Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is promising to boost the amount that can be put into tax-free savings accounts, if the funds are used to support domestic growth.
The government currently allows Canadians to contribute $7,000 each year into their TFSA, which can be used to invest in things like mutual funds.
Poilievre says he would enact a TFSA top-up that would allow people to contribute an additional $5,000 each year for “investments in Canadian companies.”
He says “the tax system already defines these types of Canadian investments” but his government would also craft a definition for banks to identify companies supporting Canadian jobs.
Poilievre says this would drive jobs and more tax revenue to deal with trade disruptions stemming from the U.S.
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Poilievre’s proposal comes as cost of living remains the top concern for Canadian voters in the election, according to Ipsos polling done exclusively for Global News, with the Liberal and NDP leaders also making their own announcements in the first days of the campaign.
Liberal Leader Mark Carney announced this week they would cut the middle class tax rate by lowering the tax paid on the lowest federal income bracket by one per cent, saying a dual income family would benefit by up to $825 a year. He also said the party would waive the one-week waiting period for employment insurance for those who lose their jobs to U.S. tariffs.
Poilievre has also proposed cutting income tax, vowing to slash it by 15 per cent on the lowest income tax bracket to 12.75 per cent.
The NDP also plans to focus on Employment Insurance and taxes, with Leader Jagmeet Singh promising to adjust the system and increase the basic personal amount – the share of income free from tax – for those earning under $177,882 a year and lower it for anyone earning more.
—with files from The Canadian Press and Global News