Canada - History of the GST

Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's government pursues sales tax reform, saying it wants to replace the manufacturers' sales tax with the goods and services tax.

Jan. 24, 1990: GST bill introduced in the House of Commons.

Sept. 27, 1990: Facing Liberal opposition to the GST in the Senate, Mulroney uses obscure constitutional provision to stack upper chamber with eight more Tories.

Dec. 13, 1990: After months of tense debate, the GST legislation is passed in the Senate.

Jan. 1, 1991: The 7 per cent GST goes into effect.

Dec. 16, 1996: Prime Minister Jean Chrétien apologizes for having given the impression during the 1993 campaign that Liberals would eliminate the GST.

May 2, 2006: The new Conservative government under Stephen Harper includes a one percentage point GST cut in its first budget; the reduction to 6 per cent comes into effect in July.

Jan. 1, 2008: GST officially drops from 6 per cent to 5 per cent.

Source : Toronto Star - Ontario, Canada, dated 01/01/2008