Fitness buffs turned up on the lawn of Queen's Park in Toronto over the noon hour Wednesday to protest what they say is a tax on exercise.

The Harmonized Sales Tax will increase the cost of a gym membership by eight per cent in Ontario and seven per cent in B.C., and the Fitness Industry Council of Canada wants an exemption to the tax, which comes into force on July 1.

The low-key protest included a group fitness class outside the provincial legislature.

But while participants were sweating, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty wasn't.

He said the HST will create jobs, which means more disposable income for people to buy things like fitness club memberships.

The premier also pointed out that fitness facilities can use tax credits to buy new equipment.

The Ontario protest against the HST has been small in comparison to the B.C. backlash.

An anti-HST petition in B.C. is close to forcing a provincewide vote on the harmonized tax.