Well, there’s less than two weeks to go before Canadians go to the polls.  At this point, the Conservative strategy appears solid:  release sensible policies that call for change including tax reform and a plethora of other good taxation policies.  The Liberal strategy appears simple:  hope that Trump keeps needling Canada so Mr. Carney can appear Prime Ministerial, keep him away from reporters as much as possible, fake days off to “deal with” Trump issues (which is another way of keeping him away from Canadians), and copy key Conservative policy platforms.

What is also obvious is that the Liberal Party has pretty much all of the same band members and playlist. Given such, is it out of line to remind Canadians of some very controversial tax policies that have been considered by the Liberal Party over the last number of years?  No, I think it’s very reasonable and I’m here to remind you.

The first is a home equity tax.  The target appears to be older Canadians who have paid off their homes and have equity.  Last summer, there were a number of reports and videos floating around that various Liberal party members, including former PM Trudeau, had met with a so-called think-tank, “Generation Squeeze”, to discuss “generational fairness” issues including the introduction of a home equity tax.

Generation Squeeze seems to think that one of the ways to enable the youth to afford a home is to go after older people who have worked hard to pay off their homes. In fact, it has this doozy of a quote on its website: “Gen Squeeze believes that it’s time to protect real shelters, not tax shelters. It’s unfair to sustain a system in which the hard work Canadians do every day in their jobs is taxed more than the wealth homeowners gain from rising prices while they sleep and watch TV…The first step is putting a price on housing inequity by adding a modest surtax on homes valued at more than $1 million. This surtax will apply only to the top 12 per cent of high-value homes…”

As I have explored before, a home equity tax is a ridiculous idea rooted in victimhood policy.  Canadians already pay a long list of taxes on their homes, such as municipal property taxes and GST/HST on new builds, renovations and utilities. Prior to the suspension of the carbon tax, they also paid significant amounts of that tax on home heating.  In addition, if the eventual disposition of their home or rental property does not qualify for the principal residence exemption, they will also pay capital gains taxes to the extent the property has appreciated.

Will a home equity tax make an appearance under a “new” Carney lead government?  At this point, with huge, Carney-promised spending, anything is possible.  Would Canadians support it?  I highly doubt it.

Another thing that left of centre progressives around the world often call for is a wealth tax which by definition is a tax on the assets of an entity (often an individual).  A wealth tax can take many forms but its general policy / purpose (other than to raise taxation revenues) is to attempt to prevent extreme wealth accumulation and re-distribute it to the less wealthy.

While wealth taxes were once in vogue, the number of countries around the world that currently have it in their tool belts has declined significantly.  Currently only four countries have a net wealth tax and another 4 deploy a wealth tax on the value of certain assets (usually real estate).

The NDP’s 2021 election policy called for a 1% wealth tax on a person’s net assets over $10M which the Parliamentary Budget Officer estimated would cost Canadians over $60 billion over 5 years.  Currently, the policy platforms for the NDP does not call for a wealth tax but it wouldn’t surprise me to see such a policy put forward by the NDP later on in the campaign.

For the Liberals, it came to light in 2022 that the Prime Minister’s Office was actively exploring the feasibility of a wealth tax in 2021.  There were a number of Privy Council, PMO and Department of Finance people who were actively exploring such a proposal and cheerleading it.  While it obviously has not been introduced, would it be surprising if the Liberals took another look and introduced it under a Carney government?  Nope, wouldn’t surprise me in the least bit.  Again, the overall components of the band haven’t changed except its new lead singer who is just as ideologically driven as the old singer.

Would it be a good idea to introduce a wealth tax?  Absolutely not.  It would accelerate the already steady stream of capital and successful Canadians leaving Canada.  France, for example, abandoned its wealth tax in 2017 to stem the tide of over 60,000 successful French people who left. It was found to be costly to administer and a revenue raising loser.

And what about the consumer carbon tax? While partisan Liberals are quick to cheer Mr. Carney for suspending the carbon tax, the reality is that Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre should be the one to thank for its suspension.  In addition, it’s worth noting that the carbon tax legislation has not been repealed.  It would be very easy for a Carney led government to re-introduce it in the future while also significantly increasing / expanding the industrial carbon tax as well.  Would that surprise me?  Nope, not in the least.  Mr. Carney is a well-known climate ideologue who lets his climate obsessions get in the way of common sense.

As we head into the final stretch, don’t be fooled by the fresh face behind the mic. Mark Carney may be new to the stage, but the Liberal playlist hasn’t changed—it’s still tax hikes, wealth grabs, and climate crusades masquerading as policy. Behind every photo op and “day off to deal with Trump” is a recycled idea that’ll cost Canadians dearly.

Same band, new singer, same old tax tunes. Time to cut the mic.