Standing in the popular SpiceX: Blackmarsh Superette, Newfoundland and Labrador NDP Leader Jim Dinn – joined by Mark Nichols of the Worker’s Action Network – continued his focus to lower costs and get better wages for NL workers by announcing today that a New Democrat government will take bold action to tackle rising costs by raising the minimum wage to $22/hour and cutting the Corporate Income Tax (CIT) for small businesses, delivering a better deal for workers and local job creators.
“The cost of everything is going up, from rent to power bills and too many people working full-time jobs still can’t afford to keep up,” said Dinn. “Meanwhile, small businesses – the backbone of our local economy – are dealing with smaller and smaller margins to grow their business.”
As rising costs cause Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to sound the alarm, small businesses have struggled with razor-thin margins, many facing risk of closure. Dinn said the NL NDP’s plan will help both sides of the local economy: giving working people a real raise and giving small businesses a break to help them stay open, hire more staff, and grow.
“We know that when we raise wages, that money goes right back into our local economy,” said Dinn. “Small businesses hire locally. We want to empower them to make that investment in our communities – investments that build lasting value here, not profits disappearing into the hands of distant shareholders.”
“We’ve got to help out both sides of the scale. When workers are doing well, the economy is doing well. Workers and small businesses deserve to get a better deal and an NL NDP government is ready to deliver.”
The minimum wage would be increased gradually over the next four years to reach $22 an hour. In 2026, the CIT for businesses with less than 100 employees would be reduced by half, to 1.25%. By 2027, it would be phased out completely. The proposal is part of the NL NDP’s fully-costed platform, to be released during the election campaign, and would cost $11.5 million in 2027.
This announcement builds on the NL NDP’s broader plan to lower costs and get a better deal for Newfoundland and Labrador, including reversing the Liberal tuition hike, expanding $10-a-day childcare, removing the HST from kids’ essentials and power bills, and launching an investigation into why power costs have skyrocketed.