HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (AP) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government unveiled a plan on Thursday to temporarily remove the federal sales tax on select goods and provide direct financial assistance to millions of Canadians grappling with escalating living costs, as a federal election draws near.
The announcement comes amid widespread dissatisfaction with Trudeau’s leadership due to the ongoing cost of living crisis. The upcoming federal election could occur anytime between this fall and next October.
“We can’t control prices at the checkout, but we can put more money in people’s hands,” Trudeau stated during a news conference in Toronto.
Under the proposed plan, Canadians who worked in 2023 and earned up to 150,000 Canadian dollars (approximately US$107,440) will receive a one-time payment of 250 Canadian dollars. Trudeau emphasized that even individuals at the upper end of this income range have been feeling the financial strain.
An estimated 18.7 million Canadians are expected to receive the check.
Additionally, the government is introducing a temporary sales tax break, effective from December 14 until February 15. This break will apply to various items, including children’s clothing and shoes, toys, diapers, meals at restaurants, alcoholic beverages, Christmas trees, some snack foods, and even video game consoles.
Opposition Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre dismissed the announcement as a “two-month temporary tax trick,” arguing it fails to address the carbon taxes set to rise in the near future.
As the election looms, Trudeau has confirmed his intention to lead his Liberal Party into the race. No Canadian prime minister in over a century has secured four consecutive terms.
Trudeau’s political image, once buoyed by his father’s legacy, has seen a sharp decline. Despite his efforts to position Canada as a progressive, liberal country since 2015, voters are increasingly frustrated by the financial burden resulting from the pandemic.
Recent polling data shows the Liberals trailing the opposition Conservatives by a significant margin of 39% to 26%. The Nanos poll of 1,047 respondents has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
“Politically, it feels like too little, too late, and a desperate move by an increasingly unpopular government,” said Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University. “It also presents bad public policy from a fiscal perspective.”
