The tariff war is a focal point of the federal election.
Canada’s opposition leaders have been quick to offer their plans to fight back against the United States.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre wants to help get more Canadian-made vehicles sold and is proposing to remove the GST on new vehicle purchases.
Poilievre says it supports Canada’s auto industry and provides financial relief to people wanting a new vehicle.
“Axing the GST on a $50,000 Canadian-made automobile will save $2,500 to the car buyer,” says Poilievre.
“By saving cash-strapped Canadian families their hard-earned money, we will increase demand for Canadian-made cars and keep more workers on the job.”
The Conservative leaders would like the provinces to follow his lead by removing their tax from automobile sales.
Poilievre also repeated Thursday a promise to create a $3 billion fund, making loans available to plants to maintain operations.
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh supports retaliatory tariff measures but disagrees with renegotiating the existing free trade deal with the US and Mexico.
“There is no reason to renegotiate. Nothing has happened significantly that caused these tariffs in the first place or this unjustified war in the first place,” says Singh.
“There’s no justification to cancel the agreement before its end date.”
To help stimulate the economy, Singh reaches back to a wartime measure to raise capital for infrastructure projects.
He says Victory Bonds raised more money during World War II than by taxation and proposes a similar campaign now.
“A victory bond would be a guaranteed investment where you would purchase a bond, a five-year or ten-year, and if you hold it to maturity, you would get all the revenue tax-free,” says Singh.
The NDP leader says it avoids the need to cut services at a time of uncertainty when they are urgently needed.
The federal election takes place on April 28th.
