EDITORIAL: Taxpayers treated like cash cows

Canadians are also concerned with how their money is spent by governments

Published Jul 16, 2026  •  2 minute read

Canadian currency and the word Tax in block letters. Photo by payphoto /Getty Images

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It’s nothing new for public opinion surveys to show that most Canadians feel their taxes are too high, but a new online poll by Ipsos done for the Montreal Economic Institute suggests the depths of economic despair this is causing.

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In the survey of 1005 adult Canadians taken from June 26 to July 1, 70% said they agreed that “my high tax bill reduces my standard of living.”

The numbers back them up.

The average Canadian family today earning $114,289 annually pays $48,306 in taxes to all levels of government, or 42.3% of its income. That’s more than the 35.5% it pays for food, shelter and clothing combined, according to the Fraser Institute.

Put another way, the fiscally conservative think tank says, the average family today spent the first 159 days of this the year from Jan. 1 to June 8 — 43.6% of its time — earning money to pay taxes to all levels of government, before it starts earning money for itself.

Hardly surprising then, that almost two-in-three Canadians surveyed (63%) says their income taxes are too high, versus too low (2%) or acceptable (31%).

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Canadians are also concerned with how their money is spent by governments and there too, they are frustrated with the quality and effectiveness of government services.

Fifty per cent believe federal money is not being spent effectively, compared to 36% who say it is and 15% who gave no opinion.

The news is worse for provincial and municipal governments.

Fifty-six per cent say they are not getting good value for money spent by their provincial governments, while only 37% say they are.

For municipal governments, 47% say they are getting poor value for money spent, compared to 43% who are satisfied.

On this question, the federal government fared the best, with 48% saying they are getting good value for money spent compared to 45% who disagreed.

But that doesn’t apply to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s creation of a so-called $25-billion sovereign wealth fund, financed by public debt instead of federal surpluses which are non-existent today, with 58% of Canadians surveyed saying it’s a bad idea, almost triple the 20% who agree with it.

The other issue our federal, provincial and municipal governments routinely ignore, is that there’s only one taxpayer.

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