Ontario Construction News staff writer
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is proposing new measures to support trades workers, focusing on expanding tax write-offs for those who travel long distances for work. Under Poilievre’s plan, trades workers who travel more than 120 kilometres for their jobs would be able to declare the full cost of food, transportation, and accommodation as tax-deductible, an expansion of the current $4,000 cap for work-related travel expenses.
“Conservatives want to unleash the strength of our mighty workers, unleash our economy, and put our country first for a change,” Poilievre said, promising to deliver tax fairness for all Canadians.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh pledging to cap the prices of essential food items such as pasta, frozen vegetables, and infant formula. Singh also advocated for higher taxes on grocery chains’ profits and stricter competition regulations to address what he called “grocery store profiteering.”
Poilievre spoke to trades workers in Winnipeg. The Conservative leader also criticized the Liberal government’s policies, claiming they were harming Canada’s energy sector and increasing costs for Canadians. “We don’t know exactly what the Americans are going to do,” Poilievre said, referring to U.S. tariffs, “but we know what we can do. What we can do is take back control of our economic destiny.”
Liberal Leader Mark Carney spent his first week of campaigning addressing the impact of U.S. tariffs, meeting with Canadians and making policy announcements aimed at strengthening the economy. Carney has made efforts to reassure voters in his bid for the suburban Ottawa seat of Nepean, as well as supporting measures for the auto industry and infrastructure projects.