Poilievre Promises $14B Annual Income Tax Cut
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has unveiled a sweeping income tax cut plan that he says will deliver meaningful relief to working Canadians. Speaking from Kruger Packaging L.P. in Brampton on Monday, Poilievre pledged to reduce the lowest federal income tax bracket from 15 per cent to 12.75 per cent, a move that would save the average income-earning Canadian approximately $900 annually — or $1,800 for a two-income household.
The plan is projected to cost $7 billion annually in its first two years and rise to $14 billion annually by full implementation in 2027-28. According to Poilievre, the tax cut will be paid for by eliminating wasteful spending, reducing bureaucracy, and implementing what he calls a “dollar-for-dollar” law, requiring ministers to cut a dollar of spending for every dollar they wish to spend.
“Every single Canadian who pays income tax will pay less,” Poilievre said. “And modest-income Canadians will benefit most in relative terms. This is a plan to strengthen Canada’s economic foundation while shielding working families from rising global uncertainty.”
The announcement comes just one day after Liberal Leader Mark Carney proposed a more modest tax cut, pledging to reduce the same tax bracket by one per cent, from 15 to 14 per cent. Carney’s plan would save an individual earning $57,375 just over $400 per year, with a cost of $5.9 billion to federal finances, according to Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) estimates.
Carney has said his plan will be funded through slowing the growth of government spending and reviewing federal programs for efficiency, without cutting social programs such as child care, pharmacare, or dental care. He has also criticized Poilievre’s “dollar-for-dollar” rule, suggesting it would require deep cuts to federally supported social programs.
“Even by cutting those programs, which he has committed to cut, he can’t pay for what he announced today,” Carney said Monday while speaking in Gander, N.L.
Poilievre has not yet confirmed whether his government would continue to fund those specific programs — which, combined, cost the federal government over $11.4 billion annually, based on PBO estimates. According to current projections, the Canada-wide child care program will cost $9.2 billion in 2025-26, the dental care plan will cost $1.75 billion by 2027-28, and pharmacare will cost about $400 million.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh also weighed in, calling both the Liberal and Conservative tax proposals “tax cuts for millionaires.” Singh argued that across-the-board cuts to the lowest income bracket benefit high-income earners just as much as lower earners, and instead proposed targeted relief through eliminating GST on essential services like internet, cell phone, and heating bills.
“Is it reasonable to give the same benefit to someone earning $500,000 as someone earning $50,000?” Singh said during a stop in Montreal. “Removing the GST on essentials would disproportionately help working people.”
Singh said the NDP will release a detailed tax plan in the coming days.
As Canadians prepare to head to the polls on April 28, tax relief and affordability are shaping up to be central issues in an election set against the backdrop of rising inflation, a growing deficit, and the uncertainty of a looming U.S.-Canada trade dispute.