Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says his party will vote against Liberal legislation to remove the federal sales tax off a slew of items over the holidays.
The government introduced the bill in the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon, and is expected to be passed Thursday night.
The two-month tax break covers dozens of items commonly purchased over the holidays, including children's clothes and toys, video games and consoles, Christmas trees, restaurant and catered meals, wine, beer, candy and snacks.
Poilievre, a vocal advocate for cutting taxes, said the GST break "isn't a tax cut."
"This is an inflationary, two-month temporary tax trick that will drive up the cost of living," Poilievre said on Thursday.
"My tax cuts are not just about lowering costs, they're about sparking more production. By axing the carbon tax, our businesses can hire more workers and produce more goods. By axing the sales tax, we're going to get 30,000 extra homes per year," Poilievre said, referencing his proposals to scrap the federal fuel charge and the GST charged on new home builds under $1 million.
In a statement sent out shortly after the Conservative leader's news conference, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Poilievre is "bootlicking for billionaires."
"When Poilievre was in cabinet, the Conservatives slashed corporate tax for multi-billion-dollar corporations to 15 per cent from 22 per cent," Singh said. "Now he’s whining about middle class families saving a little money over the holidays."
The NDP only agreed to support the bill after the Liberals separated the GST break from a promise to also send $250 to most working Canadians in the spring.
The NDP wants that benefit expanded to non-working seniors and people with disabilities who don't have employment income.
Liberal MP Ryan Turnbull, who is Freeland's parliamentary secretary, said during the debate on the legislation Wednesday evening that the goal is to help Canadians after multiple budget shocks from high inflation after COVID-19 and climate disaster-related supply chain disruptions.
The government says someone spending $2,000 on such items over the two-month period will save between $100 and $260 depending on the province.
The difference is because the four Atlantic provinces and Ontario have a harmonized sales tax with Ottawa, which means the entirety of that — 15 per cent in the Atlantic and 13 per cent in Ontario — will be lifted.
Other provinces will only save the five per cent GST unless those governments choose to lift their provincial sales taxes as well.
Canada has not moved to offer compensation to offset provincial revenue losses to match the federal move on the GST.
The temporary tax cut is expected to cost the federal government about $1.6 billion. Ontario said Wednesday it will cost its treasury about $1 billion to remove the provincial portion of the harmonized sales tax off the items, though several things covered by the federal GST holiday are already permanently exempted from the provincial portion.
Alberta, which has no provincial sales tax, will see a five per cent savings.
The Liberals needed the NDP's help to suspend debate on a Conservative motion that has tied up the House of Commons for nearly two months. The Conservatives refused to end that debate until the Liberals coughed up unredacted documents on allegations about misspending at a now-defunct federal green technology fund.
This bill is the first new legislation to be debated in the House since the end of September.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 28, 2024.
