Ahead of Budget Announcement, Poilievre Urges Trudeau to Cut Taxes

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre rises during Question Period in Ottawa on Feb. 7, 2023. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre accused the Liberals of waging a “war on work” and urged him to reduce taxes just a day before the Liberal cabinet is set to table the next budget.

“After eight years of this prime minister and his various taxes and penalties, there’s a war on work. A worker might lose up to 48 cents out of every dollar they earn. You work hard, and then you’re punished,” Poilievre said during question period on Monday.

“Will this prime minister put an end to his war on work by cutting taxes to ensure that you actually earn the money you’ve worked for?”

Trudeau responded by highlighting Liberal policies that benefited “the middle class and those who are working hard to join it.” He mentioned the Canada Child Benefit lifting 435,000 children out of poverty, the Canada Workers Benefit supporting low-income workers, and the national childcare program reducing costs by 50 percent as evidence of this.

“These are various measures that the Conservatives voted against, but here on this side of the House, we will continue delivering for Canadians,” he said.

Poilievre replied that his party voted against the prime minister’s “war on work,” which involved “higher and higher taxes and clawbacks that punish people for working hard.” He questioned why Canadians would work more when they would lose that money through taxes.

Trudeau said the Liberals had put “success for the middle class” at the heart of what they did since being elected in 2015, adding that his government would continue to “be there for all Canadian workers.”

Poilievre responded, “The only place he’s been is in the pockets of Canadian workers, taking away their money.”

Taxes

The Conservative leader said that since coming to power in 2015, the Liberals have raised taxes on gas, home heating, food, and small businesses. “And what does he want to do this Saturday? He wants to raise taxes again,” Poilievre said.

Beginning on April 1, the federal government’s carbon tax will increase by 25 percent, raising the cost of gas by an additional 2.2 cents per litre. On the same day, the federal beverage alcohol duty will increase by 6.3 percent.

“Inflation is at a 40-year high. After eight years of this prime minister, Canadians cannot afford to eat, heat, and house themselves,” Poilievre said. “Will you show a little bit of restraint and commit in tomorrow’s budget to no new taxes?”

Trudeau said the Liberals lowered taxes on small businesses to “record levels” while providing support for families. “That has created both economic growth that has benefited everyone, as opposed to the trickle-down with the Conservatives, who still push for tax breaks for the wealthiest.”

Poilievre accused Trudeau of wanting to “take away everybody’s money, centralize it in his own hands, and promise that it will maybe trickle down through his mighty bureaucracy to the people who actually earned it in the first place.”

“When I first said deficits would cause inflation, all of the experts disagreed, and now they all agree with me. In fact, even the finance minister has now come around in my view, saying that deficit spending causes inflation,” he said.

Trudeau said Poilievre was still “hoping and waiting” for experts to endorse his plan to “opt out of inflation by buying cryptocurrency, something that would have erased the savings of Canadians.” Back in March 2022, Poilievre said Canadians could “opt out of inflation, with the ability to opt-in to cryptocurrencies.” Months after that statement, Bitcoin’s price fell from nearly $50,000 down to $20,000.

“The fact is tomorrow, Mr. Speaker, we’re bringing forward a budget that is focused on affordability and supporting Canadians to be delivering health care results for Canadians right across the country, and creating great jobs for the middle class in a clean and growing economy,” Trudeau said.

The next budget is expected to be focused on health care and building a green economy, while at the same time being “fiscally responsible” in order to fight inflation. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said on March 20 that the government “can’t fully compensate every single Canadian for all of the effects of inflation or for elevated interest rates.”