Tories would let Manitoba seniors defer property taxes, offer $500 mobility aids tax credit

Manitoba Progressive Conservatives are promising financial supports for seniors if they are re-elected Oct. 3.

The Tories say they would let seniors defer some or all of their property taxes, and the money would be repaid with interest when the senior sells their home.

Scott Johnston, a Tory cabinet minister running for re-election in the Winnipeg constituency of Assiniboia, says the province would have to pay municipalities for the deferred tax upfront, but the money would eventually be recouped.

Johnston says there would be no income limit on the financial aid, so any senior homeowner could get it.

"It's not a grant, it's nota subsidy, it's a deferral, which means that at any income, seniors will be paying it back," Johnston says Thursday.

Similar programs exist in B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan.

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Johnston wouldn't provide an estimate on how much the policy would cost the province.

The Tories are also promising a $500 tax credit to help people buy walkers, wheelchairs and other mobility aids.

Manitoba Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont calledthe property tax deferral "predatory because the government isn't paying for any of it, seniors are."

Meanwhile, the New Democrats pounced on the absence ofPC leader Heather Stefanson from the party's announcement. It was the second consecutive day she wasn't present.

"The reason Heather Stefanson skipped her own announcement today is because of her government's terrible record on seniors," saidUzomaAsagwara, the NDP's Union Station candidate, referring to a cut to the renters' credit and higher electricity rates during the PC party's time in government.

Thursday's pledge from the PCs is the latest in a string of affordability announcements by the party this week, including a promise to cut the lowest income tax bracket in half over four years.

• Read full coverage of the 2023 Manitoba election here