Prime Minister Mark Carney cancelled the Liberal government’s planned hike of the capital gains inclusion rate Friday—two days before he called a snap election.

A PMO statement says Carney made the announcement to support builders and small businesses while emphasizing the importance of job creation for Canadians.

Economists forewarned a higher inclusion rate would de-incentivize future investment in Canada, reported the Epoch Times. Those concerns elevated U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war.

Hiking the inclusion rate will cost 400,000 jobs at a minimum and shrink Canada’s GDP by nearly $90 billion, according to a CD Howe Institute report. That intensified with 25% tariffs on Canadian exports.

Mark Carney pledges to run a government that is “focused on outcomes, not spending.”

Carney vows to reverse the capital gains tax hike, reduce red tape, and increase competitiveness. pic.twitter.com/VG7zTleYOD

— Juno News (@junonewscom) February 5, 2025

The proposed capital gains increase was controversial, with business groups saying it would harm competitiveness and innovation in a May 9 letter.

The Canadian Medical Association also opposed the tax changes, saying it would make recruitment and retention of doctors more difficult, a sentiment held by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

Taxpayer advocates planned to sue the CRA over an unlegislated capital gains tax increase in late-January. “You can fight Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s capital gains tax hike in court,” Devon Drover, CTF General Counsel, said in an email to supporters.

“There should be NO taxation without representation: That’s why we are now taking Trudeau and the CRA to court,” it reads.

Then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defended the tax changes, noting it would bring in an additional $19.4 billion in revenue over the next five years.

"We cannot afford economically destructive Liberal taxes that will drive even more business and jobs out of our country," says Pierre Poilievre as he vows Conservatives will scrap the Liberals' capital gains tax. pic.twitter.com/7K8gTTYqOc

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) January 16, 2025

The Conservative Party promised to eliminate the capital gains tax increase if elected, with Leader Pierre Poilievre calling the tax policy “outright insanity.”

MP Chrystia Freeland, in a ways and means motion last year, pushed for a higher inclusion rate on capital gains, though no tax bill ever followed. The prorogation of Parliament rendered any bill useless pending a majority vote, which the Liberals did not secure.

The federal government then deferred the tax hike until January 1, 2026 after ordering the Revenue Agency to stop collecting the new taxes before it was eventually scrapped Friday.

Had it not been scrapped, the inclusion rate would have jumped from 50% to 67% on capital gains over $250,000 for individuals, and on all gains for corporations and trusts.

The Liberal government, however, will keep the $1.25 million lifetime capital gains exemption for small business shares, farming, and fishing property, with legislation expected soon, should the party form government once more.

The CRA has the authority to implement tax hikes before a cabinet bill receives Royal Assent, given that relevant legislation eventually passes.

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