Message from Mayor David Miller

Thank you for visiting the One Cent NOW! website.

Canada’s cities deliver the services that our residents rely upon more than those of any other government.   However, the revenues of cities do not match their responsibilities and there remains a significant gap between the infrastructure that is required to maintain growth and the money available to make it happen. 
The One Cent NOW! campaign requests the federal government to share one cent of the existing GST with cities to ensure that infrastructure and important services are maintained and that future infrastructure is built in an environmentally friendly manner. Cities are the engines of the Canadian economy and contribute billions to the federal government each year. As the federal government has indicated that there is room to cut the GST, we believe there is room to share one cent to support the critical needs of Canada’s largest cities.

Please take some time to read through the information we have placed on this site and consider signing the online petition and requesting a button or sticker to show your support for Toronto. Also, I am asking all residents to speak directly to their federal Member of Parliament and tell them that you support giving one cent of the existing GST to the City of Toronto. 

For years, various stakeholders, including The Toronto Board of Trade, the Conference Board of Canada, media and residents themselves have called on the provincial and federal orders of government to adequately and permanently fund infrastructure and properly fund municipal responsibilities. There have been several reports on the funding of municipal infrastructure – all of which have concluded that the funding gap must be addressed to properly secure the future of Canada’s cities. Now is the time to get involved.

The One Cent NOW! campaign is a critical part of the three things cities need the most:

1. A national transit strategy to ensure transit is provided to support our growing economy and protect our environment.
2. Ontario to take back the funding of their programs – specifically the cost of social services and housing that were once paid for by the province of Ontario and cannot be funded by property taxes.
3. A share of revenues that grow with the economy.

Right now, municipalities get none of the revenue created when the economy grows. However, municipalities pay the cost of growth through maintaining and building the infrastructure required to support healthy economies and cities. Cities make sizable contributions to the national economy.

Of all the taxes Toronto residents pay, including provincial and federal income taxes and property taxes, only about eight cents of every tax dollar remains with the City. Funding municipal services, infrastructure and in some areas paying the cost of social services once paid for by the provincial government, has become too great a burden for the property taxpayer.

One cent of the GST will mean approximately $410 million for Toronto infrastructure – roads, bridges, expressways and the other structural and program supports required to maintain Canada’s largest city.

Our City is continuing to grow and now is the time to work together and secure the funding required to support our City.

Thank you for supporting your city.

David Miller           Mayor