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Maybe it was an acknowledgement that governments have only marginal influence on economic outcomes — that growth is broad-based and self-sustaining, powered by consumer spending, housing starts and a turnaround in business investment. But politicians are not normally shy about calling attention to their own merits, even imaginary ones.

Instead, Trudeau spent his time focusing on his tax reform crusade — a plan that could be summed up as “a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian … except if he’s rich.”

It’s a strategy that has united this Liberal caucus as never before — many are convinced the prime minister’s efforts to polarize the electorate are a bad idea. Backbenchers are happy to tell passing journalists about their disquiet at reforms they see as divisive.

But the annual financial report shed some light on why the party hierarchy is so dogmatic about the tax changes.

The report revealed that personal income tax revenues dipped by $1.2 billion in 2016-17, reflecting the impact of the introduction of the 33-per-cent top income tax rate in 2016. Some high-income Canadians realized capital gains and dividends in the 2015 tax year to avoid the new rate; others pushed their income into more complicated tax-planning structures like private corporations.

A breakdown was not given, so it’s hard to say how big the impact will be in the current fiscal year.

What is clear is that the government increased the top rate of income tax and realized less revenue.