CCI Statement on Deferred Implementation of Capital Gains Tax Hike

Today, Finance Minister Dominic Leblanc announced that the government will defer implementation of the capital gains tax hike originally proposed in the 2024 federal budget.

Since Budget 2024, the CCI has been at the forefront of efforts to oppose this damaging tax increase. Our advocacy efforts have included:

• Meeting with then-Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland days after the budget release to warn of the impact on Canada’s innovation economy.
• Publishing our Prosperity For Every Generation open letter signed by over 2,000 business leaders, investors, and innovators calling for a reversal
• Hosting Prosperity Town Halls and policy discussions across Canada
• Releasing research through Mooseworks that highlights the long-term damage this tax increase would cause.
• Equipping business leaders with tools to engage policymakers on this issue.

In response to today's announcement, CCI President Benjamin Bergen issued the following statement on behalf of our members:

“Finance Minister Dominic Leblanc said that the federal government’s decision to delay implementation of the capital gains tax hike will provide certainty to Canadians, but the reality is that the government is leaving entrepreneurs and investors in limbo by still refusing to admit they were wrong.

"The federal government has not been able to pass the budget that enacted the capital gains tax hike, and even the former finance minister, who delivered that budget, is now saying that she would fully reverse the policy if she is elected as prime minister.

"CCI has been explaining that this tax hike is bad policy, and harms Canada’s innovation economy since the day the budget was announced, and thousands of innovators signed our open letter calling on the government to reverse course. Providing real certainty to Canadians would be to admit once and for all that this was a mistake and move on.”

Media Contact:

James McLeod
jmcleod@canadianinnovators.org