Financial Post ~ March 27th, 2025
With Canada facing an evolving trade war and many big-ticket election promises already out there, this election’s winner may have a hard time keeping Canada’s finances in check.
Early campaign proposals from all parties — income tax cuts, military spending, cuts to the goods and services tax (GST) and tariff relief — threaten to leave Canadians with billions in new spending that could take more than five years to pay for, according to a recent note from Scotiabank.
“The fiscal outlook gets rewritten regardless of who takes the helm after April 28,” Scotiabank said in the note.
“Over the next five weeks, vying candidates will set out policy platforms to guide the country not only through the coming quarters, but years ahead. Canadians are hardly preoccupied with the federal deficit right now as affordability, trade tensions, and healthcare dominate minds and hearts.”
In his brief stint as prime minister before calling the election, Liberal leader Mark Carney cancelled the capital gains tax increase and removed GST on first-time home purchases under $1 million. These moves — combined with a chill from economic uncertainty — could leave a $57 billion hole through 2030, Scotiabank predicts.
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