The newest budget of the Trudeau government has caused an uproar across the country with critics claiming that through draconian changes to capital gains taxes, Liberals have mounted an attack on doctors, small businesses and middle-class people too. Proposed tax hikes are a particular concern in this regard as they could ruin medical professionals and ordinary investors alike.

According to the budget, the inclusion rate for capital gains would be increased from 50% up to 66.7% for both corporations and individuals who generate over $250,000 in yearly capital gains. Which means that higher tax will have to be paid on any profit made by selling such assets as stocks or property or business.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford was among those who heavily criticized these measures, saying it will “gouge” doctors and small business owners, who have worked hard for years building their companies. “You don’t have to be a multi-millionaire,” Ford said: “to have investments at $250,000. So when you sell it, then you’re gonna get gouged 66 per cent.”
The Ontario Medical Association 1(OMA) expressed its concerns by warning that this “needless tax” might drive physicians out of practice and discourage new graduates from practicing in Canada during an already devastating doctor shortage. As stated by CEO Kimberly Moran: “This disincentive could force existing physicians out of practice and dissuade new grads from practicing in Canada.”
However these proposals do not only affect the medical community but also other sectors within middle-income groups; according to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s view change would hit hard at middle-class individuals relying on investment properties or portfolios as part of their retirement savings plan where he said: “It will always and everywhere be the middle class that pays under Trudeau — which has become working poor under him — where they save money through investments like rental homes until they retire.”
Liberals argue that policy only affects ultra-wealthy people with large investment earnings outside tax-sheltered accounts. According to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, these taxes will bring in $19.4 billion for housing, pharmacare2, defence and economic growth initiatives totalling $53 billion.
We recently posted on our YouTube channel community section, asking Canadians if high tax rates pose a threat to healthcare. The response was surprising, with nearly unanimous agreement that high taxes do indeed jeopardize healthcare. Join the conversation on our Scoop Canada YouTube Channel to cast your vote and share your thoughts, making your voice heard!

Nevertheless, experts warn about unintended consequences from such changes; John Oakey of Chartered Professional Accountants has warned that new rules introduce uncertainty which can have a big impact on retirement planning for incorporated professionals like doctors who invest through their corporations.
The government says the new $1.25 million lifetime capital gains exemption (up from $1 million) for small businesses will counterbalance the effect however critics are of the opinion that this is an insignificant increase when compared to substantial taxation now faced by doctors, entrepreneurs, and middle-class investors.
Liberal party remains steadfast behind policies they claim make the tax system fairer to all Canadians as anger mounts but opponents see a government living in another world where its citizens’ lives are threatened by unemployment etc., due mainly to the inflation rate being high coupled with increased cost of living; thus more overburdening them financially through excessive taxation on savings especially during this period characterized by economic instability caused largely by too much spending without matching revenue collection efforts aimed at safeguarding welfare of ordinary people who voted them into power.
The fallout from the capital gains tax debacle could prove disastrous politically for Liberals because as the national healthcare crisis worsens so does doctors’ rage intensify about slashing taxes leading possibly to a massive exodus leaving staffing levels within the system below par while middle-income families may turn against Trudeau’s party once their retirement plans are ruined by this imposition.
The election is coming and maybe the Liberals will be sorry that they put at risk the economic well-being of working Canadians by introducing a tax scheme so convoluted it was only meant to make them look like champions of wealth redistribution. When physicians cannot afford to work and typical investors are financially ruined, not all the new expenditures in the world can fix what’s broken from turning away those this virus-battered country needs most.
- Ontario Medical Association. “ONTARIO MEDICAL ASSOCIATION (“OMA”) GOVERNANCE & NOMINATING COMMITTEE (“GNC”) CHARTER-1. Composition.” (2021). ↩︎
- Hajizadeh, Mohammad, and Sterling Edmonds. “Universal pharmacare in Canada: a prescription for equity in healthcare.” International Journal of Health Policy and Management 9.3 (2020): 91. ↩︎
Last Updated on by Sanjana