National
Low and middle income Canadians hit hardest by high marginal effective tax rates

From the Fraser Institute
By Philip Bazel
A new study published by the Fraser Institute today finds that Canadian families and individuals with annual incomes between $30,000 and $60,000 face marginal effective tax ratesĀ near or above 50%.
Among the provinces, BC has the lowest tax rates of 38%.
Ontario has a rate of 50% ā and high-income families at $300,000+ are taxedĀ lowerĀ at 44%.
Families with modest income brackets consistently face disproportionately high marginal effect tax rates, raising questions of fairness and efficiency in the tax and transfer system.
Dig into the numbers and see how your province placedĀ here.
Canadian families and individuals with annual incomes between $30,000 and $60,000 face marginal effective tax rates near or above 50 per cent, finds a new study published by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank.
āCanadian families with modest incomes face high marginal effective tax rates, often higher rates than Canadians in top income tax brackets,ā said Jake Fuss, director of fiscal studies at the Fraser Institute, which published Marginal Effective Tax Rates for Working Families in Canada by Philip Bazel, an associate at the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary.
The marginal effective tax rate (METR) measures the personal income taxes paid (federal and provincial) and the reductions in government benefits, resulting from earning an extra dollar. For example, the Canada Child Benefit, a monthly payment, is reduced as family income increases. In other words, the effective tax rate is the combination of taxes you pay and benefits you lose as you make more money.
Crucially, across the provinces, individuals and families with relatively modest incomes face the highest rates. This unfortunately creates a disincentive for earning additional income, as the financial benefits are significantly offset by increased taxes and/or reduced government benefits.
Canadian families with modest incomes, particularly those earning between $30,000 and $60,000, face the highest marginal effective tax rates. For example, families earning a household income of $60,000 are subject to an effective tax rate of 50 per cent or higher in every province. In Quebec, the METR is as high as 67 per cent at this income level.
Among provinces, BC has the lowest rate (38 per cent) averaging across the $30,000 to $60,000 bracket. Ontarioās rate for the $30,000 to $60,000 bracket is 6 percentage points higher (50 per cent) than high-income families at $300,000 or higher (44 per cent).
āFamilies with modest income brackets consistently face disproportionately high METRs, raising questions of fairness and efficiency in the tax and transfer system,ā Bazel said.
āThese findings highlight the need to prioritize METR reductions for low-income families.ā
Author:
armed forces
Yet another struggling soldier says Veteran Affairs Canada offered him euthanasia

From LifeSiteNews
‘It made me wonder, were they really there to help us, or slowly groom us to say āhereās a solution, just kill yourself.’
Yet another Canadian combat veteran has come forward to reveal that when he sought help, he was instead offered euthanasia.Ā
David Baltzer, who served two tours in Afghanistan with the Princess Patriciaās Canadian Light Infantry,Ā revealed to theĀ Toronto SunĀ that he was offered euthanasia on December 23, 2019āmaking him, as theĀ SunĀ noted, āamong the first Canadian soldiers offered therapeutic suicide by the federal government.ā
Baltzer had been having a disagreement with his existing caseworker, when assisted suicide was brought up in in call with a different agent from Veteran Affairs Canada.Ā Ā
āIt made me wonder, were they really there to help us, or slowly groom us to say āhereās a solution, just kill yourself,ā Baltzer told theāÆSun.āI was in my lowest down point, it was just before Christmas. He says to me, āI would like to make a suggestion for you. Keep an open mind, think about it, youāve tried all this and nothing seems to be working, but have you thought about medical-assisted suicide?āāĀ
Baltzer was stunned. āIt just seems to me that they just want us to be like āfāk this, I give up, this sucks, Iād rather just take my own life,āā he said. āThatās how I honestly felt.āĀ
Baltzer, who is from St. Catharines, Ontario, joined up at age 17, and moved to Manitoba to join the Princess Patriciaās Canadian Light Infantry, one of Canadaās elite units. He headed to Afghanistan in 2006. TheĀ SunĀ noted that he āwas among Canadaās first troops deployed to Afghanistan as part Operation Athena, where he served two tours and saw plenty of combat.āĀ
āWe went out on long-range patrols trying to find the Taliban, and thatās exactly what we did,ā Baltzer said. āThe best way I can describe it, it was likeāÆBlack Hawk Down āāÆall of the sudden the sāt hit the fan and I was like āwow, weāre fighting, who would have thought? Canada hasnāt fought like this since the Korean War.āĀ
After returning from Afghanistan, Baltzer says he was offered counselling by Veteran Affairs Canada, but it āwas of little help,ā and he began to self-medicate for his trauma through substance abuse (he noted that he is, thankfully, doing well today). Baltzerās story is part of a growing scandal. As theĀ SunĀ reported:Ā Ā
A key figure shedding light on the VAC MAID scandal was CAF veteran Mark Meincke,āÆwhose trauma-recovery podcastāÆOperation Tango RomeoāÆbroke the story. āVeterans, especially combat veterans, usually donāt reach out for help until like a year longer than they shouldāve,ā Meincke said, telling theāÆSunāÆhe waited over two decades before seeking help.Ā
āWeāre desperate by the time we put our hands up for help. Offering MAID is like throwing a cinderblock instead of a life preserver.ā Meincke said Baltzerās story shoots down VACās assertions blaming one caseworker for offering MAID to veterans, and suggests the problem is far more serious than some rogue public servant.Ā
āIt had to have been policy. because itās just too many people in too many provinces,ā Meincke told theāÆSun.āÆāEvery province has service agents from that province.ā
Veterans Affairs Canada claimed in 2022 that between four and 20 veterans had been offered assisted suicide; Meincke āpersonally knows of five, and said the actual numberās likely close to 20.ā In a previous investigation, VAC claimed that only one caseworker was responsibleāat least for the four confirmed casesāand that the person āwas lo longer employed with VAC.ā Baltzer says VAC should have military vets as caseworkers, rather than civilians who canāt understand what vets have been through.Ā
To date, no federal party leader has referenced Canadaās ongoing euthanasia scandals during the 2025 election campaign.Ā Ā
2025 Federal Election
As PM Poilievre would cancel summer holidays for MP’s so Ottawa can finally get back to work

From Conservative Party Communications
In the first 100 days, a new Conservative government will pass 3 laws:
1. Affordability For a Change Actācutting spending, income tax, sales tax off homes
2. Safety For a Change Act to lock up criminals
3. Bring Home Jobs Actāthat repeals C-69, sets up 6 month permit turnarounds for new projects
No summer holiday til they pass!
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre announced today that as Prime Minister he will cancel the summer holiday for Ottawa politicians and introduce three pieces of legislation to make life affordable, stop crime, and unleash our economy to bring back powerful paycheques. Because change canāt wait.
A new Conservative government will kickstart the plan to undo the damage of the Lost Liberal Decade and restore the promise of Canada with a comprehensive legislative agenda to reverse the worst Trudeau laws and cut the cost of living, crack down on crime, and unleash the Canadian economy with ā100 Days of Change.ā Parliament will not rise until all three bills are law and Canadians get the change they voted for.
āAfter three Liberal terms, Canadians want change now,ā said Poilievre. āMy plan for ā100 Days of Change’ will deliver that change. A new Conservative government will immediately get to work, and we will not stop until we have delivered lower costs, safer streets, and bigger paycheques.ā
The ā100 Days of Change’ will include three pieces of legislation:
The AffordabilityāFor a Change ActĀ
Will lower food prices, build more homes, and bring back affordability for Canadians by:
- Cutting income taxes by 15%.Ā The average worker will keep an extra $900 each year, while dual-income families will keep $1,800 more annually.
- Axing the federal sales tax on new homes up to $1.3 million.Ā Combined with a plan to incentivize cities to lower development charges, this will save homebuyers $100,000 on new homes.
- Axing the federal sales tax on new Canadian carsĀ to protect auto workersā jobs and save Canadians money, and challenge provinces to do the same.
- Axing the carbon tax in full. Repeal the entire carbon tax law, including the federal industrial carbon tax backstop, to restore our industrial base and take back control of our economy from the Americans.
- Scrapping Liberal fuel regulations and electricity taxesĀ to lower the cost of heating, gas, and fuel.
- Letting working seniors earn up to $34,000 tax-free.
- Axing the escalator tax on alcoholĀ and reset the excise duty rates to those in effect before the escalator was passed.
- Scrapping the plastics ban and ending the planned food packaging taxĀ on fresh produce that will drive up grocery costs by up to 30%.
We will also:
- Identify 15% of federal buildings and lands to sellĀ for housing in Canadian cities.
The Safe StreetsāFor a Change ActĀ
Will end the Liberal violent crime wave by:
- Repealing all the Liberal laws that caused the violent crime wave,Ā including catch-and-release Bill C-75,Ā which lets rampant criminals go free within hours of their arrest.
- Introducing a āthree strikes, youāre outā rule.Ā After three serious offences, offenders will face mandatory minimum 10-year prison sentences with no bail, parole, house arrest, or probation.
- Imposing life sentences for fentanyl trafficking, illegal gun trafficking, and human trafficking. For too long, radical Liberals have let crime spiral out of controlāCanada will no longer be a haven for criminals.
- Stopping auto theft, extortion, fraud, and arsonĀ with new minimum penalties, no house arrest, and a new more serious offence for organized theft.
- Give police the power to end tent cities.
- Bringing in tougher penalties and a new law to crack down on Intimate Partner Violence.
- Restoring consecutive sentences for multiple murderers, so the worst mass murderers are never let back on our streets.
The Bring Home JobsāFor a Change ActĀ
This Act will be rocket fuel for our economy. We will unleash Canadaās vast resource wealth, bring back investment, and create powerful paycheques for workers so we can stand on our own feet and stand up to Trump from a position of strength, by:
- Repealing the Liberal āNo Development Lawā, C-69 and Bill C-48, lifting the cap on Canadian energyĀ to get major projects built, unlock our resources, and start selling Canadian energy to the world again.
- Bringing in the Canada First Reinvestment Tax CutĀ to reward Canadians who reinvest their earnings back into our country, unlocking billions for home building, manufacturing, and tools, training and technology to boost productivity for Canadian workers.
- Creating a One-Stop-ShopĀ to safely and rapidly approve resource projects, with one simple application and one environmental review within one year.
Poilievre will also:
- Call President Trump to end the damaging and unjustified tariffsĀ and accelerate negotiations to replace CUSMA with a new deal on trade and security. We need certaintyānot chaos, but Conservatives will never compromise on our sovereignty and security.Ā
- Get Phase 2 of LNG CanadaĀ built to double the projectās natural gas production.
- Accelerate at least nine other projectsĀ currently snarled in Liberal red tape to get workers working and Canada building again.
āAfter the Lost Liberal Decade of rising costs and crime and a falling economy under America’s thumb, we cannot afford a fourth Liberal term,ā said Poilievre. āWe need real change, and that is what Conservatives will bring in the first 100 days of a new government. A new Conservative government will get to work on Day 1 and we wonāt stop until we have delivered the change we promised, the change Canadians deserve, the change Canadians voted for.ā
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