In a statement obtained by Arab Canada News, Canadian Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre said that an upcoming federal government formed by his party will abolish the federal sales tax on new homes sold for less than one million dollars, and urged provinces to do the same. The federal goods and services tax rate is 5%.

Poilievre made this promise in a six-minute video he posted online and shared with various local media, arguing that governments are partly responsible for the high prices of homes because the amount of sales tax imposed is too high.

He stated at his press conference, "The first cost of a home is the government: government bureaucrats, government taxes, and government gatekeepers."

The promise made by the Conservative leader saves a buyer of a new home valued at $800,000 a federal sales tax of $40,000, and according to him, stimulates the construction of an additional 30,000 homes annually.

Since becoming the leader of the Conservative Party in September 2022, Poilievre has criticized Justin Trudeau's Liberal government for the rapid increase in home and rental prices since it came to power in the fall of 2015.

This message seems to have resonated with Canadians who are tired of rising living costs. The Conservatives have maintained a lead of 10 percentage points or more over the Liberals in opinion polls for more than a year, putting the Liberals on the defensive.

Poilievre said today that he would cover the costs of abolishing the sales tax by eliminating the Liberal housing policy.

This means things like abolishing the "Housing Accelerator Fund" that provides municipalities with funds to build housing if they amend their local laws that present obstacles to building new homes.

The Conservative leader added that a government under his leadership would also abolish the housing infrastructure fund, which allocates $5 billion for agreements with provinces and territories in exchange for adopting certain housing policies.

The Conservatives expect to increase income tax revenues thanks to the construction of more homes that their policy will stimulate.

Poilievre also said, "And of course, we will generate additional revenues in the billions of dollars as construction workers and companies will earn more money from building more housing."

The Trudeau Liberal government announced over a year ago the exemption of all construction of new buildings designated for rental housing from the federal goods and services tax, in a move to encourage more rental-specific construction.

However, the New Democratic Party (left-leaning) and the Conservatives said they support this tax exemption only for buildings intended for affordable rental housing or below market prices.

Canadians will head to the polls in a federal general election no later than October 2025.