Did Canadas tax holiday boost spending? Data shows little growth – National [Video]

With just one week left until Canada’s tax “holiday” ends, new data suggests it may have had little impact in its first month.

Moneris looked into spending patterns between Dec. 14, 2024, when the tax “holiday” began and Jan. 15. Comparing the data to the same period in 2023-24, the payment processing firm found no year-over-year increases in spending

In fact, the data showed purchasing may have slowed during that time.

Across Canada, the data showed overall spending was down by four per cent, with the transaction count down by one per cent and the transaction size down by three per cent.

“Consumers probably loved that they were paying… less in these categories, but they didn’t love it enough to respond to it by going and doing more of what they just did,” Sean McCormick, director of business development for data services at Moneris, said in an interview.

“If they went for dinner and they saw, ‘Oh wow this was …