Ontario Liberals want the salaries of young people to be tax-free.
They are proposing breaks to anyone under the age of 27, earning $54,000 or less a year.
Economic Development Critic Rob Cerjanec says under the plan, young people would see about $2,000 coming back to their pockets each year.
“That’s real money. That’s a car payment. That’s the start of a down payment for a home. That’s the beginning of independence,” says Cerjanec.
“If somebody is 18 and they’re going into the workforce or the skilled trades, they would be able to benefit from that right away. And then we looked at it from the perspective of somebody who might be leaving university. To them…as well to get some money back in their pocket so that they can invest in their own future.”
He adds it is also a way to keep young people from moving away to other provinces.
In a study from the Fraser Institute, Ontario has lost over 104,000 people to other provinces and territories between 2020 and 2024.
Forty thousand were young people between 20 and 34 years old.
“Young people are not asking for the world. They’re just asking for a fair start,” says Cerjanec.
“They want the same footing that earlier generations had, the ability to work, to save, to stay here in Ontario. Because when young people succeed, Ontario succeeds. When young people stay, Ontario grows.”
Cerjanec estimates the cost to provide the income tax break to be between $1 billion and $1.5 billion, which he calls a small portion of Ontario’s income tax revenue.
