NEWS

New Canada Goose factory shows low-tax plan is working

Joe OliverIn October, I was pleased to attend the grand opening of a new and expanded Canada Goose factory, right here in our community of Eglinton-Lawrence. The Canada Goose brand and quality extreme-weather outerwear are already recognizable at home and around the world. Now it will double its capacity.

Canada Goose hired 200 additional employees for its most recent expansion. Its garments are marketed in more than 40 countries worldwide, but Canada Goose keeps 100 percent of its production in Canada.

Think about it: a Canadian apparel company manufacturing in Canada and selling in China. It is a remarkable achievement.
Thanks to our our government’s economic focus, Canada has transformed into one of the best places in the world to invest, start a business and create jobs. In fact, Bloomberg has moved Canada from sixth to second place in the ranking of the most attractive countries in which to do business.

Since the depths of the Great Recession, Canada has created almost 1.2 million net new jobs, the majority of which are well paying full-time jobs in the private sector.

Today, more Canadians are working than at any time in our history — and they have more money in their pockets, due to the lowest federal tax burden in over half a century. According to KPMG, Canada’s total business tax costs are now the lowest in the G7 — 46 percent lower than in the U.S.

When our government took office in 2006, we had free trade agreements with five countries. Now we are completing free trade deals with 43. With one in five Canadian jobs tied to trade, freer movement of goods between Canada and other countries is crucial for our economic growth. The crown jewel of these free trade agreements is with the European Union, the most comprehensive free trade agreement in the history of our country.

For Canada Goose, our agreement with Europe will eliminate all EU tariffs on apparel — a markup of 12 percent — the day the agreement comes into force. Further, our trade agreement with South Korea, Canada’s first in Asia, will abolish Korean tariffs of 13 percent on apparel. These deals will enhance expansion opportunities for Canada Goose and other export-oriented Canadian businesses.

We are building a stronger, more confident, and more prosperous Canada. This is the experience of Canada Goose, a proud Canadian success story with an exciting future ahead of it. That future now includes my constituents, here in Eglinton-Lawrence.