Mr. Speaker, we embarked on our initiative to improve the lives of Canadians with the very first measure that we put in place, which was a tax reduction for middle-class Canadians.
We looked at the second tax bracket of between $45,000 and $90,000 and recognized that by reducing taxes for people in that group by 7%, by moving it from 22% down to 20.5%, we could reduce the taxes for a large number of Canadians. Almost nine million Canadians would be impacted by that tax reduction.
We recognize that middle-class Canadians are finding themselves anxious and challenged to get ahead. By reducing taxes in that cohort, we create a better situation for those Canadians and their families, and we create a heightened sense of optimism and possibility for the future, which will inspire us and Canada's economy to do that much better in the future.