With the cost of living playing a central role in provincial elections across Canada and the U.S. presidential election, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is seeking to differentiate his party from the ruling Liberal Party in a pre-campaign campaign for the next federal election. A policy proposal is scheduled to be announced.
Singh is expected to announce this morning that the NDP government will eliminate the GST on what the party deems “essential.”
This includes prepared meals and food at the grocery store, clothing and diapers for children under 15, home heating costs, and cell phone and internet bills.
Some provinces, such as Ontario, already exempt certain items, such as children’s clothing and some food items, from the provincial burden of HST or provincial sales tax.
However, these exemptions are not universal, and Saskatchewan added a sales tax on prepared foods and children’s clothing as part of its 2017 budget.
Singh is scheduled to make the announcement in a speech at the Canadian Club in Toronto this afternoon.
A senior NDP official who was not authorized to speak publicly about the proposal said the party estimates it would save the average household about $500 a year.
The official said the policy would cost the federal government about $5 billion in lost tax revenue, which the party would recoup through a proposed “excess gains tax.”
During the 2021 election, the NDP campaigned on a promise to return the corporate tax rate from the current 15% to the 2010 level of 18%.
The Canadian Club discussion event, in which Singh is the only speaker, focuses on “re-establishing the middle class” as a starting point for Canada’s economic growth.
The Canadian Club is a public policy forum that regularly hosts speaking events from politicians, business leaders, leading scientists, nonprofit leaders, and more.
For much of the current minority parliament, the NDP has supported the Liberals through supply and confidence agreements. Under the deal, the Liberals agreed to work on NDP priorities such as dental and pharmaceutical care programs in exchange for support for a vote of confidence.
Singh withdrew from the agreement in early September, and the date of the next election is now largely within the NDP’s control.
The Conservative Party has attempted to overthrow the government twice since the minority government’s coalition collapsed after a no-confidence motion failed.
The Bloc Québécois then outlined policy priorities it wanted the Liberals to adopt, centering on increasing old-age security benefits for some seniors and protecting supply management from future trade negotiations.
The deadline for the bloc to implement these policies has passed, and leader Yves-François Blanchet has said his party is negotiating to overthrow the government. To topple the government, the Conservatives, Bloc and NDP would likely all need to vote in favor of a motion of no confidence.
The next election must be held by October 20, 2025, but could be held sooner if the Liberal Party loses support in the House of Commons.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2024.
