When it comes to affordability, Ford has shown he understands what families are going through. Trudeau, on the other hand, has shown just how out of touch he is with the lives of everyday Canadians. Photo Credit: Reuters/Cole Burston.
When it comes to making life more affordable for struggling families, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should enroll in Premier Doug Ford’s remedial class.
Ford has proven over the past several months why he should get a strong grade on affordability, while Trudeau’s affinity for tax hikes show that he’s out of touch with hardworking Canadians.
The first study in contrasts between the two men comes to prices at the pump. In June 2022, Ford temporarily cut Ontario’s gas tax by 6.4 cents per litre, saving families five bucks every time they fill up their minivans.
On the other hand, Trudeau has driven up prices at the gas pump. Thanks to Trudeau, drivers are stuck paying 14.3 cents per litre in carbon taxes when they’re filling up that same minivan.
Ford announced a couple months ago that he was extending his temporary gas tax cut by another six months to help families make ends meet. At the very same time, Trudeau repeatedly rejected calls from the Official Opposition to pause his next carbon tax increase, scheduled for April 1.
Ford is offering relief on fuel prices, while Trudeau is jacking them up. The cost of the federal carbon tax will rise to 17.6 cents per litre on April Fool’s Day. The carbon tax in April will cost families more than $13 dollars every time they fill up their minivan.
When it comes to impacting family budgets, that’s no joke.
Trudeau’s apologists will continue to insist most Canadians get more back from carbon tax rebates than they pay. But the Parliamentary Budget Officer has proven them wrong.
Average Ontario families will lose $627 to the carbon tax in fiscal year 2024-25, even after the rebates, according to the PBO.
That’s thanks to soaring taxes on fuel, home heating and the cascading impact of higher costs throughout the economy.
Trudeau is hiking yet another tax on April Fool’s Day: booze taxes are set to go up by 4.7 per cent. Thanks to Trudeau’s escalator tax, politicians don’t even have to take a vote in Parliament. Trudeau set it up so the tax goes up every year, in line with inflation.
Roughly half of the price of alcohol already taxes. But Trudeau is determined to jack up alcohol taxes even further.
Once again, Ford offers a contrast. He has frozen Ontario’s beer escalator tax, first introduced by his Liberal predecessor, since coming to power in 2018. And Ford just announced that freeze will be extended for at least another two years.
Then there’s pay for politicians.
When taxpayers are struggling and governments are running chronic deficits, taxpayers want to see signals from their leaders that they understand what families are going through and are willing to share in the tough times.
The Ford government recognized that and blocked increases to base pay for members of Provincial Parliament since taking office in 2018. In fact, MPP pay has been frozen in Ontario for the last 15 years.
Trudeau, on the other hand, keeps hiking pay for members of Parliament. MP pay has gone up by more than $15,000 since the pandemic and Trudeau plans to hike it again in April. By the time that increase goes through, MP pay will have gone up by more than $20,000 a year since 2020.
Ford hasn’t been a perfect premier. He’s fallen short on many files and has allowed the province’s spending and debt to get out of hand.
But when it comes to affordability, Ford has shown he understands what families are going through. Trudeau, on the other hand, has shown just how out of touch he is with the lives of everyday Canadians.
It’s time for Trudeau to take a page from Ford and cancel his plans to hike taxes and pay for politicians this April.
Jay Goldberg is the Ontario Director at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. He previously served as a policy fellow at the Munk School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. Jay holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Toronto.
