Editing Robert Borden (section)

====Economy====
[[File:BordenVictoryBondCampaignToronto.jpg|250px|thumb|Borden opening a [[Victory Bond]] campaign in [[Toronto]], 1915]]
Despite the threat of an economic collapse and the need for more revenue to fund the war effort, Borden's [[Finance Minister (Canada)|finance minister]], [[William Thomas White]], rejected calls for direct taxation on Canadian citizens in 1914, though this position would be shortly reversed. White cited his beliefs that taxation would cost too much to implement and would interfere with provincial taxation systems.<ref name="Bordenbio" /> Borden and White instead opted for "business as usual" with Britain by assuming that the country would cover the costs incurred by Canada. However, at the end of 1914, Britain was not able to lend money to Canada due to their own economic priorities. By 1917, Britain had become unable to pay for wartime shipments from Canada. During the war, Canada drastically increased imports of specialized metals and machinery needed for production of [[ammunition]] from the United States.<ref name="MacleansWW1">{{cite web |last1=Granatstein |first1=J.L. |title=After the fighting, a nation changed |url=https://www.macleans.ca/after-fighting-nation-changed/ |website=Maclean's |access-date=12 February 2022}}</ref> This led Borden and White to successfully negotiate a $50 million loan in New York City in 1915.<ref name="Bordenbio" /><ref>{{cite web |last1=Berry |first1=Paul |title=Canada Financially Comes of Age |url=https://www.bankofcanadamuseum.ca/2018/10/canada-financially-comes-of-age/ |website=Bank of Canada Museum |access-date=12 February 2022 |date=2 October 2018}}</ref> Canada also succeeded in negotiating larger bond issues in New York in 1916 and 1917. In 1918, a [[War bond#Canada|Victory Bond]] of $300 million brought in $660 million.<ref name="Bordenbio" /> Overall, Victory Bond campaigns raised around $2 billion. American investment in Canada significantly increased whereas British investment declined. By 1918, imports of goods from the United States were 1,000 percent of British exports to Canada.<ref name="MacleansWW1" />

In 1915, 1916, and 1917, Borden's government began to reverse their anti-taxation position, not least because of the need for more government revenue. The government introducing wartime savings bonds and raising import tariffs was not enough. In 1915, a [[luxury tax]] on tobacco and alcohol and taxes on transport tickets, telegrams, money orders, cheques, and patent medicines were introduced. By the end of the war, staple items were taxed. In a politically motivated move in 1916, the government introduced the Business Profits War Tax to address increasing concerns about businesses practising [[war profiteering]]. The tax expired in 1920 but was brought back in the [[Second World War]].<ref name="Bordenbio" /><ref>{{cite web |last1= |first1= |title=If some things never change, when did they begin? |url=https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/canada-first-world-war/Pages/when-did-they-begin.aspx |website=Government of Canada |access-date=13 February 2022}}</ref>

In 1917, Borden's government introduced the [[income tax]] which came into effect on September 20, 1917. The tax exempted the first $1,500 of income for single people (unmarried persons and widows and widowers without dependent children); the tax exempted the first $3,000 for everyone else. Single people were taxed at four percent while the tax rate ranged from two to 22 percent for married Canadians with dependents and an annual income over $6,000. Due to its several exemptions, only two to eight percent of Canadians filed tax returns during the early days of the income tax. When the war ended in 1918, $8 million in income tax revenue had been recorded, which was a small fraction of the national net debt of $1.6 billion. Though Borden's government declared the income tax to be temporary, it has remained in place ever since.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bilbao |first1=Maya |title=Income Tax in Canada |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/income-tax |website=Canadian Encyclopedia |access-date=3 April 2023 |date=28 January 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Watson |first1=William |last2=Clemens |first2=Jason |title=The HISTORY and DEVELOPMENT of CANADA'S PERSONAL INCOME TAX |url=https://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/history-and-development-of-canadas-personal-income-tax.pdf |website=Fraser Institute |access-date=3 April 2023}}</ref>

In 1917, facing skyrocketing prices, Borden's government established the Board of Grain Supervisors of Canada to distance the marketing of crops grown in 1917 and 1918 away from the private grain companies. It was succeeded by the [[Canadian Wheat Board]] for the 1919 crop.<ref name="Bordenbio" /> The board was dissolved in 1920, despite the concept being popular among farm organizations.<ref>{{cite web |last1= |first1= |title=Canadian Wheat Board |url=https://esask.uregina.ca/entry/canadian_wheat_board.jsp |website=The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan |access-date=13 February 2022 |archive-date=June 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613021744/https://esask.uregina.ca/entry/canadian_wheat_board.jsp |url-status=dead }}</ref>