Canada's premiers are calling on the federal government to extend the deadline for claiming charitable donations on tax returns through to the end of February.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford made the request in a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday, sent in his capacity as chair of the Council of the Federation.
Canada’s premiers are joining the call from charities whose fundraising efforts have been impacted by the Canada Post strike, urging the federal government to extend the deadline for claiming 2024 charitable donations.
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) December 24, 2024
It’s the least that can be done to support our amazing… pic.twitter.com/hHHkmXVNHa
Ford says the premiers are echoing calls from charities to help account for a decline in mail-in donations due to the Canada Post strike, which brought letter mail to a standstill for a month starting in mid-November.
The premiers are requesting that the federal government extend the deadline from the end of the year to the end of February 2025, which would allow donors to send their cheques later than usual but still get credited for the 2024 tax year.
The Salvation Army reported over the weekend that holiday donations had fallen by 50 per cent this year, which it attributes to the strike.
Trudeau's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
