Poilievre promises to raise $1B by cracking down on offshore tax havens

Peter Zimonjic · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 08, 2025 9:34 AM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is promising to ace down connected the usage of offshore taxation havens and recover arsenic overmuch arsenic $1 cardinal a twelvemonth successful mislaid revenues. 

In a video posted connected X, Poilievre said the wealth recovered done the inaugural volition beryllium utilized to assistance wage for his program to present a $14-billion income taxation cut by reducing the complaint successful the lowest taxation bracket from 15 per cent to 12.75 per cent. 

The program to ace down connected taxation havens has 4 main planks. 

Poilievre has antecedently announced that helium would make a taxation task unit composed of a sheet of experts who would reappraisal Canada's taxation laws and rewrite the rules to marque them simpler, fairer and easier to administer.

On Tuesday the Conservative person said the archetypal plank of his program volition spot him direct that task unit to find ways to adjacent loopholes that let companies to "stash their wealth distant successful taxation havens and debar paying their just stock present successful Canada."

Poilievre said helium volition besides redirect Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) resources distant from "harassing and auditing guiltless tiny concern owners" and toward cracking down connected offshore taxation havens. 

He besides said helium volition grow Canada's Offshore Tax Informat Program, nether which the CRA tin connection fiscal rewards for accusation that uncovers large planetary taxation dodgers and leads to the betterment of wealth owed. 

Poilievre's projected enlargement of the programme would springiness whistleblowers up to 20 per cent of the recovered funds erstwhile they assistance exposure amerciable taxation schemes.

The last plank successful the program calls for the instauration of a "name and shame work to exposure each the affluent multinational corporations that are dodging taxes and are refusing to wage their just share." 

Targeting Carney

In the video detailing the plan, Poilievre accused Liberal Leader Mark Carney of hiding "his institution currency successful Bermuda to debar Canadian taxes."

"While helium was advising Trudeau to rise your taxes, helium made definite that his ain funds were stashed safely offshore and retired of reach," Poilievre said. 

Radio-Canada has antecedently reported that portion Carney was connected the committee of Brookfield Asset Management, helium co-chaired 2 investments funds dedicated to the modulation to a net-zero c system and worth a full of $25 billion.

Those funds were registered successful Bermuda among different locations, allowing investors to payment from important taxation advantages, according to accusation obtained by Radio-Canada.

Last period Carney said the operation of the funds is "designed to payment the Canadian pension funds that put successful them," citing the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan.

The taxes are paid successful Canada, Carney added, due to the fact that the "flow-through of the funds spell to Canadian entities who wage the taxes appropriately, arsenic opposed to taxes being paid aggregate times earlier they get there."

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh's taxation haven pitch

Cracking down connected the usage of offshore taxation havens is simply a long-held argumentation plank for the NDP. 

Last week NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh unveiled his party's transportation to "stop billionaires and large corporations" from dodging taxes done offshore havens. 

Singh said if helium becomes premier curate helium volition extremity taxation agreements with known taxation havens similar Bermuda, and necessitate Canadian corporations to beryllium a "genuine concern crushed for offshore accounts."

He said helium would besides motorboat a reappraisal of the taxation codification akin to Poilievre's tax task unit that would adjacent loopholes presently allowing corporations to debar paying taxes. 

"While billionaires fell their wealthiness and Conservative and Liberal governments look the different way, mundane Canadians are near paying the price," said Singh.