Justin Trudeau is gone … or at least he WILL be politically in a matter of weeks.
Liberal strategists and supporters have already begun spinning that a new leader, with a new team and new policies could actually win the upcoming election … with another minority government.
Not!
On Saturday, the price of a litre of gas in Vancouver hit $1,80, the price of a dozen eggs was $4.55 and a four litres of milk cost $5.55 … high prices reflected right across the country.
The Liberals … not just Trudeau …will soon be gone.
In Canada, 2025 will be the Year of Poilievre.
So what can we expect?
Yes, not long after Canadians give Polievre and a Conservative government a mandate, we will almost certainly see him “Axe the Tax” and eliminate the carbon tax … at least, for private consumers.
What’s not clear (maybe the election campaign will reveal all) is whether the Conservatives will also “axe the tax” on carbon produced/paid by commercial and industrial entities?
If they don’t, the tax, of course, will still be passed on to consumers in product pricing … so maybe not end up as fully “axed” as many expect!
Remember, the Parliamentary Budget Office has estimated carbon taxes will add $5 billion to federal coffers over the next seven years.
So, how will that revenue loss be replaced? Or added to the deficit/debt? Or made up for by program cuts?
The slogan “Axe the Tax” is great … but Poilievre needs to be more specific and transparent.
And while he’s at it, the Prime-Minister-in-waiting should also be pressed on his SPECIFIC plans to stimulate housing development*, increase oil production and exports, cut regulations, reduce income taxes, “restore” Canada’s military, stop rising crime, empower the Courts to deal with recidivist criminals.
Not to mention, deal with those other pressing problems as well, like the border, trade, Trump, illegal immigration, fentanyl etc.
(* Re housing: Poilievre did promise to abolish the federal sales tax on homes under $1 million … no doubt a useful move in many communities, but not Vancouver or Toronto.) …
At the same time, Polievre has also vowed to “cut government spending” and balance the federal budget “as soon as possible”.
That’s some promise!
The current federal deficit estimate for 2024-2025 is almost $62 Billion and the total federal debt is $1.24 trillion!
“We will cap government spending with a dollar-for-dollar law that requires we find one dollar of savings for every new dollar of spending. We will cut bureaucracy, waste and consulting contracts, so that we can get the budget close or, hopefully, on balance as soon as possible to bring down interest rates, inflation and debt,” Polievre has explained.
It would take a LOT more than that to balance the budget!!
Unless Polievre has other “cost-saving” measures he won’t tell us about.
It’s all aimed, he says, to “unleash greater prosperity”.
Well, he’ll soon get that chance.
Canadians want Trudeau … and the Liberals … gone!
But we also deserve to know details of what/how Poilievre/Conservatives will do … BEFORE we mark our ballots.
Harv Oberfeld
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