Poilievre says Conservatives will vote against Liberals' 'irresponsible' GST holiday

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says his party will vote against the Liberal government's proposed tax holiday, calling it "irresponsible and inflationist."

"This isn't a tax cut. This is an inflationary, two month, temporary tax trick," Poilievre told reporters in Ottawa on Thursday morning.

"We need tax relief that actually encourages the economy to produce more of the stuff that cash buys."

The Liberal government introduced a bill Wednesday that would bring in a promised GST holiday starting next month. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has billed the tax holiday as an affordability measure aimed at alleviating cost-of-living pressures.

But Poilievre said the government should instead adopt his policy suggestions by scrapping the carbon tax and removing the GST from new homes sold for under $1 million.

"My tax cuts are not just about lowering costs. They're about sparking more production," he said.

The GST holiday bill is expected to pass in the House of Commons with the support of the NDP when it comes to a vote later today. The Bloc Québécois has said it also will vote against the bill.

The proposed measure would temporarily remove the GST from some goods and services — including children's toys, beer and wine and restaurant meals — from Dec. 14 until just after Valentine's Day.

The Liberals originally pitched the tax holiday along with a plan to send $250 cheques to the 18.7 million people in Canada who worked in 2023 and earned $150,000 or less. But some Canadians have raised concerns about being excluded from the millions who would receive those cheques.

The NDP threatened to withhold support for the entire package if the government didn't split the promises into two pieces of legislation. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said in a media statement on Wednesday that his party will support the cheque measure later if the Liberals expand it to include more Canadians, "including seniors, people with disabilities and injured workers."

The federal government estimates that the tax holiday would cost the federal treasury an estimated $1.6 billion in foregone revenue. As it's currently designed, the $250 cheque program would cost about $4.68 billion, a Finance official told CBC News.