Eliminating Toronto’s vehicle registration tax symbolizes the power of effective and sustained advocacy.

As we wrap up 2025, it’s a good opportunity to look back and see what this year brought for new car retailers in the province of Ontario. I feel 2025 will go down as one of the most significant for retailers and MVRO given the provincial government removed the ability for the City of Toronto to impose its own vehicle registration tax. This tax was independent of the province’s own vehicle registration tax that existed before Premier Ford eliminated the annual licence plate renewal fee and stickers in 2022. 

This is something that MVRO has been fighting for since 2006, and it was good to see it finally bite the dust.

Reinstatement motions

What’s particularly significant is that since 2015, several city councillors introduced no fewer than eight separate motions to have the tax reinstated.

This highly unpopular tax (which was in effect from 2008 to 2011), was in addition to the provincial tax that motorists already paid at the time and represented an excessive burden on motorists. It was mind boggling that such effort would be put forward into reintroducing something that already proved to be a colossal waste of time.

Prior to the 2025 Ontario Budget being announced, MVRO made a submission recommending that Toronto’s authority to impose the registration tax be removed. We cited a successful campaign run in 2018 in which similar taxing powers were requested by York Region, north of Toronto, was defeated.

Revenue shortfall tool

York Region had proposed using a vehicle registration tax to pay for infrastructure spending and to address its revenue shortfall, along with taxes on alcohol, tobacco, entertainment and land transfers.

Then-Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clark struck down the proposal—a big win for York Region residents, businesses and motorists. Back then, I noted that people were simply paying more in taxes, and demanding municipal governments find efficiencies in administration and ways to better spend the money they already collected.

When asked what they would like York Region to do first to make up the $220 million infrastructure short fall, a Nanos Research poll found that finding efficiencies in administration was the most frequent response at 45%.

Very encouraging

It was very encouraging to see the Ontario government listen to our concerns and nix Toronto’s vehicle taxation powers with the passing of the provincial Budget back in June.

The Budget, known legislatively as Bill 24, the Plan to Protect Ontario Act, was passed in the Ontario Legislature on June 3, 2025 with 70 MPPs voting in favour and 42 voting against. Bill 24 officially became law on June 5, 2025, when it received Royal Assent—the final step required to bring this legislation into force.

With the passing of the 2025 Budget, no municipality in the province will have the ability to tax family vehicles in the future, which represents a big win for consumers and businesses across Ontario.

MVRO will continue advocating for Ontario’s 1,100 new car and truck retailers to ensure their voices are heard in provincial parliament. As legislation is introduced, MVRO will work to ensure policymakers recognize the vital economic and community contributions of new car and truck retailers—supporting over 85,000 jobs and generating $14 billion annually in GDP.