OTTAWA, Nov 21 (Reuters) – Canada’s Liberal government, which is trailing badly in the polls, on Thursday unveiled C$6.3 billion ($4.5 billion) in proposed new spending measures to help consumers deal with high prices.

In a statement, the finance ministry said it planned to send a C$250 rebate to 18.7 million Canadians early next year. It is also proposing to freeze sales taxes on essential goods from Dec 14 to Feb 15.

The rebate would cost C$4.7 billion while the sales tax freeze would give C$1.6 billion in tax relief. Both measures would require parliamentary approval.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren, editing by Promit Mukherjee)

((Reuters Ottawa bureau; david.ljunggren@tr.com))

Keywords: CANADA POLITICS/TAX