In 2015, Canadians chose a plan for the economy that would invest in the middle class and offer real help to people working hard to join it. In the years since, that plan has put more money in the pockets of hard-working Canadians-making life more affordable while at the same time helping to create more than a million new jobs and driving the unemployment rate to a 40-year low.
Today, Finance Minister Bill Morneau met with local business leaders at the Oakville Chamber of Commerce as part of the Vote Prosperity Leadership Series. In his remarks, he talked about what the Government has done to make life more affordable for Canadians, including cutting taxes for the middle class and introducing the new, more generous Canada Child Benefit, which goes to about 23,500 parents in Oakville to help with the high cost of raising their children.
Minister Morneau also spoke about the Government's efforts to make training and education more affordable for Canadians of all ages, as well as new benefits for seniors, students and low-income workers. Finally, the Minister talked about the essential role small and medium-sized businesses play in creating jobs and opportunities for Canadians, and noted some of the steps the Government has taken to support business growth: allowing businesses to write off capital investments sooner, securing comprehensive free trade agreements that give Canadian businesses access to nearly two-thirds of the global economy, and lowering the small business tax rate to 9 per cent.
While in Oakville, Minister Morneau also hosted a roundtable with local business leaders, met with leaders in the Muslim community, toured a successful custom clothing business based in the city and spoke with business owners and residents downtown.
Quotes
"Today, more people are working than at any other point in Canada's history - and Canada's poverty rate is at its lowest level on record. This progress is significant, but our work isn't done. The more I meet and speak with families and business owners in places like Oakville, the more I hear that they are still worried about things like job security, saving for retirement, and climate change. Now is not the time for Canada to pull back. We need to keep doing what works - helping Canadians earn more, save more, and invest in the things they care about."
- Bill Morneau, Minister of Finance
Quick facts
-
Canada is expected to be the second-fastest growing G7 economy in 2019, and tied for fastest in 2020.
-
Over a million jobs have been created since November 2015 - the majority of them full-time positions.
-
About 23,500 Oakville parents received more than $5,000 on average from the Canada Child Benefit in the 2017-18 benefit year.
-
Canada has achieved its targeted 20 per cent reduction of poverty three years ahead of schedule, lifting over 825,000 Canadians out of poverty compared to 2015 and causing the poverty rate to reach its lowest level on record.
-
The Government cut the small business tax rate to 10 per cent, effective January 2018, and as of January 1, 2019, further reduced it to 9 per cent.
-
Canada has the lowest marginal effective tax rate on new business investment in the G7, and lower than the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average.
-
The First Time Home Buyer Incentive will make home ownership more affordable for as many as 100,000 Canadians. For example, a family that buys a $380,000 home will be able to reduce their monthly mortgage payments by $228 a month thanks to this new measure.
-
The Government is investing approximately $185 million per year in helping businesses in Southern Ontario innovate through FedDev Ontario.
