccuracy*: 18.7%

21: Peel Region, Ont.
Includes Mississauga, Brampton.

Budget inaccuracy*: 13.7%

20: Markham, Ont.
Budget inaccuracy*: 12.7%

19: York Region, Ont.
Includes Markham, Richmond Hill, Vaughan.

Budget inaccuracy*: 12.6%

18: Edmonton, Alta.
Budget inaccuracy*: 11.4%

17: Ottawa, Ont.
Budget inaccuracy*: 11%

16: Vancouver, B.C.
Budget inaccuracy*: 9.8%

15: Mississauga, Ont.
Budget inaccuracy*: 9.5%

14: Windsor, Ont.
Budget inaccuracy*: 8.5%

13: Montreal, Que.
Budget inaccuracy*: 8.3%

12: Surrey, B.C.
Budget inaccuracy*: 8.1%

11: Saskatoon, Sask.
Budget inaccuracy*: 8%

10: Sudbury, Ont.
Budget inaccuracy*: 7.7%

9: Hamilton, Ont.
Budget inaccuracy*: 7%

8: London, Ont.
Budget inaccuracy*: 6.7%

7: Calgary, Alta.
Budget inaccuracy*: 6.1%

6: Durham Region, Ont.
Includes Oshawa, Pickering Ajax.

Budget inaccuracy*: 5.9%

5: Winnipeg, Man.
Budget inaccuracy*: 5.6%

4: Halifax, N.S.
Budget inaccuracy*: 5.5%

3: Niagara Region, Ont.
Includes St. Catharines, Niagara Falls.

Budget inaccuracy*: 5.3%

2: Waterloo Region, Ont.
Includes Kitchener, Cambridge, Waterloo.

Budget inaccuracy*: 4.7%

1 (BEST): Toronto, Ont.
Budget inaccuracy*: 3.7%


Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has a lot of support in the 905 — the sprawling suburban region surrounding Toronto — thanks to his image as a fiscally responsible leader.

But maybe those 905 residents should be asking Rob Ford to jump ship to their own cities, because while Toronto comes out on top in a ranking of most fiscally accountable cities in Canada, the suburban cities of the 905 rank among the worst, according to a new study from the C.D. Howe Institute.

That's despite the fact some of these 905 cities are actually running large surpluses. The study says these cities' accounting methods are causing them to overstate the costs of projects at their start, then understate the costs later on.

The study ranks municipalities according to the difference between what they say they will spend in their budgets, and what they end up actually spending.

On that measure, Toronto is tops in Canada, with a 3.7 per cent difference between planned and actual spending. Compare that to nearby Halton Region, where Oakville and Burlington are located, and where the difference is a full 22.2 per cent.