Doug Ford Will Reduce Taxes, Hydro Bills and Gas Prices

NDP will force you to pay more for everything in order to pay for their out-of-control spending

The Ontario PC Party is the only party that will respect people by lowering their tax and hydro bills and reduce the price of gas at the pump. Ontario PC Leader Doug Ford today contrasted the Ontario PC plan with the high-tax, high-hydro rate, high-gas price agenda of the NDP.

“For 15 years, the Liberals have been partying with the taxpayers money and the NDP want to keep the party going, just with a different tune,” said Ford. “An NDP Government is just like a Kathleen Wynne Government. The only change, is that a different group of insiders and special interests get rich. But today I’m putting the special interests on notice — under an Ontario PC Government — the party with the taxpayers’ dollars is over.”

Ford shared that an Ontario PC Government will cut gas prices by 10 cents per litre, saving the average driver $222 per year. An Ontario PC Government will reduce hydro bills by 12 per cent, saving the average household $173 per year. An Ontario PC Government will also introduce a refundable child care tax credit that will save parents up to $6,750 per child, a minimum wage tax credit that will save low income workers as much as $850 per year, and a middle-class tax cut that will save middle-income earners up to $786 per year.

“Under an NDP government — you will be paying over $2.00 per litre for gas by next summer, because shutting down fossil fuels like gasoline is part of their real NDP agenda. They have already been caught promising to drive up hydro bills by $600 million as part of a plan to shut down the Pickering nuclear power plant, and their plan to increase taxes by $20 billion will drive more businesses and more jobs out of Ontario. And even after increasing the price of everything, the NDP still could not get their own math right and they will need to find another $7 billion in new taxes to pay for their spending.”

“We’re the only party that will bring your taxes down, bring your gas prices down and bring your hydro bills down,” Ford concluded. “We will deliver real relief. We will put more money in your pocket. Change is coming and help is on the way.”

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Backgrounder – PCs vs. NDP – More Money in Your Pocket

The NDP’s Gas Plans:

• The Ontario NDP wants to take more money out of your pocket and implement a high cost, high tax agenda throughout the province.
• The NDP has suggested putting government in control of gas prices, even though this policy has failed in other provinces. For instance, in New Brunswick where prices are regulated, gas jumped by the provincial maximum before the May Victoria Day long weekend1
• While in Nova Scotia, where gasoline is regulated, gasoline regulation has actually led to fuel shortages.2 In fact, Atlantic Canadian gas regulation has already gouged consumers to the tune of $206 million since 2009.
• The NDP Government of British Columbia has encouraged skyrocketing gas prices to discourage people from driving. This spring, Vancouver gas prices have already eclipsed $1.60 per litre and continue to rise.
• By doubling down on Kathleen Wynne’s cap and trade scheme, the NDP are putting Ontario on a collision course with $2.00 per litre gas.

High Hydro Rates:

• The NDP’s own platform reveals they have no clue how to reduce hydro prices.  In their platform the price tag attached to their hydro plan says “not applicable”.
• While Doug Ford wants to use the Hydro One dividend to reduce hydro rates for families today, Horwath wants to use the dividend to pursue her ideological project to buy back Hydro one.
• Independent analysts question the wisdom of this decision and have said buying back the electrical utility would cost the province billions of dollars and take decades.3
• The NDP hydro plan involves asking the federal government to remove the five per cent HST on hydro – something the province has no control over. In addition, they plan on cancelling the Fair Hydro Plan, which means hydro prices will increase by 25 per cent. When combined, this means that hydro rates will not go down under the NDP.
• Horwath’s NDP has also proposed closure of the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station, which will raise bills by $600 million this August.4
• All told, the NDP hydro plan has been called “disingenuous”, having “an air of unreality”, and characterized as plan that “doesn’t add up.”5

Higher Taxes Under the NDP:

• The Liberals raised taxes on 1.8 million Ontarians in their 2018 budget and raised taxes on countless businesses and small businesses.
• The NDP is not only planning to move forward with every single one of those Liberal tax increases, they also plan to increase taxes by more than $20 billion over their platform, such as higher taxes on individuals and small businesses.
• The NDP want to raise taxes on employers and small businesses, thereby accelerating the job losses that Ontario has witnessed under the Liberals and putting Ontario back on a crash course with the widespread unemployment that defined the ’Rae Days’ the last time the NDP was in power.

What We Will Do:

• A Doug Ford Ontario PC Government will deliver lower gas prices, lower hydro rates, lower taxes, and make life more affordable for the people of Ontario.
• Doug Ford and the Ontario PCs will scrap the cap and trade carbon tax, unlike the NDP who want to double down on this costly scam. The Ontario PCs realize that canceling cap and trade means families will save, on average, $285 immediately and taxpayers will save an extra 4.3 cents per litre at the pump.
• Understanding that people need relief from high gas prices, the Ontario PCs will also reduce the provincial fuel tax for both gasoline and diesel to nine cents per litre from the current 14.7 cents per litre for gasoline, and 14.3 cents per litre for diesel.
• When the savings from the reduced provincial fuel tax are combined with the savings from scrapping the cap and trade carbon tax, the people of Ontario will save an extra 10 cents per litre at the pump. For the average person in Ontario who typically drives 20,000km annually,6 you will save $200-$300 per year.
• Doug Ford and the Ontario PCs recognize that Ontario families and businesses desperately need relief from high hydro costs.
• That is why an Ontario PC Government will introduce measures to take an additional 12 per cent off your hydro bill. This reduction will apply to Ontario families, small businesses, and farmers, and save you more. In fact, the average household will save $173 per year.
• The Ontario PCs will also cut income taxes by 20 per cent for the second income tax bracket, putting a maximum of $786 annually back into the pockets of middle class workers.
• An Ontario PC Government will also help low income Ontarians by ensuring minimum wage earners pay no provincial income tax — saving them as much as $850 per year.
• An Ontario PC Government will introduce a refundable tax rebate for Ontario parents that will cover all forms of child care up to age 15. This rebate will return up to $6,750 back into the pockets of Ontario parents.

1 https://www.halifaxtoday.ca/local-news/gas-prices-set-to-go-up-again-this-week-in-nova-scotia-877618

2 http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/1307931-gas-supply-expected-to-normalize-by-mid-week

3 https://ipolitics.ca/article/putting-humpty-dumpty-back-together-again-ontario-ndps-hydro-plan-leaves-experts-cold/

4 https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/pickering-a-key-low-cost-source-of-electricity-in-ontarios-long-term-energy-plan-610425845.html

5 https://ipolitics.ca/article/putting-humpty-dumpty-back-together-again-ontario-ndps-hydro-plan-leaves-experts-cold/

6 https://www.njc-cnm.gc.ca/s3/d658/en