OTTAWA — NDP Leader Avi Lewis wants the Carney government to establish a network of publicly owned grocery stores across Canada, paid for through a new tax on wealthy Canadians, as part of Thursday's federal budget.In a letter sent Tuesday to Prime Minister Mark Carney and Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne, Lewis called for 50 public grocery stores, billions more in housing and health-care spending, and a wealth tax on fortunes exceeding $10 million.The NDP is proposing $350 million for the initial grocery store infrastructure, along with another $290 million in ongoing funding to build 50 stores.Lewis argues that government-owned grocery stores would bring competition to a Canadian market dominated by five major companies, claiming families could save as much as $10,000 on groceries depending on where they live.The proposal bears similarities to one championed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist who campaigned last year on opening publicly owned grocery stores to lower food prices.Mamdani has since moved ahead with plans for five city-owned grocery stores, one in each New York City borough, with the first expected to open in 2027..His proposal has faced opposition from private grocery operators, who argue that taxpayer-subsidized stores would have an unfair advantage over businesses paying commercial rents and property taxes.A New York business coalition filed lawsuits in August challenging the city's plan, arguing that smaller grocers could be driven out of business.Lewis did not mention Mamdani in his letter, nor did he indicate whether the New York proposal inspired his own.The NDP leader also wants Ottawa to triple its investment in community housing to $18 billion over 10 years, which he claims would help build one million non-market homes.On health care, Lewis is demanding annual increases of at least 6% to the Canada Health Transfer, costing an additional $12 billion over five years.He also wants the federal government to conclude and fund pharmacare agreements with provinces and territories that have not yet signed deals.To pay for the proposals, Lewis is calling for a federal wealth tax beginning at 1% on fortunes exceeding $10 million, rising to 3% on the largest fortunes.The NDP claims the tax could raise as much as $40 billion annually and $500 billion over 10 years.Those figures are the party's projections, and the letter does not provide a detailed breakdown of how the proposed tax would be administered or how much revenue would be collected each year.Lewis also accused Canada's major grocery chains of profiting while families struggle with food prices, pointing to what he described as a $4.4-billion increase in the wealth of the families behind Loblaw and Save-On-Foods last year.“Building a stronger country cannot mean handing the keys to foreign investors and those in our country who already have way too much,” Lewis wrote.The demands come two days before Champagne is scheduled to present the federal budget, with the NDP calling on Ottawa to direct more spending toward publicly owned services rather than private investors.
