Conservatives will axe the escalator tax on wine, beer and spirits back to 2017 levels, ending the automatic annual tax increases, and bringing home lower prices for Canadians and relief for businesses.
Charlottetown, P.E.I. – Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre announced today he will axe the automatic annual tax increases on alcohol that the Mark Carney Liberals hiked again today. Conservatives will bring the tax rate back down to 2017 levels so Canadians pay less and businesses earn more.
On April 1, Mark Carney and the Liberals hiked the alcohol tax on Canadians, following the playbook of Justin Trudeau, who has increased alcohol taxes every year since 2017. This tax adds tens of millions of dollars in costs across the alcohol supply chain every year, making it harder for restaurants to turn a profit and harder for local producers to compete. Even worse, this annual tax hike is automatic, meaning it gets increased without a vote in Parliament.
Automatic annual Liberal tax hikes are an affront to our democracy because they allow the government to raise taxes without Parliament’s approval. Poilievre’s plan will cancel all future automatic Liberal tax hikes, providing relief to restaurants still recovering from the pandemic, as well as to brewers, wineries, distillers, and exporters, bringing home lower prices for Canadians.
Mark Carney’s April 1 alcohol tax increase will cost Canadians about $40 million in 2025-26. Since the Carney-Trudeau Liberals imposed this tax on Canadians, it has cost Canadians nearly $900 million, while government taxes on alcohol now account for nearly half the price of what consumers pay.
When you buy a beer today, you might think that the $10 goes to the brewer or the bar. In fact, more than half goes to the government, and every year it gets more expensive. A new Conservative government will axe the punishing Liberal taxes, deliver lower prices for Canadians and make our businesses more competitive.
After the lost Liberal decade, with costs up and our economy down, we can’t afford a fourth Liberal term. Pierre Poilievre will unleash the Canadian economy to build an economic fortress that will allow us to be stronger, self-reliant, sovereign, and stand on our own two feet and stand up to Trump.
