Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives are opposed to “the ultra-rich” paying their “fair share”, declared Prime Minister Justin Trudeau the day after the unveiling of a budget which will increase the tax on capital gains by a tiny proportion of the population.
“The Conservatives have already declared that they will vote against this budget. They will vote against fairness. They will vote against asking the ultra-rich to pay their share,” he said Wednesday in a speech to the Liberal caucus.
However, according to Mr. Trudeau, the “plan” presented by his Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, aims to “responsibly” build an economy “fair for all”, particularly young people.
The budget of 535 billion dollars, which shows a deficit of almost 40 billion for 2023-2024 and no horizon of returning to balance, provides 8.5 billion dollars over five years to accelerate the construction of millions of housing units and 2.6 billion for student aid and scholarship programs.
richest Canadians
Ottawa will pay for part of its new spending thanks to better-than-expected economic growth, but also with targeted changes to the capital gains tax that are expected to raise more than $19 billion over the next five years.
These changes are expected to affect 0.13% of Canadians who have an average annual income of $1.4 million.
“Right now, a multi-millionaire who dumps his investments can pay a lower tax rate on his income than a middle-class worker. It’s not fair, Mr. Trudeau protested on Wednesday. So we’re going to charge them a little more. »
He reiterated that the tax will not apply to primary residences. “Thus, 99.87% of Canadians will not pay a penny more in tax,” he said.
The budget also commits to funding the first phase of a national pharmacare plan and promises federal standards for long-term care — two commitments the Liberals made to the New Democratic Party.
“Arsonist firefighter,” says Poilievre
Despite everything, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh was quick to say whether his party will vote in favor of the budget, arguing that he still has concerns about certain aspects of the budget despite the gains wrested from the government.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre left little doubt about his party’s opinion on the budget, as he described Justin Trudeau as an “arsonist fireman who is pouring water on the inflationary fire he lit with [de] gasoline and not [de] the water “.
The leader of the Bloc Québécois, Yves-François Blanchet, also confirmed that his caucus would not support the budget, denouncing “the great mass of interference” in provincial jurisdictions.
Once very popular among young people, the Liberals have seen support among this segment of voters dwindle in favor of the Conservatives, largely because young people feel that the economic dice are stacked against them.