Alcohol, beer tax set to increase next month in Canada [Video]

Alcohol and beer taxes are set to increase next month in Canada.

The two per cent tax hike comes on April 1 and the Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on all party leaders to end “the escalator tax that increases federal taxes on alcohol every year on April 1 without a vote in Parliament.”

Last year, then Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced the tax would be capped at two per cent until 2026 but the Canadian Taxpayers Federation would like to see the tax increase scrapped altogether.

The increase comes at a time when alcohol producers face U.S. tariff pressures.

“In one week, the federal government will hike alcohol taxes again this year,”said Franco Terrazzano, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation federal director. “Instead of making life even harder for brewers, distillers, pubs and restaurants by layering tax hikes on top of tariffs, the federal government should cut taxes to make Canadian businesses more competitive.”

The tax hike will cost taxpayers about $40 million in 2025-26, the Federation said in a …