Elections in Ontario | A taste of the Quebec countryside?

Ontarians will go to the polls on June 2 to choose their next government. Could the promises of the four main parties to put money back in taxpayers’ pockets inspire the next Quebec election campaign? Here is an overview of their proposals.

Mylene Crete
The Press

(Ottawa) Cost of living

• Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative Party promises to raise the minimum wage, currently at $15 an hour, to $15.50 an hour effective 1^er October to compensate for inflation which is more difficult for low-wage earners to absorb. He proposes to increase the tax credit for low income people from $850 to $875 and to offer it to 700,000 more taxpayers.
• The Liberal Party would raise the minimum wage to $16 an hour. He also promises to eliminate the provincial portion of the harmonized sales tax on prepared meals that cost less than $20, purchased at restaurants or food counters. Big box stores and supermarkets with annual profits exceeding $1 billion would foot the bill.
• The New Democratic Party is committed to raising the minimum wage by $1 a year, until it reaches $20 an hour in 2026. It would freeze taxes for low- and middle-income families.
• The Green Party would also raise the minimum wage by $1 annually with no cap and would add an income supplement in areas where the cost of living is highest.

Immovable

• The Progressive Conservatives propose building 1.5 million new homes over the next 10 years, as recommended by the Affordable Housing Task Force. They would eliminate red tape to speed up the project approval process for municipalities and are prepared to change provincial legislation to allow them to tax uninhabited homes. Since March 30, 2022, the government has already imposed a 20% tax on real estate speculation throughout the province.
• The Liberals also promise the construction of 1.5 million new homes in 10 years, the reduction of red tape and the taxation of vacant homes. They want to restore rent control to avoid greedy and sudden increases.
• The New Democrats would go even further by preventing landlords from raising the price of their rents after their tenants leave. They would introduce a 2% tax on the value of houses left vacant and reform zoning to favor the construction of duplexes, triplexes and townhouses.
• The Greens would build 182,000 community homes over 10 years, 60,000 of which would be for the most vulnerable. They would make inclusive zoning mandatory so that new buildings contain 20% affordable housing. Inspections of homes for sale would be mandatory and at the expense of the seller. They also promise to regulate rent increases.

Transport

• The Progressive Conservatives have already given up to $120 per driver by waiving vehicle registration fees, months before the start of the election campaign. Doug Ford’s government also passed legislation in April to cut gasoline taxes by 5.7 cents and other fuel taxes by 5.3 cents for six months to ease rising prices. This measure is to come into force on 1^er July.
• Each trip on public transit would cost only $1 under a Liberal government, anywhere in Ontario. The price of monthly passes would be capped at $40.
• New Democrats would cap gas prices through the Ontario Energy Board. They would reduce auto insurance premiums, which can double from city to city.
• The Greens would cut public transit fares in half for at least three months across Ontario in response to rising gas prices. They would increase the provincial share of funding for public transit to reduce fare increases for users.