Business
Trump 2.0 means Canada must put income tax cuts on the table

From the Canadian Taxpayers Federation
By Jay Goldberg
The topic on everyone’s mind is tariffs: Will Trump act on his threat to impose 25 per cent across-the-board tariffs on the Canadian economy?
But there’s something else Canadians should worry about: income taxes.
During President-Elect Donald Trump’s first term, he lowered income taxes for Americans at virtually at all income levels. And Trump pledged during the presidential election campaign to cut taxes further.
Here in Canada, our tax rates are already uncompetitive. With a possible tax cut south of the border, it’s time to re-examine Canada’s income tax policies.
Let’s take a gander at how Canadians who earn $75,000 a year are taxed compared to Americans.
A taxpayer in Ontario earning $75,000 a year pays an income tax rate of about 30 per cent.
Compare that to the two states bordering Ontario: Michigan and New York. In Michigan, a taxpayer earning $75,000 a year pays a 26.3 per cent income tax rate. And in New York, one of the highest-taxed states in the U.S., that taxpayer would face a 27.5 per cent income tax bill.
Considering that sales taxes and hydro rates are lower south of the border, Canada is clearly at a disadvantage. Add to that the fact that Canadians pay a punishing carbon tax while Americans don’t.
The situation is even more stark for those with higher incomes.
A taxpayer earning $150,000 in Ontario sends roughly 41.7 per cent of their income to Queen’s Park and Ottawa in income taxes.
Compare that once again to Michigan and New York. A Michigander making $150,000 a year pays a 28.3 per cent income tax rate. And a New Yorker pays 30 per cent.
These numbers are glaring. Canadians pay dramatically higher income taxes than our neighbours to the south. And Michigan and New York are some of the higher-tax states.
In Texas, a taxpayer earning $150,000 pays a 24 per cent income tax rate. That’s lower than the income tax rate for an Ontarian who earns half that much.
The cross-border tax gap will likely grow further in the new year. Trump says he plans to further lower income taxes while the Trudeau and Ford governments show little appetite for providing taxpayers up north with a similar break.
For the sake of Canada’s economic competitiveness, income tax cuts need to be placed firmly back on the public policy agenda.
Premier Doug Ford promised to cut income taxes for middle-class Ontarians by nearly $800 a year when he was first became premier six years ago. He pledged to do so by lowering Ontario’s second income tax bracket by 20 per cent.
If there was ever a time for Ford to follow through on his election promise, that time is now.
The feds need to look at cutting income taxes too. Most of the income tax burden in Canada is caused by high tax rates at the federal level.
To insulate Canada from the magnetic pull that will be triggered by a second round of Trump tax cuts, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau must look at lowering personal income tax rates.
Trudeau can cut income taxes substantially without hiking the deficit because there’s plenty of opportunities for savings.
Here’s where to start: The Trudeau government spent $47 billion on corporate welfare in 2021.
If Trudeau eliminated corporate welfare, the feds could cut personal income taxes by 20 per cent across the board without hiking the deficit.
Canada’s politicians can’t be complacent. We can’t control what Trump chooses to do when he gets back into the White House, but Canada’s politicians can control public policy north of the border to make the Canadian economy more competitive.
That starts with cutting income taxes.
2025 Federal Election
Alcohol tax and MP pay hike tomorrow (April 1)

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on all party leaders to stop a pair of bad policies that are scheduled to happen automatically on April 1: pay raises for members Parliament and another alcohol tax increase.
“Party leaders owe taxpayers answers to these two questions: Why do you think you deserve a pay raise and why should Canadians pay higher taxes on beer and wine?” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “Politicians don’t deserve a raise while millions of Canadians are struggling.
“And the last thing Canadians need is another tax hike when they pour a cold one or uncork a bottle with that special someone.”
MPs give themselves pay raises each year on April 1, based on the average annual increase in union contracts with corporations with 500 or more employees.
The CTF estimates tomorrow’s pay raise will amount to an extra $6,200 for backbench MPs, $9,200 for ministers and $12,400 for the prime minister, based on contract data published by the federal government.
After tomorrow’s pay raise, backbench MPs will receive a $209,300 annual salary, according to CTF estimates. A minister will collect $309,100 and the prime minister will take home $418,600.
Meanwhile, the alcohol escalator automatically increases excise taxes on beer, wine and spirits every year on April 1, without a vote in Parliament. Alcohol taxes will increase by two per cent tomorrow, costing taxpayers about $40 million this year, according to Beer Canada estimates.
The alcohol escalator tax has cost taxpayers more than $900 million since it was imposed in 2017, according to Beer Canada estimates.
“Politicians are padding their pockets on the same day they’re raising beer taxes and that’s wrong,” Terrazzano said. “If party leaders want to prove they care about taxpayers, they should stop the MP pay raises.
“And if party leaders care about giving Canadian brewers, distillers and wineries a fighting chance against tariffs, it’s time to stop hitting them with alcohol tax hikes year after year.”
The CTF released Leger polling showing 79 per cent of Canadians oppose tomorrow’s MP pay raise.
2025 Federal Election
Poilievre To Create ‘Canada First’ National Energy Corridor

From Conservative Party Communications
Poilievre will create the ‘Canada First’ National Energy Corridor to rapidly approve & build the infrastructure we need to end our energy dependence on America so we can stand up to Trump from a position of strength.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre announced today he will create a ‘Canada First’ National Energy Corridor to fast-track approvals for transmission lines, railways, pipelines, and other critical infrastructure across Canada in a pre-approved transport corridor entirely within Canada, transporting our resources within Canada and to the world while bypassing the United States. It will bring billions of dollars of new investment into Canada’s economy, create powerful paycheques for Canadian workers, and restore our economic independence.
“After the Lost Liberal decade, Canada is poorer, weaker, and more dependent on the United States than ever before,” said Poilievre. “My ‘Canada First National Energy Corridor’ will enable us to quickly build the infrastructure we need to strengthen our country so we can stand on our own two feet and stand up to the Americans.”
In the corridor, all levels of government will provide legally binding commitments to approve projects. This means investors will no longer face the endless regulatory limbo that has made Canadians poorer. First Nations will be involved from the outset, ensuring that economic benefits flow directly to them and that their approval is secured before any money is spent.
Between 2015 and 2020, Canada cancelled 16 major energy projects, resulting in a $176 billion hit to our economy. The Liberals killed the Energy East pipeline and passed Bill C-69, the “No-New-Pipelines” law, which makes it all but impossible to build the pipelines and energy infrastructure we need to strengthen the Canadian economy. And now, the PBO projects that the ‘Carney cap’ on Canadian energy will reduce oil and gas production by nearly 5%, slash GDP by $20.5 billion annually, and eliminate 54,400 full-time jobs by 2032. An average mine opening lead time is now nearly 18 years—23% longer than Australia and 38% longer than the US. As a result of the Lost Liberal Decade, Canada now ranks 23rd in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index for 2024, a seven-place drop since 2015.
“In 2024, Canada exported 98% of its crude oil to the United States. This leaves us too dependent on the Americans,” said Poilievre. “Our Canada First National Energy Corridor will get us out from under America’s thumb and enable us to build the infrastructure we need to sell our natural resources to new markets, bring home jobs and dollars, and make us sovereign and self-reliant to stand up to Trump from a position of strength.”
Mark Carney’s economic advice to Justin Trudeau made Canada weaker while he and his rich friends made out like bandits. While he advised Trudeau to cancel Canadian energy projects, his own company spent billions on pipelines in South America and the Middle East. And unlike our competitors Australia and America, which work with builders to get projects approved, Mark Carney and Steven Guilbeault’s radical “keep-it-in-the-ground” ideology has blocked development, killed jobs, and left Canada dependent on foreign imports.
“The choice is clear: a fourth Liberal term that will keep our resources in the ground and keep us weak and vulnerable to Trump’s threats, or a strong new Conservative government that will approve projects, build an economic fortress, bring jobs and dollars home, and put Canada First—For a Change.”
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