Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow appears to be reviving the controversial idea of a municipal sales tax, a move that columnist Anthony Furey warns could drain residents’ wallets — and political goodwill — just months before the next municipal election.
Writing in the National Post, Furey argues that the City of Toronto is “quietly pushing” for a third layer of taxation through a new budget consultation survey being circulated to residents. The questionnaire, he says, subtly encourages participants to support a local sales tax under the guise of seeking public input.
The survey asks residents which areas the Province of Ontario and federal government should help fund, listing “allowing a municipal sales tax for goods and services purchased in Toronto” as an option. A follow-up question then asks residents what actions they would take to push higher levels of government to cooperate — including contacting their MPs and MPPs, or even joining “workshops and training” to advocate for the tax.
“That’s quite the bait and switch,” Furey writes. “What is first pitched as a neutral survey for your thoughts on the budget is in fact packed with loaded questions that try to enlist you in their activism.”
The columnist notes that this isn’t the first time the idea has surfaced. City staff first floated the concept shortly after Chow’s election in 2023, estimating how much revenue could be raised through such a tax. But after pushback and silence from the Ontario government — which would need to authorize it — the plan appeared to fade.
Now, Furey says, it’s making a comeback under the radar. He argues that a municipal sales tax would be among the “worst possible ideas,” calling it regressive and unavoidable, disproportionately affecting low-income residents already struggling with inflation and rising living costs.
“The next budget will be Olivia Chow’s last before next year’s fall municipal election,” he writes. “Does she really want to push for a new tax just before she runs for re-election?”
Furey also criticizes the city’s overall fiscal management, pointing out that a hiring freeze on non-essential workers was introduced only recently — and as an “emergency measure.” He contends that such steps could have been implemented earlier to curb spending and avoid new tax proposals altogether.
In his view, the renewed talk of a municipal sales tax represents a worrying pattern: an overreliance on “tax-and-spend” solutions instead of the structural reforms and spending restraint Toronto needs.
For residents, the message from Furey is clear — speak up now, he says, or face another tax on every purchase made within city limits.