Trudeau's rival opposes capital gains hike, promises new tax cut

Canadian Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said he will vote against the government’s proposal to raise the capital gains tax inclusion rate, ending weeks of speculation about where he would land on the issue.

The vote on the capital gains measure, set to take place later Tuesday, is still expected to pass easily with the support of the New Democratic Party voting alongside Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals.

But Poilievre’s statement ends debate over whether the leader — currently the favorite to win an expected election in 2025 — would vote in favor of the measure. Poilievre has promised to advocate for workers and not the business establishment, and repeatedly declined to say where he stood on the tax hike until Tuesday.

In his statement, Poilievre also promised that if he were elected, he would create a new tax cut that would reduce “the share of taxes paid by the poor and middle class while cutting tax-funded corporate welfare and cracking down on overseas tax havens.”