“For two months, Canadians are going to have a real break in everything they do,” Trudeau said during a news conference.

“Our government can’t set house prices, but we can put more money in people’s pockets. That will give people the relief they need. People are tight and we’re there to help.”

Canadian inflation peaked at 8.1% in 2022, according to Statistics Canada, and has since fallen to 2% in November. But extra costs for everything from rent to groceries have hit the wallets of many Canadians.

Last spring, a Statistics Canada survey found that 45 per cent of Canadians said rising prices made it difficult for them to pay for their everyday expenses.

Trudeau’s limited tax break, if approved by parliament, would run from December 15 to February 15. It would eliminate the federal sales tax known as the GST — or the harmonized sales tax (HST) in provinces that combine federal and provincial sales taxes into one tax — from a select list of items.

These items include: