Jagmeet Singh pledges to cut GST from essentials like groceries, heating and kids' clothing

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is promising to remove the GST from "daily essentials" if his party forms the next federal government.

"New Democrats are going to give you a break on your daily essentials and monthly bills," Singh told an audience gathered at the Canadian Club in Toronto on Thursday. 

"We are going to take the GST off of everyday costs like heating your home, your cell phone bills, your internet, food that you buy at the grocery and your children's needs."

An accompanying statement from the party says that an NDP government would remove the GST from "grocery-store meals" and "diapers." The GST also would be removed from clothing for children, the statement said.

Singh said an NDP government would pay for the tax cut by introducing an "excess profits tax" on large corporations that hike prices to boost profit margins.

"We have to make life more affordable for Canadians right now," he said. "We're going to make the CEOs pay for it."

In September, Singh announced that he was terminating the supply-and-confidence agreement his party made with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government.

The agreement, which was struck between the two parties in March 2022, committed the NDP to supporting the minority Liberal government on confidence votes in exchange for legislative commitments on NDP priorities.

While the end of that agreement means the prospect of an early federal election has increased, Singh has so far been reluctant to support efforts by the Conservatives and Bloc Quebecois to unseat the Liberals on a non-confidence vote.

Pharmacare, other programs at risk, Singh says

"I will not let [Conservative Leader] Pierre Poilievre, the 'king cut,' or the Bloc call the shots," Singh said last month.

"We'll look at any bill that comes forward, any motion that comes forward, and if it's going to help people with these difficult times, we'll look at that."

The NDP's Thursday statement said that electing a Conservative government would put programs like dental care, child care and pharmacare at risk.

The NDP made passage of pharmacare legislation one of the conditions of the supply and confidence agreement.

And while that legislation has now passed Parliament, no deals between the federal government and individual provinces have been struck.

It remains unclear whether Poilievre would scrap the program if he forms government after the next election.

According to CBC's poll tracker, the Conservatives currently enjoy 41.6 per cent support, with the Liberals at 23.3 per cent and the NDP at 18.4 per cent.