New tax credit will allow Canadians to save up to $3,800 on green home renovations

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer was at Potvin & Bouchard today, highlighting the Conservatives’ proposed Green Home Renovation Tax Credit, a two-year program to encourage homeowners to renovate their homes in ways that lower their power bills and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Canadians will be eligible to receive a 20% refundable credit on their income tax for green improvements to their homes of over $1,000 and up to $20,000. This would allow Canadians to save up to $3,800 on their renovations each year.

Eligible renovations would include:

• Installation of high-quality insulation
• Investments in high-efficiency furnaces
• Replacement of doors and windows with more efficient models
• Upgrading of ventilation, heating and cooling systems
• Installation of solar panels

In 2017, emissions from buildings represented 12% of Canada’s overall emissions.

“No environmental plan is complete without a serious plan to tackle emissions from buildings,” Scheer said. “Our Green Home Renovation Tax Credit will help lower these emissions and fight climate change while putting more money in Canadians’ pockets so they can get ahead.”

This measure is one of the 55 policies of our environmental plan, A Real Plan to Protect Our Environment, introduced earlier this year. It is a realistic plan that balances Canada’s obligation to fight climate change with the core Conservative promise to put more money in Canadians’ pockets so they can get ahead.

FACTS:

• Justin Trudeau’s signature so-called environmental policy is, in reality, not an environmental policy at all. His Carbon Tax gives big polluters a pass while punishing Canadians for driving to work and heating their homes.
• Canadian families and small businesses pay 92% of Trudeau’s Carbon Tax, while big polluters are only on the hook for 8%.
• Justin Trudeau and his environment minister have confirmed that a carbon tax hike is on the table, and the Conservative Party conducted research to determine just how much it would cost the average Canadian household. At the $102/ tonne level, Trudeau’s Carbon Tax would
  • Increase the cost of natural gas by $469 per year
  • Add 31 cents/litre to the price of gasoline.
  • This means $2/litre gasoline is just around the corner if the Trudeau Liberals are re-elected. It is Canadians who bear the cost of Justin Trudeau’s Carbon Tax.
• In Ontario, the five-fold increase to the carbon tax would cost you $1,151.
• In New Brunswick, the five-fold increase to the carbon tax would cost you $959.
• In Manitoba, the five-fold increase to the carbon tax would cost you $1,116.
• In Saskatchewan, the five-fold increase to the carbon tax would cost you $1,930.
• In Alberta, the five-fold increase to the carbon tax would cost you $2,002.

Andrew Scheer’s Plan for you to get ahead:

• Scrap the Trudeau Carbon Tax, lowering the cost of everyday essentials like gas, groceries, and home heating.
• Introduce the Universal Tax Cut, saving an average couple $850 per year.
• Take the GST off home heating costs, saving your family $107 every year.
• Introduce the Green Public Transit Tax Credit, saving a family of four who take transit up to $1,000.
• Make maternity benefits tax-free, putting up to $4,000 back in the pockets of new parents.
• Introduce the Children’s Fitness Tax Credit, allowing parents to claim up to $1,000 for sports activities.
• Introduce the Children’s Arts and Learning Tax Credit, letting parents claim up to $500 for arts and learning programs.
• Expand the Age Credit, benefiting the lowest income Canadians the most and giving a senior couple up to $300.
• Boost the RESP matching by 50%, helping parents get more for their kids education.

Background Documents:

Backgrounder

PBO Report

Trudeau will raise taxes by $3,000 per family and increase gas prices by 73 cents/liter

Today Justin Trudeau announced that a re-elected Liberal Government would use legislation to force Canada to commit to net-zero emissions by 2050.

Trudeau’s plan would raise taxes by $3,000 on middle-class families and hike gasoline prices by 73 cents/liter.

He will destroy the economies of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland, while also destroying the manufacturing sector in Ontario and Quebec.

Hundreds of thousands of people will lose their jobs.

And these are just modest estimates. To realize his goal, Justin Trudeau will need to make even more irresponsible changes like:

• Make air travel affordable only to the very rich;
• Eliminate Canada’s energy industry;
• Transition away from the manufacturing sector;
• Ban natural gas use; and/or
• Shut down cattle farming in the agriculture sector.

Andrew Scheer and the Conservatives recognize the global environmental impact of climate change. That is why we have a responsible, fully costed and effective plan to address global emissions.

Our Conservative plan saves Canadian jobs and decreases global emissions, while Trudeau’s plan kills local jobs and increases global emissions.

For the fourth day in a row, in the midst of yet another scandal, Justin Trudeau has thrown out an uncosted promise.

Only Andrew Scheer has a plan to put more money in your pocket and help you get ahead.

To ensure Justin Trudeau doesn’t destroy our economy and raise your taxes we must defeat his desperate and out-of-touch Liberals on October 21st.

New Conservative government to repeal Trudeau tax increases and reduce red tape

Small business owners can look forward to a new Conservative government repealing Justin Trudeau’s tax increases and cutting red tape, announced Andrew Scheer at Cracker Jack’s Bar and Grill today.

“Justin Trudeau thinks small businesses are tax cheats, “said Scheer. “In the last four years, it has become more expensive than ever to run a business. Trudeau’s Carbon Tax raised the price of gasoline and heating, making it harder to pay monthly bills. His payroll tax hikes hurt the bottom line, and his unprecedented tax hike on small businesses in 2017 – although Canada’s Conservatives and business leaders came together to try to stop it – ended up costing small businesses even more.”

The government should not stand in the way and make life more difficult for those trying to make a living and grow their business.

Not only are small businesses victim to the Trudeau government’s tax hikes, small businesses across the country are also struggling under a massive regulatory burden. Justin Trudeau has imposed more than 4,300 job-killing, growth-choking federal regulations on Canadian business since 2015.

A new Conservative government will take several measures to support our small businesses:

• Repeal Trudeau’s tax increases on small business investments
• Exempt spouses from Trudeau’s tax increases on small business dividends
• Make it easier to navigate Canada’s tax system and the Canada Revenue Agency
• Reduce federal regulations by 25 per cent
• Implement a 2-for-1 rule for new regulations
• Assign a Minister reporting directly to the Prime Minister to lead red tape reduction efforts
• Mandate ministers and regulators to support innovation, economic growth, and global competitiveness
• Champion Canada’s small businesses to the world 

“A new Conservative government will continue to celebrate small businesses as drivers of prosperity, and not view them merely as sources of revenue,” said Scheer. “It’s time to stop Justin Trudeau’s attacks on small business owners. It is time for Canada’s small businesses to get ahead.”

FACTS:

• Of the 95,000 businesses that are created in Canada each year, barely 50 per cent will survive to celebrate their tenth anniversary. Over the last four years, it has become more difficult than ever to start and grow a business.
• In 2017, Trudeau proposed a disastrous set of small business tax increases that were only partially abandoned because of effective pressure by Canada’s Conservatives and massive public outcry.
• Trudeau tried to hike taxes on small businesses’ investment income to 73 per cent, and then went after small business owners’ spouses, ending a long-standing tax exemption on dividend payments.
• The Canadian Chamber of Commerce (CCC) reports there were 131,754 federal regulations on the books when Justin Trudeau took office in 2015. Public policy think-tank MEI reports that by 2018, the number of federal regulations rose to 136,121 – an increase of more than 4,300.
• In late 2018, the Financial Post reported that regulatory burden was “killing Canada’s competitiveness.”

ANDREW SCHEER’S PLAN FOR YOU TO GET AHEAD:

• Scrap the Trudeau Carbon Tax, lowering the cost of everyday essentials like gas, groceries, and home heating.
• Introduce the Universal Tax Cut, saving an average couple $850.
• Take the GST off home heating costs, saving your family $107 every year.
• Introduce the Green Public Transit Tax Credit, saving a family of four who take transit up to $1,000.
• Make maternity benefits tax-free, putting up to $4,000 back in the pockets of new parents.
• Introduce the Children’s Fitness Tax Credit, allowing parents to claim up to $1,000 for sports activities.
• Introduce the Children’s Arts and Learning Tax Credit, letting parents claim up to $500 for arts and learning programs.
• Expand the Age Credit, benefiting the lowest income Canadians the most and giving a senior couple up to $300.
• Boost the RESP, helping parents get more for their kids’ education. For some, that could be $540 more.

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION:

–Backgrounder

–PBO Costing 1

–PBO Costing 2

–PBO Costing 3

Trudeau bailing on Munk debate shows he can’t be trusted to represent Canada on the international stage

The Munk Leaders Debate on Foreign Policy was cancelled after Justin Trudeau refused to show up and debate Andrew Scheer and other leaders.

It’s not surprising that Trudeau is running from his record of disastrous foreign policy decisions, embarrassing behaviour, and refusal to stand up for Canada’s interests against hostile foreign powers.

When Justin Trudeau was first elected in 2015 he proclaimed that Canada was back. Instead, he has diminished Canada’s role on the world stage by:

• Pulling our troops out of the fight against ISIS and initially refusing to acknowledge the genocide being committed by the Islamic State;
• Damaging relations with Canada’s allies like Japan and Australia;
• Embarrassing Canadians by bringing a known terrorist on an official visit to India;
• Refusing to list the Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist entity;
• Sending millions of Canadian taxpayers dollars to the Beijing-controlled Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank at the same time that the government is holding two Canadians hostage on specious charges; and
• Giving $110 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which supports terrorism and antisemitism.

But perhaps the biggest hit to Canada’s international reputation came last week when Justin Trudeau made headlines all over the world for wearing blackface on multiple occasions. Justin Trudeau cannot be trusted to represent Canada with dignity and poise on the international stage. He is not as advertised.

Trudeau’s plan means less coverage and higher prices for you

Justin Trudeau today left the door wide open to banning employer drug coverage if he’s re-elected on October 21.

When asked by journalists if his pharmacare plan would replace current employee drug plans with a government-imposed plan, Trudeau refused to answer.

In fact, the report Trudeau based this announcement on recommended an end to employee drug benefits.

Today’s announcement is a desperate attempt by Justin Trudeau to distract from his scandals.

Trudeau’s Liberals promised pharmacare in 1997 and 2004. They broke their promise then and Justin Trudeau will do it again. Trudeau cannot be trusted and he is not as advertised.

The proof that he plans to break his promise is found in the fact that Trudeau is only offering a fraction of the funding needed to achieve universal pharmacare coverage. 

To pay for his massive deficits, Justin Trudeau will cut health care funding or raise taxes on middle-class families. Liberal cuts are exactly what happened in the 1990s, cuts Trudeau said he supported.

Only Andrew Scheer and the Conservative Party can be trusted to maintain and increase health care spending by 3% per year. Under a new Conservative government, Canadians will be able to count on stable and predictable health and social program funding.

Trudeau Liberals’ have put home ownership further out of reach for Canadians

Today, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer announced that a new Conservative government would introduce four new measures to make it easier for first-time homebuyers to buy a home.

“With his poor judgement and tax hikes, Justin Trudeau has put the dream of home ownership further out of reach for so many, especially young Canadians,” Scheer said. “As Prime Minister, I will fix his bad policies and work to get more homes on the market to lower the price of housing.”

As Prime Minister, Andrew Scheer will:

1. Fix the mortgage stress test to ensure that first-time homebuyers aren’t unnecessarily prevented from accessing mortgages and work with OSFI to remove the stress test from mortgage renewals to give homeowners more options.
2. Increase amortization periods on insured mortgages to 30 years for first-time homebuyers to lower monthly payments.
3. Launch an inquiry into money laundering in the real estate sector and work with our industry partners to root out corrupt practices that inflate housing prices.
4. Make surplus federal real estate available for development to increase the supply of housing.

Canada’s Conservatives know the government has an important role to play to put home ownership within reach for more Canadians. When you work hard, save, and invest in your future, the government should help you – not stand in your way.

FACTS

• New data shows the country’s youngest buyers are affected most by the Trudeau Liberals’ stress test.
• Justin Trudeau’s latest homebuyer “incentive” has so many terms and conditions that most first-time homebuyers don’t qualify. What’s more, it only targets select cities.
• Right now, more than 80 per cent of middle-income families are paying $800 more in taxes a year than they did in 2015. The cost of housing continues to skyrocket, and the carbon tax means that everyday necessities like gas, groceries and heating your home keep getting more and more expensive. It’s harder than ever before to save for a down payment or monthly bills.
• Justin Trudeau has proven that he can’t be trusted to help Canadians get ahead. If he’s given four more years, his carbon tax will cost Canadians hundreds of dollars a year. Life is expensive enough for Canadian families without Justin Trudeau costing them even more.

ANDREW SCHEER’S PLAN FOR YOU TO GET AHEAD:

• Scrap the Trudeau Carbon Tax, lowering the cost of everyday essentials like gas, groceries, and home heating.
• Introduce the Universal Tax Cut, saving an average couple $850.
• Take the GST off home heating costs, saving your family $107 every year.
• Introduce the Green Public Transit Tax Credit, saving a family of four who take transit up to $1,000.
• Make maternity benefits tax-free, putting up to $4,000 back in the pockets of new parents.
• Introduce the Children’s Fitness Tax Credit, allowing parents to claim up to $1,000 for sports activities.
• Introduce the Children’s Arts and Learning Tax Credit, letting parents claim up to $500 for arts and learning programs.
• Expand the Age Credit, benefiting the lowest-income Canadians the most and giving a senior couple up to $300.
• Boosting the government’s matching RESP contributions by 50 per cent, helping parents get more for their kids education. For some, that could be $540 more.

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS

Background

Independent Parliamentary Budget Officer Costing

Liberals not as advertised on Canada’s Veterans

The Conservative Party today released a manifesto by Liberal MP and candidate for Don Valley West, Rob Oliphant, in which he bemoans Remembrance Day as something “used to promote the remilitarization of Canada,” and “continue towards becoming a national war-machine.”

Oliphant explains how “conflicted” he is about Remembrance Day and his belief that it tends to “glorify war.”

If it isn’t shame for Remembrance Day like that which Mr. Oliphant has, it’s lying to Veterans and telling them they’re asking for more than the Liberals can give, like Justin Trudeau infamously told one Veteran.

Liberals clearly have a problem with the men and women that have served in Canada’s military, and a problem showing them the respect they deserve.

Unlike the Trudeau Liberals, the Andrew Scheer Conservatives know our Veterans are heroes. They dedicated their lives to protecting us.  Now it is our responsibility to respect their service by doing our part to look out for them.

Under the Liberals, the number of Veterans stranded on a waitlist for financial support had ballooned to over 40,000 people – an increase of 11,000 over the previous year.

Only Andrew Scheer and Canada’s Conservatives treat Veterans with respect and deliver the supports they need in a timely manner, all enshrined in law through a just announced legislated Military Covenant, found here https://www.conservative.ca/andrew-scheer-promises-more-support-for-canadas-veterans/

Justin Trudeau and Rob Oliphant should feel absolutely ashamed of not just their own record on Veterans and Veterans support, but now their anti-Remembrance Day position.

As Prime Minister, Andrew Scheer will put more money in your pocket to help you get ahead.

New Military Covenant will clear backlog for Veterans’ benefits within 24 months

Canadian Veterans struggling with months-long waits for pensions and benefits can count on a new Conservative government to take immediate action to get them the support they deserve.

Andrew Scheer, leader of Canada’s Conservatives, announced a comprehensive plan today to deliver more help to Canada’s Veterans in a timely and respectful manner.

“To every Veteran who has struggled and who continues to struggle without the support and benefits you have earned through your service, my message is this: You deserve better. After October 21, we are going to make things better,” Scheer said. “Instead of forcing Veterans to work harder for government benefits, it’s time the government worked harder for our Veterans’ benefit. It’s time for a government that works harder for you; it’s time for you to get ahead.”

Scheer highlighted that a new Conservative government will:

1. Enshrine, in legislation, a Military Covenant between the Government of Canada and all Canada’s Veterans. This will guarantee that every Veteran is treated with respect and is provided services in a timely manner.
2. Clear the current backlog of Veterans’ benefit applications within 24 months.
3. Create a reliable, dependable pension system that, unlike the Liberal status quo, is fair to Canada’s most disabled Veterans.
4. Strengthen transition services to support discharged or retired Canadian Armed Forces members.
5. Strike an independent inquiry to provide answers about Canadian Armed Forces members who were administered mefloquine.
6. Provide more service dogs to Canadian Veterans in their communities.
7. Put vital commemoration projects, like the National Memorial for Canada’s War in Afghanistan, back on track.

“These actions are simple, straightforward, and practical,” said Scheer. “They require new investment from a new government, but even more importantly, they require new priorities.  Our military heroes are deserving. Our military heroes are worth it.”

In 2015, Justin Trudeau promised that no Veteran would have to “fight the government for the support and compensation they have earned.”  Yet under the Trudeau Liberals the number of Veterans left stranded on government waitlists had ballooned to 40,000 – a growth of over 33 per cent. Worst of all, Trudeau continues to fight Veterans in court, and has dismissed their concerns saying, “They’re asking for more than we are able to give.”

“Justin Trudeau never turned back SNC-Lavalin’s lobbyists or claimed they were ‘asking for more than he was able give’,” said Scheer. “When corporate lobbyists get the red carpet while Veterans get left out in the cold, it’s proof that Justin Trudeau is not as advertised.”

“To our Veterans, whether you are among the vanishing generations of heroes who served in  World War II and the Korean War, or whether you are one of the heroes of Afghanistan or conflict zones around the world, you deserve our gratitude,” said Scheer. 

“When we look out for our Veterans, we are looking out for the people who dedicated their lives to looking out for us. It’s time for government that will stand up for our Veterans. It’s time for a Conservative government that will help you get ahead.”

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS

Background

Independent Parliamentary Budget Officer Costing:

Veterans Pensions

Eliminate Veterans’ Benefits Backlog

Spending for other Veterans’ measures

Investment will reduce wait times for potentially life-saving scans

A new Conservative government will invest $1.5 billion in its first term to purchase MRI machines and CT machines to replace aging equipment and add machines across the country, reducing wait times for potentially life-saving tests for Canadians, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer announced today.

“Hundreds of thousands of Canadians wait longer than the recommended time for an MRI or a CT scan. That is just not good enough”, said Scheer. “This investment will help our health care providers to deliver quality services with the most up-to-date technology, giving patients quicker access to reliable, potentially life-saving tests.”

Justin Trudeau’s never-ending deficits and out-of-control spending have put Canada on track to hit $1 trillion in debt by 2035. If Trudeau is given four more years, his debt and never-ending deficits will threaten our ability to deliver quality public services like health and social programs.

A new Conservative government will live within its means to protect health care in the long term. As written in a letter to all Premiers in August 2019, as Prime Minister, Andrew Scheer will maintain and increase the current funding formula for the Canada Health Transfer and the Canada Social Transfer.

“Canadians need a government that understands that balancing the budget is the best way to maintain the services that they rely on the most, including health care,” Scheer said. “Canada’s Conservatives will give you more help for your health, so you can get ahead.”

FACTS:

• Justin Trudeau said he would balance the budget by 2019. Instead, he has raised taxes, imposed a carbon tax, and his massive overspending now puts health and social programs at risk.
• According to a recent report by the Conference Board of Canada, Canada’s stock of MRI and CT machines is aging, supply is not keeping up with demand, and wait times for these important diagnostic tests exceed the wait-time recommendations from the Canadian Association of Radiologists.
• By upgrading and increasing available medical imaging equipment, Canadians will have better, faster access to quality tests. Getting earlier access to a test could mean an earlier diagnosis for the patient.
• In addition to improving wait times, this investment will also give provincial governments some additional spending flexibility, as the federal government would pick up the bill for replacing out-of-date imaging equipment that the provinces would likely have to replace.
• Demand for medical imaging tests is only expected to increase as our population ages.

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS

Background

Independent Parliamentary Budget Officer Costing