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Economy

New poll shows Conservatives would win massive House majority to overtake Trudeau’s Liberals

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6 minute read

From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

A Nanos Research poll has conservatives winning 205 seats in the House of Commons, a gain of 91, and the Liberals winning only 53 seats, a loss of 107.

A recent poll shows that were a Canadian federal election held today the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) under leader Pierre Poilievre would win a majority in the House of Commons over Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals, whose popularity has taken nosedive.

A Nanos Research poll released November 10 shows that conservatives would win 205 seats, a gain of 91s, and the Liberals would win only 53 seats, a loss of 107.

In a close third, the socialist New Democratic Party (NDP) under leader Jagmeet Singh would win 39 seats, a gain of 14.

When it comes to the overall vote, the CPC’s support stands at 40 percent, with the Liberals showing about half that at 22 percent support, which is only two points ahead of the NDP, which has 20 percent support.

The separatist Bloc Quebecois Party is tied with the Greens at 7 percent support, with Maxime Bernier’s People’s Party of Canada showing only 2 percent support.

Interestingly, the Nanos poll indicates that the Trudeau Liberals are now less popular than the Green Party in Atlantic Canada, an area where they have had traditionally large support.

As it stands, the Liberals have 158 seats to the Conservatives’ 117, with the Bloc having 35 and the NDP 25. There are three independent MPs and two Green MPs. One seat is vacant. A party needs at least 170 seats to form a majority government.

The NDP has an informal coalition with Trudeau that began last year, agreeing to support and keep the Liberals in power until the next election is mandated by law in 2025.

‘Election’ soon ‘likely’ observes pollster

“You say no election until 2025, but we’re gonna get it in 2024 and you best believe it will be nothing but chaos,” it posted on X (formerly Twitter) yesterday.

Polling Canada noted how the Trudeau Liberals’ freefall in popularity is on par with 2011, which saw that party win only 77 seats to the Conservatives’ 143.

“Would you believe me if I told you the Liberals in the latest Nanos poll are only 3 points off from their worst electoral performance ever (2011),” wrote Polling Canada on X (formerly Twitter) yesterday.

Reaction to the polling numbers came swiftly from those who both oppose Trudeau and people who still support him.

“The Trudeau Liberals are being absolutely smashed in the polls and may soon fall behind the federal NDP. This epic Liberal implosion is totally deserved for the horrendous things they have done to Canadians,” political commentator Paul Mitchell wrote on X (formerly Twitter) in response to the polling data.

An X user named Wolf noted just how bad the recent polling data is for the Trudeau Liberals.

“The best part about this is that it’s Nanos, the most Liberal friendly pollster of the bunch. This has to sting,” Wolf posted.

Another user questioned whether 40 percent support is enough for the Conservatives to win.

“Need more than 40 these days… I have no doubt libs and ndp would form a coalition if this played out today,” X user Heckled wrote.

Trudeau’s popularity has been in freefall and his government has been embroiled in scandal after scandal, the latest being a controversy around a three-year carbon tax “pause” he announced on home heating oil but only in Atlantic Canadian province.

Even top Liberal party stalwarts have called for him to resign.

Senator Percy Downe, who served as former Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chrétien’s chief of staff from 2001 to 2003, recently said that the “prudent course of action” is for another “Liberal Leader to rise from the impressive Liberal caucus and safeguard those policies [Trudeau] was actually able to accomplish.”

When Trudeau was asked about Downe’s comments, however, he brushed off the idea of stepping down by saying “Oh well.”

Trudeau has also drawn the ire of many of Canada’s premiers, five of whom late last week banded together to demand he drop the carbon tax on home heating bills for all provinces, saying his policy of giving one region a tax break over another has caused “divisions.”

LifeSiteNews reported last month how Trudeau’s carbon tax is costing Canadians hundreds of dollars annually, as the rebates given out by the government are not enough to compensate for the increased fuel costs.

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Economy

Prime minister’s misleading capital gains video misses the point

Published on

From the Fraser Institute

By Jake Fuss and Alex Whalen

According to a 2021 study published by the Fraser Institute, 38.4 per cent of those who paid capital gains taxes in Canada earned less than $100,000 per year, and 18.3 per cent earned less than $50,000. Yet in his video, Prime Minister Trudeau claims that his capital gains tax hike will affect only the richest “0.13 per cent of Canadians”

This week, Prime Minister Trudeau released a video about his government’s decision to increase capital gains taxes. Unfortunately, he made several misleading claims while failing to acknowledge the harmful effects this tax increase will have on a broad swath of Canadians.

Right now, individuals and businesses who sell capital assets pay taxes on 50 per cent of the gain (based on their full marginal rate). Beginning on June 25, however, the Trudeau government will increase that share to 66.7 per cent for capital gains above $250,000. People with gains above that amount will again pay their full marginal rate, but now on two-thirds of the gain.

In the video, which you can view online, the prime minister claims that this tax increase will affect only the “very richest” people in Canada and will generate significant new revenue—$20 billion, according to him—to pay for social programs. But economic research and data on capital gains taxes reveal a different picture.

For starters, it simply isn’t true that capital gains taxes only affect the wealthy. Many Canadians who incur capital gains taxes, such as small business owners, may only do so once in their lifetimes.

For example, a plumber who makes $90,000 annually may choose to sell his business for $500,000 at retirement. In that year, the plumber’s income is exaggerated because it includes the capital gain rather than only his normal income. In fact, according to a 2021 study published by the Fraser Institute, 38.4 per cent of those who paid capital gains taxes in Canada earned less than $100,000 per year, and 18.3 per cent earned less than $50,000. Yet in his video, Prime Minister Trudeau claims that his capital gains tax hike will affect only the richest “0.13 per cent of Canadians” with an “average income of $1.4 million a year.”

But this is a misleading statement. Why? Because it creates a distorted view of who will pay these capital gains taxes. Many Canadians with modest annual incomes own businesses, second homes or stocks and could end up paying these higher taxes following a onetime sale where the appreciation of their asset equals at least $250,000.

Moreover, economic research finds that capital taxes remain among the most economically damaging forms of taxation precisely because they reduce the incentive to innovate and invest. By increasing them the government will deter investment in Canada and chase away capital at a time when we badly need it. Business investment, which is crucial to boost living standards and incomes for Canadians, is collapsing in Canada. This tax hike will make a bad economic situation worse.

Finally, as noted, in the video the prime minister claims that this tax increase will generate “almost $20 billion in new revenue.” But investors do not incur capital gains taxes until they sell an asset and realize a gain. A higher capital gains tax rate gives them an incentive to hold onto their investments, perhaps until the rate is reduced after a change in government. According to economists, this “lock-in” effect can stifle economic activity. The Trudeau government likely bases its “$20 billion” number on an assumption that investors will sell their assets sooner rather than later—perhaps before June 25, to take advantage of the old inclusion rate before it disappears (although because the government has not revealed exactly how the new rate will apply that seems less likely). Of course, if revenue from the tax hike does turn out to be less than anticipated, the government will incur larger budget deficits than planned and plunge us further into debt.

Contrary to Prime Minister Trudeau’s claims, raising capital gains taxes will not improve fairness. It’s bad for investment, the economy and the living standards of Canadians.

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Economy

Canadians experiencing second-longest and third steepest decline in living standards in last 40 years

Published on

From the Fraser Institute

From 2019 to 2023, Canadian living standards declined—and as of the end of 2023, the decline had not yet ended, finds a new study published today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank.

“Despite claims to the contrary, living standards are declining in Canada,” said Grady Munro, policy analyst at the Fraser Institute and co-author of Changes in Per-Person GDP (Income): 1985 to 2023.

Specifically, from April 2019 to the end of 2023, inflation-adjusted per-person GDP, a broad measure of living standards, declined from $59,905 to $58,111 or by 3.0 per cent. This decline is exceeded only by the decline in 1989 to 1992 (-5.3 per cent) and 2008 to 2009 (-5.2 per cent). In other words, it’s the third-steepest decline in 40 years.

Moreover, the latest decline (which comprises 18 fiscal quarters) is already the second-longest in the last 40 years, surpassed only by the decline from 1989 to 1994 (which lasted 21 quarters). And if not stabilized in 2024, this decline could be the steepest and longest in four decades.

“The severity of the decline in living standards should be a wake-up call for policymakers across Canada to immediately enact fundamental policy reforms to help spur economic growth and productivity,” said Jason Clemens, study co-author and executive vice-president at the Fraser Institute.

  • Real GDP per person is a broad measure of incomes (and consequently living standards). This paper analyzes changes in quarterly per-person GDP, adjusted for inflation from 1985 through to the end of 2023, the most recent data available at the time of writing.
  • The study assesses the length (number of quarters) as well the percentage decline and the length of time required to recover the income lost during the decline.
  • Over the period covered (1985 to 2023), Canada experienced nine periods of decline and recovery in real GDP per person.
  • Of those nine periods, three (Q2 1989 to Q3 1994, Q3 2008 to Q4 2011, and Q2 2019 to Q2 2022) were most severe when comparing the length and depth of the declines along with number of quarters required for real GDP per person to recover.
  • The experience following Q2 2019 is unlike any decline and recovery since 1985 because, though per person GDP recovered for one quarter in Q2 2022, it immediately began declining again and by Q4 2023 remains below the level in Q2 2019.
  • This lack of meaningful recovery suggests that since mid-2019, Canada has experienced one of the longest and deepest declines in real GDP per person since 1985, exceeded only by the decline and recovery from Q2 1989 to Q3 1994.
  • If per-capita GDP does not recover in 2024, this period may be the longest and largest decline in per-person GDP over the last four decades.

Adobe PDF Read the Full Report

 

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