Tony Baldinelli, Conservative Member of Parliament for Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake, is seeking a third term in the upcoming federal election, a seat he has held since 2019.
He’s urging Niagara-on-the-Lake residents to vote Conservative to protect the region’s wine industry, which he says is at risk because of tax changes by the Liberal government.
Baldinelli says a Conservative government will stop the automatic tax hikes on wine and calls them “undemocratic.”
“If a Conservative government is elected, we’re going to end the escalator clause (on excise tax),” he said.
“You know what that means for wineries in Niagara on Lake? If you produce 500,000 litres of wine, they’re gonna save $55,000. If they produce 200,000 litres of wine, that’s gonna save them $22,000,” said Baldinelli.
In 2006, Canada introduced a tax break for wine made from 100 per cent Canadian-grown grapes, which helped the industry grow, he said.
But in 2017, the Liberal government started raising taxes on alcohol, including wine, every year based on inflation.
In 2020, Canada agreed to end the tax break on Canadian wines by June 2022 after Australia challenged it at the World Trade Organization in 2018. Then in July 2022, to help wineries, the Liberal government launched a “wine sector support program.”
“The wine sector support program is a result of this government putting in place an escalator clause on the excise tax,” Baldinelli said.
“That’s why the wine sector, which was excise-free beforehand, now has to pay the excise tax. That’s why the government has to create a one-sector support program.”
Baldinelli says all these tax changes are bad for the wine industry, an industry with already small profits, he said.
“It’s a huge impact not only on the grape and wine sector, on the growers and the wineries,” he said. “That’s all put at risk because of this government’s failed taxation policies.”
During the pandemic, Baldinelli also worked closely with the government to ensure agricultural workers could enter Canada, which was crucial during the critical pruning season for fruit trees and wine industries in NOTL, he said. He has been advocating for border crossing improvements as well.
“We’re putting it in our platform to hire 2,000 more (Canada Border Services Agency) officers,” he said.
Baldinelli said he consistently advocated for funding for the Shaw Festival’s Royal George Theatre too.
“I was pleased to continue to advocate, on my level, for all the funding that it so rightfully deserves,” he said.
Baldinelli, who started his political career in 1988 as a legislative assistant to then-MP Rob Nicholson, says he’s not against the idea of a snap election. He believes it could actually help him.
“The advantage of incumbency is that you know the riding a bit better,” he said.
Baldinelli first ran for federal office in 2000 as a candidate for the Progressive Conservative Party and came in third.
Then, he won in 2019 for the Conservative Party and was re-elected in 2021 with 37.9 per cent of the vote, defeating Liberal candidate Andrea Kaiser, who got 33.5 per cent.
His political experience goes beyond elections. After working for Nicholson, he spent two and a half years with a Conservative cabinet minister during the Mike Harris government at Queen’s Park, then five and a half years in political consulting with Hill and Knowlton Strategies in Toronto.
Baldinelli then returned home to Niagara Falls, where he spent 18 years with the Niagara Parks Commission, where he became senior manager of communications and stakeholder relations, before being elected in 2019 and re-elected in 2021.
Conservative leader Erin O’Toole also appointed him as special advisor on tourism recovery in September 2020.
Currently, Baldinelli serves as the shadow minister for tourism under Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
“I believe the residents of Niagara Falls and Niagara on-the-Lake have approved of the positions I’ve taken, and the result is, I’ve been elected twice to represent their interests, and I’ve advocated for their interests.”
