Trudeau goes after Poilievre on budget
Opposition leader criticizes high debt ratio
OTTAWA • A day after his government tabled a federal budget, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attacked Pierre Poilievre in a campaign-style broadside saying the Conservative leader's vow to vote against the plan isn't about opposition to record-high spending and ongoing deficits, but about protecting the wealthy from tax increases.
The Liberals unveiled their budget Tuesday, which includes billions in new spending and continues high deficits through the next five years, even adding more than $10 billion in extra red ink in the next five years over and above the government's own deficit projections from the fall.
Poilievre described the budget as “wasteful” and said the growing debt was taking money away from Canadians' real priorities.
“For the first time in a generation we are spending more on debt (interest) than on health care,” said Poilievre.
Trudeau spoke to his caucus Wednesday morning at a meeting resembling a campaign rally, with the prime minister reading prepared remarks from a teleprompter and several of his MPs standing behind him.
“This budget lays out a plan to make sure Canadians can build homes, build companies, build solutions, and make the best country in the world even better,” he said.
The budget also included a capital-gains tax increase. The increase applies to profit from selling stock or secondary homes.
The income is normally taxed at 50 per cent of its value but the change introduced Tuesday will levy taxes on 66.7 per cent of the profit for gains over $250,000 for individuals, trusts and corporations.
The government has also increased other lifetime exemptions for capital gains. The finance minister said she expects the measure to effect only a handful of tax
... WE ARE SPENDING MORE ON DEBT (INTEREST) THAN ON HEALTH CARE.
payers, 0.13 per cent of individuals and 12 per cent of corporations, although she expects it nevertheless to bring in $19 billion in new revenue.
Trudeau said the tax hikes were to fund intergenerational fairness.
“We're asking them to pay their fair share so that younger generations can have the same opportunities that gen-Xers, boomers and other generations had when they were starting their lives.”