Tag

Ontario

2 articles

AccountabilityJune 2, 20267 min read
Ontario's PCs Just Defeated a Bill to Remove HST From Groceries. Here's the Math on Why Sales Tax Hits the Middle Class Hardest.
On May 27, 2026, the Doug Ford Progressive Conservative government in Ontario voted down Bill 113, the Fair Prices and Tax-Free Groceries Act, 2026, introduced by NDP MPP Tom Rakocevic. The bill would have removed the entire 13% Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) from all food and drink sold in Ontario — including the prepared meals, deli food, snacks, restaurant meals, and many packaged products that currently carry HST (most basic groceries are already zero-rated). The bill also proposed ending the secret lease covenants that allow major grocery chains like Loblaws and Sobeys to block competing stores from opening nearby. The Ontario Liberal Party has a narrower proposal: remove the provincial portion of HST (the 8% provincial share) from prepared food purchases under $20, costing approximately $500 million per year in foregone revenue, partly offset by a corporate-profit surtax and a high-income tax surtax. This article walks the defeated bill, the structural incidence of HST on Ontario households, the GST/HST credit and why it does not reach the middle class, and the honest caveats — including the fact that universally consumed goods cut in tax also benefit the wealthy in absolute-dollar terms.
AccountabilityMay 26, 20267 min read
Canada's Auto Industry Before and After 10 Years of Liberal Government: The Numbers
Canadian motor vehicle production fell from 2,393,890 units in 2014 to 1,339,288 units in 2024, a decline of approximately 44 percent over the decade in which the Liberal Party formed federal government. Direct employment in motor vehicle and parts manufacturing stands at around 130,000 today, down from earlier levels; the broader automotive sector (including parts, sales, and services) employs roughly 603,500 across the country. Between Decembers 2024 and 2025 alone, the automotive sector shed approximately 36,000 jobs (a 2.3% decline) — partly driven by U.S. tariff measures announced in March 2025 by the Trump administration. Over the same period, the federal government and the Government of Ontario committed an unprecedented package of EV-transition subsidies — $13.2B to $16.3B for Volkswagen St. Thomas, up to $15B for Stellantis-LGES NextStar in Windsor, $5B in combined federal/provincial incentives for Honda's $15B Alliston EV ecosystem, plus the now-cancelled Northvolt deal. The Parliamentary Budget Officer's January 2024 analysis estimated the break-even period for the Stellantis-LGES and Volkswagen subsidies at 20 years — four times the government's 5-year projection. Production losses pre-date the 2015 Liberal government: Canadian vehicle output peaked at 2,961,636 units in 2000 and has trended downward through multiple governments. The article walks the decade's record, the structural and political drivers behind it, and what the next decade would have to look like for the industry to recover.

Ontario's PCs Just Defeated a Bill to Remove HST From Groceries. Here's the Math on Why Sales Tax Hits the Middle Class Hardest.

On May 27, 2026, the Doug Ford Progressive Conservative government in Ontario voted down Bill 113, the Fair Prices and Tax-Free Groceries Act, 2026, introduced by NDP MPP Tom Rakocevic. The bill would have removed the entire 13% Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) from all food and drink sold in Ontario — including the prepared meals, deli food, snacks, restaurant meals, and many packaged products that currently carry HST (most basic groceries are already zero-rated). The bill also proposed ending the secret lease covenants that allow major grocery chains like Loblaws and Sobeys to block competing stores from opening nearby. The Ontario Liberal Party has a narrower proposal: remove the provincial portion of HST (the 8% provincial share) from prepared food purchases under $20, costing approximately $500 million per year in foregone revenue, partly offset by a corporate-profit surtax and a high-income tax surtax. This article walks the defeated bill, the structural incidence of HST on Ontario households, the GST/HST credit and why it does not reach the middle class, and the honest caveats — including the fact that universally consumed goods cut in tax also benefit the wealthy in absolute-dollar terms.

Canada's Auto Industry Before and After 10 Years of Liberal Government: The Numbers

Canadian motor vehicle production fell from 2,393,890 units in 2014 to 1,339,288 units in 2024, a decline of approximately 44 percent over the decade in which the Liberal Party formed federal government. Direct employment in motor vehicle and parts manufacturing stands at around 130,000 today, down from earlier levels; the broader automotive sector (including parts, sales, and services) employs roughly 603,500 across the country. Between Decembers 2024 and 2025 alone, the automotive sector shed approximately 36,000 jobs (a 2.3% decline) — partly driven by U.S. tariff measures announced in March 2025 by the Trump administration. Over the same period, the federal government and the Government of Ontario committed an unprecedented package of EV-transition subsidies — $13.2B to $16.3B for Volkswagen St. Thomas, up to $15B for Stellantis-LGES NextStar in Windsor, $5B in combined federal/provincial incentives for Honda's $15B Alliston EV ecosystem, plus the now-cancelled Northvolt deal. The Parliamentary Budget Officer's January 2024 analysis estimated the break-even period for the Stellantis-LGES and Volkswagen subsidies at 20 years — four times the government's 5-year projection. Production losses pre-date the 2015 Liberal government: Canadian vehicle output peaked at 2,961,636 units in 2000 and has trended downward through multiple governments. The article walks the decade's record, the structural and political drivers behind it, and what the next decade would have to look like for the industry to recover.