On June 7, 2018, the people of Ontario elected the Progressive Conservative party to a majority government.
Check out what the parties had to say about their commitments to small business during the campaign, and what CFIB will be looking for from the new government.
PARTY LEADERS SURVEY
All parties responded to CFIB's 2018 party leaders survey on the election topics that mattered most to you. Click on the questions at the bottom of this page to view and compare their answers or, see each party's individual response:
Green Party of Ontario
Ontario Liberal Party
Ontario New Democratic Party
Ontario Progressive Conservative Party
SMALL BUSINESS PLATFORM
It’s not enough that parties just recognize small business as Ontario’s economic engine: their words have to be backed up by action.
On behalf of our 42,000 members, CFIB’s small business platform, Turning Small Business Talk into Action, makes 46 recommendations to the new government including:
- Delivering a clear plan to balance the budget and reduce Ontario’s ballooning debt.
- Eliminating time-of-use (Smart Meter) electricity pricing for small businesses.
- Reducing the small business tax rate from 3.5 per cent to 0 per cent.
- Reversing the decision to parallel the federal tax measures on income-splitting and passive investment income.
- Introducing a full course, mandatory financial literacy course into the high school curriculum.
Read our full platform: Turning Small Business Talk into Action.
If elected, what is your government's plan to ensure Ontario's small business owners are competitive?
Green Party of Ontario (Greens) | Ontario Liberal Party (Liberals) | Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP) | Ontario Progressive Conservative Party (PCs) |
The Green Party has a plan for supporting small businesses and Ontario’s workers through fair tax reform. This plan will result in an additional $1 billion Small businesses are the engine of our economy and account for over 87 per The Green Party of Ontario believes that to sustain vibrant communities we must We will do this by making it easier for small businesses to pay a living wage and Our plan will provide immediate cash flow relief that will help local, independent We will also support local food and farmers and expanding local markets for And we will create smart regulations that understand the needs of small | Small businesses are key to vibrant communities, providing good jobs and new opportunities for Ontario families, which is why the Ontario Liberals are committed to their success and growth. With more than 400,000 small businesses with employees in communities across the province, we know that when they succeed, we all succeed. Our plan is to invest an additional $500 million to help small businesses lower
The Liberals are also making investments that make business operations more
Beyond these important funds, Ontario will also be investing $50 million over the We’re also taking further steps to support Ontario’s small and medium sized Finally, we are modernizing and making changes to the microbrewer definition | Small businesses are the backbone of the Ontario economy. When small businesses grow and prosper, so does our province. However, with fewer resources and personnel and smaller budgets, small businesses face unique challenges on their path to prosperity. In Ontario high hydro rates are hurting our small businesses and undermining our competitiveness. Small businesses are finding it increasingly difficult to hire qualified, experienced people - and small businesses have not been getting their fair share of provincial businesses supports and procurement opportunities. Only New Democrats will lower hydro bills by 30 per cent – and keep them down over the long-term. We will end mandatory time of use pricing that penalizes businesses for being open during business time. We will put an end to the government’s disastrous Fair Hydro borrowing scheme that will add $40 billion of unnecessary debt while causing bills to rise again by 70 per cent shortly after the election. An NDP government will make historic investments in workforce development and training including creating 27,000 new work-integrated learning experiences for post-secondary students. We will partner with small businesses and organizations like CFIB to ensure small businesses are able to access Ontario’s world-class post-secondary talent. We will invest in and reform Ontario’s apprenticeship system to begin closing the skills gap in the skilled trades. An NDP government will make sure provincial business supports reflect the needs and realities of small businesses: we will make sure business support programs are accessible, simplified and transparent. New Democrats also believe that governments should be reinvesting tax dollars back into Ontario communities by procuring made-in-Ontario products and services when possible. We will set a target of procuring 33 per cent of government contracts from small and scaling businesses. We will make greater use of Community Benefit Agreements in infrastructure projects. We will maintain the one-third reduction to the effective small business tax rate and we will maintain the small business exemption in the Employer Health Tax while limiting it to small businesses. | The Progressive Conservative Party opted to respond via letter. Please see the attached document.
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If elected, what is your government's plan to balance the budget and pay down the debt?
Green Party of Ontario (Greens) | Ontario Liberal Party (Liberals) | Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP) | Ontario Progressive Conservative Party (PCs) |
We believe in strong public services, and also believe that we need to be honest about how we are going to pay for these programs. We have costed our platform priorities and have a plan to reduce the deficit gradually over a 4-year period. Even with a better range of public services, our projected deficit will be almost one third of the deficit projected by the Financial Accountability Office for the 2018 Read more at www.gpo.ca/platform | Since 2014, the Ontario Liberals have been implementing a plan that is about investing in people, creating jobs and growing the economy. At the same time, This year we delivered on that promise. We balanced the budget and expect to post a $600 million surplus for the 2017–2018 year. We did it without cutting services and jobs. We did it by investing in people, creating economic growth and carefully managing spending. As a result, Ontario’s economy has been growing faster than Canada and is leading the world’s strongest economic powers, including the US and Europe. But while our economy is doing well, not everyone is feeling the benefits of it equally. It’s getting harder and harder for people in our province to get ahead. That’s why Ontario Liberals have made the deliberate choice to invest in the services and supports families in Ontario need right now. The deliberate choice Ontario continues to be the leanest government in Canada; our per-capita With Ontario back on a solid fiscal track and families still struggling to make ends meet, we cannot afford to pull back. We have to decide if government is going to Ontario Liberals have chosen a clear path back to balance. Our fiscal plan will make sure people can continue to give and receive care, get an education, a good job and have every opportunity to get ahead. | The NDP platform includes a fully-costed fiscal plan projected over the next five years that has been independently verified and deemed reasonable by the Former Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page. Our plan includes significant spending commitments to begin undoing the damage of decades of cuts and underfunding of the programs and services Ontarians rely on. Our investments will mean better health, more opportunity and a more affordable province for Ontario families. In order to fund these much needed investments, our plan makes the responsible choice of increasing taxes for those most able to pay. As a result, our fiscal plan projects moderate deficits over the forecast period – deficits that are billions of dollars lower than currently projected in the 2018 Ontario Budget. By our third year our fiscal plan shows a clear path towards balance. In addition, the NDP is the only party who will not continue with the government’s Fair Hydro Plan which will add $40 billion of unnecessary debt while causing bills to rise again by 70 per cent shortly after the election - and we will bring millions of dollars back into provincial revenues by buying back Hydro One which should never have been sold off in the first place. | The Progressive Conservative Party opted to respond via letter. Please see the attached document.
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If elected, what measures will your government put in place to help reduce the tax burden on small businesses?
Ontario Green Party (Greens) | Ontario Liberal Party (Liberals) | Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP) | Ontario Progressive Conservative Party (PCs) |
The Green Party supports lowering taxes on small local businesses and We will:
| A suite of small business supports were announced in Ontario’s recent Fall Economic Statement and reiterated in the 2018 budget. To provide increased support to small businesses and enhance their overall competitiveness, the province has cut the small business corporate income tax (CIT) rate to 3.5 per cent for the first $500,000 of active business income, effective January 1, 2018. This represents a 22 per cent reduction in the CIT rate for small businesses. | The NDP will maintain the recent reduction in the effective small business tax rate. Our Pharmacare for Everyone plan will move prescription drug costs currently shouldered by businesses on the provincial government, saving businesses a minimum of $800 million a year and as much as $1.9 billion. Lastly, depending on where a business is located in Ontario, they may pay businesses education property taxes as much as 15 times higher as a business located somewhere else in the province. We will bring in a uniform Business Education Tax rate, and continue the Education Tax Reduction Plan, adjusted to equalize rates. | The Progressive Conservative Party opted to respond via letter. Please see the attached document. |
If elected, how will your government address the regulatory burden on small businesses?
Ontario Green Party (Greens) | Ontario Liberal Party (Liberals) | Ontario new Democratic Party (NDP) | Ontario Progressive Conservative Party (PCs) |
The Green Party of Ontario will reduce red tape for small and medium size businesses.
| Ontario Liberals have made significant progress in reducing the regulatory burden for business and will continue to do so. Open for Business is the
We are committed to developing modern, outcomes-focused and evidencebased In 2017, we established a commitment to introduce annual burden reduction legislation and on March 22, 2017 the first annual bill received Royal Assent. The Burden Reduction Act, 2017 made changes to 50 different statutes across 11 ministries to reduce regulatory burdens and practices that cost businesses time and money while protecting environmental and health standards and enhancing worker safety.
We built on this commitment by introducing Bill 154, the Cutting Unnecessary Red Tape Act, 2017, which received Royal Assent on November 14, 2017.
The latest annual report, released on April 19, 2018, features an estimated savings of $195 million and 7.9 million hours to business since 2011. | Andrea Horwath and the NDP are committed to helping small businesses grow and thrive. An NDP government will work closely with small businesses and local chambers of commerce to identify ways in which the province can better support businesses, and ensure their success.
| The Progressive Conservative Party opted to respond via letter. Please see the attached document. |
If elected, how will your government reduce energy costs across the province?
Ontario Green Party (Greens) | Ontario Liberal Party (Liberals) | Ontario new Democratic Party (NDP) | Ontario Progressive Conservative Party (PCs) |
Ontario’s current electricity system is unsustainable. Yet instead of real change, the A better plan is to purchase low cost water power instead of high cost nuclear Ontario can win big by becoming a leader in the clean energy economy. We can Our plan calls for a $4.18 billion 4-year Green Building and Business Program to This includes incentives to help businesses convert natural gas, electric, oil, and
| The Ontario Liberals introduced the Fair Hydro Plan, which reduced hydro bills by 25% for small businesses across the province at all times of day. Hydro rates will be held to inflation for four years and rise gradually after that. Ontario Liberals | Kathleen Wynne and the Liberals let Ontarians down badly - they didn’t run in the last election on a plan to sell off Hydro One, privatize the electrical grid and sell off a valuable public asset. But that’s exactly what Kathleen Wynne did as soon as she was elected, ignoring warnings from independent experts and protests from Ontarians. Andrea Horwath and the NDP have released a detailed plan to cut Hydro bills by 30%. We will:
Re- establishing independent, transparent public oversight will make sure of it. Our plan for immediate cost reduction includes steps like getting rid of mandatory time-of-use charges (that do nothing for conservation) capping private profit margins, and ensuring rural users pay the same delivery costs as urban users. Our long-term fix includes ending oversupply, and cancelling or renegotiating bad private contracts, or letting them expire. We will cancel the Liberals’ borrowing scheme that adds billions in new debt to finance short-term bill reductions. | The Progressive Conservative Party opted to respond via letter. Please see the attached document. |
If elected, what will your government do to reduce apprenticeship ratios and the costs associated with on-the-job training?
Ontario Green Party (Greens) | Ontario Liberal Party (Liberals) | Ontario new Democratic Party (NDP) | Ontario Progressive Conservative Party (PCs) |
The Green Party of Ontario will seek to expand and invest in apprenticeship and We want to encourage more young people to join skilled trades. We will modernize | Apprenticeships offer opportunities to receive on-the-job training that lead to Ontario’s apprenticeship system has trained over 68,000 people and certified 9,800 trade professionals annually over the past three years. Apprenticeship is the original experiential learning model, providing apprentices with the ability to Ontario’s skilled trades create careers leading to secure jobs and a good quality This investment will include:
| Andrea Horwath and the NDP will invest $57 million annually from the Jobs and Prosperity Fund to improve apprenticeship pathways and create opportunities in the trades. We will bring together labour unions, employers, the Ontario College of Trades, and individual tradespeople to ensure that college programs are funded; to identify and develop new opportunities for apprenticeship; and to ensure young people know the opportunities that can come from a skilled trade. We will put a particular focus on bringing more women into the skilled trades. An NDP government will make historic investments in workforce development and training including creating 27,000 new work-integrated learning experiences for post-secondary students. We will partner with small businesses and organizations like CFIB to ensure small businesses are able to access Ontario’s world-class post-secondary talent. | The Progressive Conservative Party opted to respond via letter. Please see the attached document.
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If elected, how will your government ensure that employers are educated and prepared for recreational cannabis legalization, and will your government develop a plan to include the private sector in the recreational cannabis market?
Ontario Green Party (Greens) | Ontario Liberal Party (Liberals) | Ontario new Democratic Party (NDP) | Ontario Progressive Conservative Party (PCs) |
The current government missed a big opportunity to help build local businesses and create jobs. We should be following the craft brewery model in Ontario – regulating Overall, we support the legalization of recreational cannabis, and support efforts to work closely with the federal government to ensure the legalization process be We understand that small businesses are concerned about the effect of legalization | The federal government’s Cannabis Act, if passed, would permit the legal production, sale and possession of recreational cannabis across Canada later in 2018. In response to the federal decision to legalize recreational cannabis, the Ontario Liberal government passed legislation to establish a safe and sensible framework within the province that protects youth and reduces harm. Ontario’s framework covers the sale, distribution, purchase, possession and consumption of cannabis in the province. Established as a Crown corporation and subsidiary of the LCBO, the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation, operating In support of a safe and sensible framework, and to protect the health and wellbeing
| New Democrats support a regulatory framework for cannabis sales, distribution and consumption that puts health, safety and the public interest first. We are concerned that the 40 stores planned by the Liberals won't eliminate illegal cannabis. Our focus will be on a system that ensures safe, responsible and equitable access to legal cannabis that supports good jobs for the workers in Ontario's cannabis industry. | The Progressive Conservative Party opted to respond via letter. Please see the attached document. |
If elected, what will your government do to enhance the financial literacy education of young Ontarians
Ontario Green Party (Greens) | Ontario Liberal Party (Liberals) | Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP) | Ontario Progressive Conservative Party (PCs) |
The Green Party of Ontario understands the importance in teaching our young people | Ontario Liberals know how important it is that our young people are equipped with the financial literacy skills they need to succeed in today’s economy. That is why we have taken concrete steps to expand financial literacy education and will continue to do so. We have embedded financial literacy into subjects across the curriculum from We have provided matching funding to the Ontario Chamber of Commerce to And we are enhancing the Grade 10 career studies course, bringing in The new course will include mandatory learning on financial literacy, such as
We have also made new investments in hands-on learning. Every school board | The NDP will continue the long-overdue curriculum update currently underway, and pay particular attention to career counselling for a changing workplace, as well as financial literacy and mathematics. | The Progressive Conservative Party opted to respond via letter. Please see the attached document.
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