News
Federal election latest updates: Conservatives, NDP try to win seats from Liberals in Atlantic Canada – CBC.ca
- You can stream the CBC News election special in the video player above.
- This story will be updated as results roll in, so please refresh. Get live results from across Canada and in your riding here.
- More details on how to watch or listen to CBC’s coverage.
- The first polls closed in Newfoundland at 7 p.m. ET, followed by the Maritimes at 7:30 p.m. ET. The hugely important battlegrounds of Quebec and Ontario take centre stage at 9:30 p.m. ET. B.C.’s polls close at 10 p.m. ET.
Results — including CBC’s first projected win — have begun trickling in after polls in the 2021 federal election closed, first in Newfoundland and Labrador, then the rest of Atlantic Canada.
Liberal Seamus O’Regan, the natural resources minister when the election was called, was the first candidate projected to win re-election, in St. John’s South–Mount Pearl.
All 32 ridings in Atlantic Canada have begun posting results, but an early warning: this could be the start of a long process.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led many to vote by special ballot (1,267,014 ballots have been mailed out and 951,039 returned as of Monday, according to Elections Canada). That means it could take a while before you know who won and lost, especially in ridings where polling conducted during the 36-day campaign suggests the margin is razor thin.
However, Elections Canada told CBC News soon after those polls closed that it expects close to 95 per cent of those ballots to be counted tonight.
Here’s a look at what’s at stake in the four Atlantic provinces:
Liberals hope Rock stays red
The Liberals have been able to count on Newfoundland and Labrador to get them off to a good start, and Liberals recently won at the provincial level during another pandemic-era election.
Since taking office, Premier Andrew Furey has praised Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau as “an immense friend to the province,” raising the hackles of the opposition who urged Furey to remain neutral.
Where might the Liberals be vulnerable?
The NDP will try to hang on to their lone seat of St. John’s East. Longtime MP Jack Harris held the seat before his retirement, and the party is hoping Mary Shortall can keep it orange.
The Conservatives are hoping to break through and win in Long Range Mountains, on the island’s west coast, where the Liberal incumbent, Gudie Hutchings, saw her vote share drop in 2019.
Conservative eyes on Nova Scotia
Heading into the election the Conservatives held one of the 11 seats in Nova Scotia, and are optimistic they’ll make inroads.
Nova Scotia’s Progressive Conservatives won the August provincial election, despite starting the campaign way behind in the polls.
The Liberal handling of the moderate livelihood fishery, which saw violence and vandalism erupt in the southwestern part of the province last year, has also created a potential opening.
The one seat the Conservatives hold is the West Nova riding, which has been ground zero for that dispute. The riding next door? South Shore–St. Margarets — the home of Bernadette Jordan, who was fisheries minister at dissolution. If this riding flips to the Conservatives, it’s an encouraging sign for leader Erin O’Toole.
More than just the mud is red in P.E.I. (usually)
Four seats are at stake on Prince Edward Island.
The province usually votes Liberal, with Egmont the only riding to send a non-Grit to Ottawa since 1988. But one definite change is that Liberal Wayne Easter will not win. He had won nine straight elections in the riding of Malpeque, but isn’t running again.
Can the Green Party win in Fredericton again?
New Brunswick will serve as an early test for the Green Party.
In 2019, Jenica Atwin won Fredericton for the Greens, marking the party’s only win ever outside of B.C. Then she crossed the floor to join the Liberal Party.
So, will Fredericton’s voters consider the Greens with a new candidate, Nicole O’Byrne? Or will the city go back to flip-flopping between the Liberal and Conservative parties?
When will we know the results?
There’s a real chance you’ll go to bed tonight without knowing who won the election.
But you might.
In-person voting at advance polls was way up from 2019, with approximately 5,780,000 votes being cast from Sept. 10-13, according to Elections Canada.
Also, we’ll see whether there’s a good turnout on election day. What counts as good? Nearly 66 per cent of total eligible voters cast a ballot in 2019, just down from 68.5 per cent in 2015.
In-person ballots can be counted as soon as the polls close (here are the official poll closing times in local time in case you can still dash out to vote), while those special ballots won’t be counted until Tuesday.
Our decision desk will keep working until we have answers for you. Send coffee.
What’s happening at polling stations?
If you’re reading this at a polling station, don’t worry about not being able to cast your ballot. Elections Canada says anyone in line when a station is supposed to close will still be allowed to vote.
Some Canadian voters waited outside in long lines on Monday while Elections Canada apologized for a technical problem with an application on its website that tells people where they can vote.
Many posted on social media that they were receiving an error while trying to use the voter information service page. They said the error stated: “We were unable to find your voting location. Please call the office of the returning officer for assistance.”
The problem has been fixed.
In Toronto, which has significantly fewer polling stations than in previous years, many stood outside in long lines before casting their ballots. In the city’s downtown core, one line wrapped around an entire city block as people waited to vote in the Spadina–Fort York riding. Once inside, however, many told CBC News the process went smoothly.
In Montreal, an accident caused some minor injuries, a police spokesperson said, after a woman lost control of her vehicle and hit people near a polling station in Montreal’s West Island. Const. Caroline Chèvrefils could not provide more details about the driver or the condition of the victims.
The magic number: 170
If you need a refresher on how this whole election thing works, Canada has 338 federal ridings, most located in densely populated parts (think: the Greater Toronto Area).
To win a majority government, a party needs to win 170 seats or more. The Liberals triggered the election holding 155, but would need a strong showing to win back the majority the party lost in 2019.
The Conservatives currently held 119 seats prior to the election.
Party that wins most seats won’t always govern
There’s one wrinkle here.
As CBC’s Aaron Wherry explained in 2019, a party could win the most seats in the election, but that doesn’t mean its leader will be prime minister — the same holds true today.
Justin Trudeau, as the incumbent prime minister, has the authority to recall Parliament, present a speech from the throne and seek to win the confidence of the House of Commons. With the support of other parties, he could continue as prime minister even if a rival party has more seats than his.
Of course, if a rival party wins a majority that scenario is out the window.
More money will land in the pockets of Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit (CCB) installment.
The federal government program helps low and middle-income families struggling with the soaring cost of raising a child.
Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or refugees who are the primary caregivers for children under 18 years old are eligible for the program, introduced in 2016.
The non-taxable monthly payments are based on a family’s net income and how many children they have. Families that have an adjusted net income under $34,863 will receive the maximum amount per child.
For a child under six years old, an applicant can annually receive up to $7,437 per child, and up to $6,275 per child for kids between the ages of six through 17.
That translates to up to $619.75 per month for the younger cohort and $522.91 per month for the older group.
The benefit is recalculated every July and most recently increased 6.3 per cent in order to adjust to the rate of inflation, and cost of living.
To apply, an applicant can submit through a child’s birth registration, complete an online form or mail in an application to a tax centre.
The next payment date will take place on May 17.
News
Capital gains tax change draws ire from some Canadian entrepreneurs worried it will worsen brain drain – CBC.ca
A chorus of Canadian entrepreneurs and investors is blasting the federal government’s budget for expanding a tax on the rich. They say it will lead to brain drain and further degrade Canada’s already poor productivity.
In the 2024 budget unveiled Tuesday, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said the government would increase the inclusion rate of the capital gains tax from 50 per cent to 67 per cent for businesses and trusts, generating an estimated $19 billion in new revenue.
Capital gains are the profits that individuals or businesses make from selling an asset — like a stock or a second home. Individuals are subject to the new changes on any profits over $250,000.
The government estimates that the changes would impact 40,000 individuals (or 0.13 per cent of Canadians in any given year) and 307,000 companies in Canada.
However, some members of the business community say that expanding the taxable amount will devastate productivity, investment and entrepreneurship in Canada, and might even compel some of the country’s talent and startups to take their business elsewhere.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland unveiled the government’s 2024 federal budget, with spending targeted at young voters and a plan to raise capital gains taxes for some of the wealthiest Canadians.
Benjamin Bergen, president of the Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI), said the capital gains tax has overshadowed parts of the federal budget that the business community would otherwise be excited about.
“There were definitely some other stars in the budget that were interesting,” he said. “However, the … capital gains piece really is the sun, and it’s daylight. So this is really the only thing that innovators can see.”
The CCI has written and is circulating an open letter signed by more than 1,000 people in the Canadian business community to Trudeau’s government asking it to scrap the tax change.
Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke and president Harley Finkelstein also weighed in on the proposed hike on X, formerly known as Twitter.
We need to be doing everything we can to turn Canada into the best place for entrepreneurs to build 🇨🇦<br><br>What’s proposed in the federal budget will do the complete opposite. Innovators and entrepreneurs will suffer and their success will be penalized — this is not a wealth tax,…
—@harleyf
Former finance minister Bill Morneau said his successor’s budget disincentivizes businesses from investing in the country’s innovation sector: “It’s probably very troubling for many investors.”
Canada’s productivity — a measure that compares economic output to hours worked — has been relatively poor for decades. It underperforms against the OECD average and against several other G7 countries, including the U.S., Germany, U.K. and Japan, on the measure.
Bank of Canada senior deputy governor Carolyn Rogers sounded the alarm on Canada’s lagging productivity in a speech last month, saying the country’s need to increase the rate had reached emergency levels, following one of the weakest years for the economy in recent memory.
The government said it was proposing the tax change to make life more affordable for younger generations and fund efforts to boost housing supply — and that it would support productivity growth.
A challenge for investors, founders and workers
The change could have a chilling effect for several reasons, with companies already struggling to access funding in a high interest rate environment, said Bergen.
He questioned whether investors will want to fund Canadian companies if the government’s taxation policies make it difficult for those firms to grow — and whether founders might just pack up.
The expanded inclusion rate “is just one of the other potential concerns that firms are going to have as they’re looking to grow their companies.”
He said the rejigged tax is also an affront to high-skilled workers from low-innovation sectors who might have taken the risk of joining a startup for the opportunity, even taking a lower wage on the chance that a firm’s stock options grow in value.
But Lindsay Tedds, an associate economics professor at the University of Calgary, said the tax change is one of the most misunderstood parts of the federal budget — and that its impact on the country’s talent has been overstated.
“This is not a major innovation-biting tax change treatment,” Tedds said. “In fact, when you talk to real grassroots entrepreneurs that are setting up businesses, tax rates do not come into their decision.”
As for productivity, Tedds said Canadians might see improvements in the long run “to the degree that some of our productivity problems are driven by stresses like housing affordability, access to child care, things like that.”
‘One foot on the gas, one foot on the brake’
Some say the government is sending mixed messages to entrepreneurs by touting tailored tax breaks — like the Canada Entrepreneurs’ Incentive, which reduces the capital gains inclusion rate to 33 per cent on a lifetime maximum of $2 million — while introducing measures they say would dampen investment and innovation.
“They seem to have one foot on the gas, one foot on the brake on the very same file,” said Dan Kelly, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
Some business groups are worried that new capital gains tax changes could hurt economic growth. But according to Small Business Minister Rechie Valdez, most Canadians won’t be impacted by that change — and it’s a move to create fairness.
A founder may be able to sell their successful company with a lower capital gains treatment than otherwise possible, he said.
“At the same time, though, big chunks of it may be subject to a higher rate of capital gains inclusion.”
Selling a company can fund an individual’s retirement, he said, which is why it’s one of the first things founders consider when they think about capital gains.
Mainstreet NS7:03Ottawa is proposing a hike to capital gains tax. What does that mean?
Tuesday’s federal budget includes nearly $53 billion in new spending over the next five years with a clear focus on affordability and housing. To help pay for some of that new spending, Ottawa is proposing a hike to the capital gains tax. Moshe Lander, an economics lecturer at Concordia University, joins host Jeff Douglas to explain.
Dennis Darby, president and CEO of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, says he was disappointed by the change — and that it sends the wrong message to Canadian industries like his own.
He wants to see the government commit to more tax credit proposals like the Canada Carbon Rebate for Small Businesses, which he said would incentivize business owners to stay and help make Canada competitive with the U.S.
“We’ve had a lot of difficulties attracting investment over the years. I don’t think this will make it any better.”
Tech titan says change will only impact richest of the rich
Toronto tech entrepreneur Ali Asaria will be one of those subject to the expanded capital gains inclusion rate — but he says it’s only fair.
“It’s going to really affect the richest of the rich people,” Asaria, CEO of open source platform Transformer Lab and founder of well.ca, told CBC News.
“The capital gains exemption is probably the largest tax break that I’ve ever received in my life,” he said. “So I know a lot about what that benefit can look like, but I’ve also always felt like it was probably one of the most unfair parts of the tax code today.”
While Asaria said Canada needs to continue encouraging talent to take risks and build companies in the country, taxation policies aren’t the most major problem.
“I think that the biggest central issue to the reason why people will leave Canada is bigger issues, like housing,” he said.
“How do we make it easier to live in Canada so that we can all invest in ourselves and invest in our companies? That’s a more important question than, ‘How do we help the top 0.13 per cent of Canadians make more money?'”
More money will land in the pockets of Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit (CCB) installment.
The federal government program helps low and middle-income families struggling with the soaring cost of raising a child.
Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or refugees who are the primary caregivers for children under 18 years old are eligible for the program, introduced in 2016.
The non-taxable monthly payments are based on a family’s net income and how many children they have. Families that have an adjusted net income under $34,863 will receive the maximum amount per child.
For a child under six years old, an applicant can annually receive up to $7,437 per child, and up to $6,275 per child for kids between the ages of six through 17.
That translates to up to $619.75 per month for the younger cohort and $522.91 per month for the older group.
The benefit is recalculated every July and most recently increased 6.3 per cent in order to adjust to the rate of inflation, and cost of living.
To apply, an applicant can submit through a child’s birth registration, complete an online form or mail in an application to a tax centre.
The next payment date will take place on May 17.
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