Premiers urge Trudeau to extend deadline for charitable donations after postal strike

By Nicole Thompson, The Canadian Press on December 24, 2024.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks to the media outside of his office in the Queens Park Legislature, in Toronto, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

TORONTO – 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.

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.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 24, 2024.