Taxpayers back NDP commitment to remove HST from children’s essentials
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is backing the Newfoundland and Labrador New Democrats’ commitment to take provincial sales tax off children’s essentials and is calling on the Wakeham government to make it happen.
“Raising kids is expensive enough without the government taking a cut every time mom and dad buy a snowsuit or a car seat,” said Devin Drover, CTF Atlantic Director and General Counsel. “Taking the tax off the basics is a good idea no matter which party puts it forward and the Wakeham government should run with it.”
New Democrat members passed a resolution at the party’s recent annual convention calling for a point-of-sale rebate that removes the provincial portion of the harmonized sales tax from common children’s goods like clothing, footwear and car seats.
The HST in Newfoundland and Labrador is 15 per cent, with 10 percentage points going to the provincial government. The rebate would leave 10 cents of every dollar spent on children’s essentials in parents’ pockets, meaning $30 saved on a $300 car seat.
Polling shows that 65 per cent of Canadians say they’re choosing to have smaller families because of financial concerns.
Newfoundland and Labrador’s fertility rate fell to an all-time low of 1.08 children per woman in 2025. It’s also the first province where more than a quarter of the population is 65 or older.
“Fewer kids and more seniors means bigger health-care bills landing on fewer taxpayers,” Drover said. “Making it more affordable to raise a family here is good for parents today and good for every taxpayer tomorrow.”
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