Ontarians decidedly oppose HST, foresee higher prices
Ontarians are decidedly dismissive of the proposal to bring in a harmonized sales tax (HST), and the idea is clearly affecting the standing of the incumbent provincial government, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll conducted in partnership with the Toronto Star has found.
In the online survey of a representative provincial sample of 1,162 Ontario adults, 27 per cent of respondents claim to be very familiar with the issue of creating an HST in Ontario, while almost half (49%) are moderately familiar.
Only 15 per cent of respondents support the establishment of the HST in Ontario, while 75 per cent are opposed—including 57 per cent who claim to be “strongly opposed.”
The HST has also led to a wide range of scepticism, with just eight per cent of respondents siding with the argument that the tax will save Ontarians money by eliminating hidden retail taxes, reduce the tax burden on businesses and create jobs in the province through a more competitive tax structure. An overwhelming majority of respondents (83%) foresees, instead, more expensive goods and services.
Seven-in-ten Ontarians (70%) acknowledge that the creation of the HST has negatively affected their views of the incumbent provincial government, and more than half of respondents (54%) say their impression of Premier and Liberal Party leader Dalton McGuinty has worsened over the past three months. These numbers give McGuinty a net momentum score of -50, while his two main rivals—Progressive Conservative Party leader Tim Hudak and New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Andrea Horwath—stand at -1.
In fact, the opposition Progressive Conservatives (41%) now hold a 14-point advantage over the incumbent Liberals (27%) when Ontarians are asked to ponder their choices in a provincial election. The NDP is third with 20 per cent, followed by the Green Party with 11 per cent.
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