When Justin Trudeau looks at a small business owner, he sees a tax cheat.  At least that’s how he has treated them ever since he came into office.

To me, a small business owner is a risk-taker, an innovator and one of the over one million people who deliver pay cheques to eight million Canadians.  I see an electrical and plumbing contractor, a chef who operates a local restaurant, an inventor trying to launch new technology, health care professionals of all sorts, and someone who immigrated to Canada to start a new life and a small business.  In the gig economy, a small business is a way of life for many Canadians.  

And you never know. Think of Shopify that once sold skateboards and is now one of Canada's most influential and valuable companies.

Justin Trudeau thinks a small business exists to hide money from the government or to “sprinkle” earnings to family members to reduce taxes. When he sees a small business, he does not see a family enterprise but a tax dodge.

What Trudeau does not understand is that for many entrepreneurs, their small business is not only their livelihood but their retirement plan.  They don’t have trust funds like he does or a fully-indexed taxpayer-secured pension plan to fall back on.

So, what did Justin Trudeau do to small business owners in Canada when given power? He created a new tax called a “Tax on Split Income.” It could just as easily be called the Trudeau tax on family-run businesses.

As prime minister, I will treat small business owners and their family members fairly and with respect.  As a start, I will eliminate Trudeau’s Tax on Split Income.

Trudeau’s response to small business under COVID-19 is more serious and far more troublesome.

As it stands today, many small businesses will never reopen their doors and millions of Canadians will be out of work for an extended period. The Liberal response to small business has been slow and anemic.  Unless these businesses survive, millions of Canadians won’t have a job to come back to when it’s safe to reopen.  

Justin Trudeau’s response shows that either he doesn’t get or doesn’t care about small business. Remember, he thinks they are tax cheats.

The COVID-19 crisis has hit small businesses more than most. As Conservative leader, I will press the government to change course on small business. As prime minister, I will get off the back of small businesses to help them get back on their feet.

For now, I encourage all Canadians to buy local and buy Canadian whenever we can.