Jagmeet Singh asks premiers to match his pledge to remove sales tax from daily essentials

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has urged Canada’s premiers to follow his lead in easing financial pressures on families by removing provincial sales taxes on essential items, aligning with his proposal to eliminate the GST on such goods.

"Working people are being gouged every time they pay their cell phone bill or stop at the grocery store to grab something for dinner," Singh said in a statement on Wednesday. "My tax-free essentials pledge, plus provincial sales tax relief, would go a long way to giving people some breathing room."

Singh recently promised that an NDP-led federal government would scrap the GST on items like grocery-store meals, diapers, children’s clothing, home heating, and cell phone and internet bills. He proposed funding these cuts through an "excess profits tax" targeting large corporations that, according to him, are inflating prices to maximize profits.

In September, Singh announced the termination of the NDP’s supply-and-confidence agreement with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government. The arrangement, established in March 2022, saw the NDP support the minority government on confidence votes in return for progress on NDP legislative priorities.

The end of this agreement has raised the possibility of an early federal election. However, Singh has shown reluctance to back Conservative and Bloc Québécois-led efforts to topple the Liberal government through non-confidence votes.

"I will not let [Conservative Leader] Pierre Poilievre, the 'King Cut,' or the Bloc call the shots," Singh stated last month. "We'll assess any bill or motion brought forward, and if it helps people during these tough times, we’ll consider supporting it."