Comparing the Election Platforms June 2022

As Election Day approaches on June 2, the TADA wants to provide a snapshot of each political party’s campaign platform to help members make informed choices. Below you will find a list of key election promises aimed at automobile dealers from each party. If you’d like more details, a link to the full election platform is also provided.

As you will see, each party promises some good items for auto retail. I’ve also included the party’s commitments affecting the cost of doing business and other employer responsibilities should they form a government.

Ontario PC Party
Premier Ford and the Ontario PCs have not released a traditional election platform. Instead, they opted to campaign on the 2022 Ontario Budget which they announced before the election campaign. Highlights include:

• $23.9 million to implement Digital Dealer Registration, commonly referred to in-dealership licensing and ramp up the program to eventually include 7,000 dealers.
• Eliminate licence plate renewal fees and stickers – including those for Dealer and Service Plates.
• Cut the Gas Tax by 5.7 cents/litre for 6 months starting July 1, 2022.
• Build Highway 413 connecting Halton, Peel and York Regions.
• Eliminate tolls on Highways 412 and 418.
• Continue to invest in attracting electric vehicle and battery production.

 Liberal Party of Ontario
Highlights of the Ontario Liberal Platform include:

• Create an $8,000 electric vehicle rebate, and a $1,500 rebate for charging equipment. (No further details if the rebate on charging equipment applies to dealers).
• Introduce a refundable tax credit of $75 per winter tire and $100 per studded tire in Northern Ontario.
• Make September 30^th a statutory holiday to commemorate the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
• Increase the minimum wage to $16, with some variation based on regions, to reflect the higher cost of living in different parts of Ontario.
• Introducing new protections like the right to get electronics repaired instead of having to buy new ones. It’s unclear if this “right-to-repair” item captures auto repair.
• 10 paid Sick Days (paid by the employer) and give businesses up to $200 a day if workers take more. Requiring a sick note from a doctor would also be banned.
• Launch a four-day work week pilot. Its unclear which sectors this would apply to.
• Provide a benefits package for all workers. Employers who don’t provide comparable benefits will be forced to join the provincial program. Small business will be provided with a tax credit to contribute up to 25% of their employees’ benefits.

Ontario New Democratic Party
Highlights of the NDP Platform include:

• Electric Vehicle incentives of up to $10,000 to Ontarians who purchase ZEVs, excluding luxury vehicles, with a particular focus on those made in Ontario.
• Regulate the retail price and wholesale mark-up of gasoline.
• Raise the minimum wage to $20 in 2026, with $1-an-hour increases annually.
• Legislate 10 permanent personal emergency leave days for all workers.
• Allow any workplace to unionize when 55 per cent of workers sign a card stating they want to join a union.
• Implement a four-day work week pilot project in Ontario, to be established for one year for a section of the province’s workers. The platform doesn’t state which sector of the economy would be piloted.
• Establish the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation as a provincial statutory holiday.
• Ban the use of postal codes for auto insurance purposes so where you live doesn’t factor into your risk assessment.

Green Party of Ontario
Highlights of the Green Party Platform include:

• Create cash incentives up to $10,000 for buying a fully electric vehicle.
• Provide a tax incentive for businesses to install charging infrastructure.
• Phase out the sale of new gas and diesel passenger vehicles, medium-duty trucks, and buses by 2030.
• Require trucks in urban areas to be 50% Zero-Emission Vehicles (ZEV) by 2030, and 100% ZEV by 2040.
• Increase the floor of the minimum wage each year by $1, starting at $16 in 2022, with a top-up in cities where the cost of living is higher.
• Increase the number of provincially-legislated paid sick days from 3 to 10, and provide small businesses financial support to fund the program.
• Ban employers from requiring a sick note from a medical practitioner when an employee is ill.
• Make the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation a statutory holiday.
• Make the day of a general election an official paid holiday.

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