The Canadian Federal Election - Part Two
What Every Party Is Promising
One year and eleven months later, Canadians are once again heading to the polls. Following the Liberals’ decision to trigger a snap election, federal leaders embarked on 36-days of coast-to-coast campaigning. Prime Minister Trudeau argued that it was imperative that Canadians have a say in the future of the country in these unprecedented times. That said, we broke down the parties’ platforms into these 8 categories: Covid-19, the economy and the recovery, climate, reconciliation, housing, childcare, healthcare, seniors and youth. So, here is what every party is promising:
Covid-19
Liberal Party
Mandatory vaccines on planes, trains, and in the federal public service.
Support proof-of-vaccination credentials.
Safer indoor spaces, like schools and businesses, with better ventilation.
Free vaccine boosters, for everyone.
Conservative Party
Prioritize the signing of contracts for booster shots to ensure that Canadians are protected as quickly as possible against new variants
Accelerate homegrown development and production of vaccines by Canadian companies such as Providence Therapeutics, Sanofi, Medicago and others
Deploy rapid testing at all border entry points and airports to screen new arrivals.
Make at-home rapid tests readily available to all Canadians.
Immediately provide more rapid tests to provincial governments to allow them to conduct screening, particularly at schools.
NDP
Moving forward, we’ll provide stable, long-term funding for the Public Health Agency of Canada so they can protect public health and be ready with surge capacity in the event of a crisis.
Establish a crown corporation charged with domestic vaccine production so that Canadians are never again at the back of the line.
Ensure that Canada maintains an adequate and responsibly managed stockpile of personal protective equipment, with an emphasis on supporting domestic production.
Ensure that the independence of the Chief Public Health Officer is protected by law, and require they to report to parliament annually about recommendations to improve Canada’s public health emergency preparedness.
Green Party
Order a public inquiry that evaluates the joint response between all levels of government with the purpose of examining what went well and what could have been done better.
Create an intergovernmental rapid response task force, which can be activated immediately when facing an emergency.
Ensure that Canada has a robust capacity for pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Ensure that Canada has a sufficient PPE stockpile by increasing domestic production.
Dedicate specific funding to strengthening the integration of public health with community-based primary care as the first access point of the health care system
The Economy and the Recovery
Liberal Party
Create more than one million jobs
Continue to expand the Canada Workers Benefit to support about 1 million additional Canadians.
Introduce a new EI benefit for self-employed Canadians that would provide unemployment assistance comparable to EI and lasting for as much as 26 weeks.
Raise corporate income taxes on the largest, most profitable banks and insurance companies who earn more than $1 billion per year
Create a minimum tax rule so that everyone who earns enough to qualify for the top bracket pays at least 15 % each year (the tax rate paid by people earning less than $49,000)
Conservative Party
Canada Job Surge Plan: paying up to 50% of the salary of new hires for six months following the end of CEWS.
Canada Investment Accelerator: getting companies spending money and creating jobs by providing a 5% investment tax credit for any capital investment made in 2022 and 2023, with the first $25,000 to be refundable for small business.
Rebuild Main Street Tax Credit: providing a 25% tax credit on amounts of up to $100,000 that Canadians personally invest in a small business over the next two years, to get money flowing into main street businesses and create jobs.
Main Street Business Loan: providing loans of up to $200,000 to help small and medium businesses in hospitality, retail, and tourism get back on their feet, with up to 25% forgiven.
NDP
Create more than a million good jobs in a first mandate
Create a low-income supplement so that no one who is relying on EI regular or special benefits to stay afloat receives less than $2,000 a month
Work right away building towards a guaranteed livable income for all Canadians
Work immediately by lifting every senior and person living with a disability out of poverty
$10 a day childcare system that’s there for all parents.
Put in place a living federal minimum wage starting at $15 an hour and rising to $20 an hour, indexed to the cost of living.
Make sure that small businesses wage and rent subsidies continue until small businesses are able to fully reopen
Boost the top marginal tax rate two points, put in place a luxury goods tax on things like yachts and private jets, and ask the very richest multi-millionaires to pay a bit more towards our shared services with a wealth tax.
Green Party
Extend wage and rent subsidies until COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions are fully lifted.
Hold the small business tax rate at no more than 9%.
Reduce the paperwork burden on small businesses by eliminating duplicative tax filings and red tape.
Introduce a Just Transition Act before the end of 2021 that takes care of workers and communities during the transition.
Replace every high paying fossil fuel sector job with a high paying green sector job through wage insurance, retraining programs and early retirement plans.
Reduce wealth inequality in Canada. Ensure that current wealth holders, particularly those in the fossil fuel sector, pay their fair share. Close tax havens and loopholes to redistribute wealth towards communities that have been underinvested in.
Bloc Québécois
Suspend the CRB, while making sure it can be reactivated if necessary and remain active for heavily impacted sectors
Introduce a national reform of the employment insurance which will protect workers, including freelance and seasonal workers
Hire more workers for long-term cares
Introduce a tax on wealth and a three percent tax on digital giants.
Climate
Liberal Party
Deliver on all policy and fiscal measures outlined in the Strengthened Climate Plan from December 2020, implement the recently passed Net Zero Emissions Accountability Act, and advance new measures to achieve an ambitious 40-45% reduction in emissions by 2030 compared to 2005 levels
Continue to put a rising price on pollution.
Make sure the oil and gas sector reduce emissions at a pace and scale needed to achieve net-zero by 2050, with 5-year targets to stay on track to achieving this shared goal.
Require oil and gas companies to reduce methane emissions by at least 75% below 2012 levels by 2030 and work to reduce methane emissions across the broader economy.
Ban thermal coal exports from and through Canada no later than 2030.
Accelerate the G20 commitment to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies from 2025 to 2023.
Introduce a Clean Electricity Standard that will set Canada on a path to cut more emissions by 2030 and to achieve a 100% net-zero emitting electricity system by 2035.
Continue to help Canadians improve the energy efficiency of their homes and reduce their energy bills, providing grants of up to $5,000 for home retrofits and interest-free loans of up to $40,000 for deep retrofits.
Invest an additional $1.5 billion in the iZev rebate program and broaden eligibility to a wider range of vehicle types, including used vehicles, to help over 500,000 Canadians get into a zero-emissions vehicle. Forward. For Everyone.
Invest an additional $700 million to add 50,000 new electric vehicle chargers and hydrogen stations to Canada’s network.
Conservative party
Introducing a zero-emission vehicle mandate based on British Columbia’s, requiring 30% of light-duty vehicles sold to be zero emissions by 2030;
Working with the Biden administration to strengthen vehicle emission standards in North America;
Investing in transmission infrastructure to bring clean energy to where it’s needed and ensure that our electricity grid can support the growth in electric vehicles;
Investing a billion dollars in building out electric vehicle manufacturing in Canada, including investing in battery production, parts manufacturing, micro-mobility solutions and electric trucks;
Investing a billion dollars in deploying hydrogen technology including hydrogen vehicles;
Invest $5 billion in Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS)
NDP
Build on Canada’s new net-zero law, by setting an ambitious target of reducing our emissions by at least 50% from 2005 levels by 2030.
Retrofit all buildings in Canada by 2050 and create a National Crisis Strategy to help communities reduce and respond to climate risks.
Support transit by permanently doubling the Canada Community-Building Fund and develop a public inter-city bus program
Set a target of net carbon-free electricity by 2030, and move to 100% non-emitting electricity by 2040.
Enshrine in law an Environmental Bill of Rights and protecting 30% of our land, freshwater and oceans by 2030.
Green Party
Ensure a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 60 percent from 2005 levels by 2030, with clear enforceable targets and timelines starting in 2023
Achieve net-zero emissions as quickly as possible, while aiming to be net negative in 2050 Cancel all new pipeline projects (beginning with Trans Mountain)
Cancel all new oil exploration projects, including in the off-shore
End leasing of federal lands for fossil fuel production and retire existing licenses
Ban hydraulic fracturing (fracking)
End all subsidies to the fossil fuel sector
Enact legislation on green jobs training programs, such as the creation of a youth climate corps; for example, jobs related to ecosystem restoration, particularly for people who have been displaced or severely affected by COVID-19.
Enact a detailed Carbon Budget, determining the cumulative amount of GHG that Canada can emit to do its part to keep warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Beginning in 2022 and up to 2030, increase carbon taxes by $25 per tonne each year
Enact a Carbon Border Adjustment, which will ensure Canadian companies paying carbon taxes are not placed at a competitive disadvantage with foreign companies located in countries with no such taxes.
Ensure that 100 percent of Canadian electricity is produced from renewable sources by 2030
Bloc Québécois
Modify the net-zero emissions law to include clear reduction targets
Demand a climate test for every new federal policy
End subsidies for fossil fuels
Reject every new project related to the transportation of oil across provinces
Introduce new net-zero emission law to force automakers to carry a minimum amount of EVs in their fleet to make them accessible to consumers
Move 100 percent of the federal vehicle fleet to net-zero emission vehicles
Oppose any new nuclear projects, including new reactors
Put an end to the Trans Mountain pipeline and oppose any future oil sand project
Reconciliation
Liberal Party
Continue work to build a national monument in Ottawa to honour residential school survivors and all the children who were taken from their families and communities.
Commit an additional $1.4 billion for a distinction-based mental health and wellness strategy with First Nations, Inuit, and the Métis Nation, expanding on our recent commitment of $597.6 million, for a total investment of $2 billion over five years.
Provide the necessary supports for communities who wish to continue to undertake the work of burial searches at the former sites of these institutions.
Maintain the commitment to invest $6 billion to ensure sustainable access to clean water for First Nations.
Invest a further $2 billion in Indigenous housing for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Nation, with over half of the funding available by the upcoming summer construction period.
Conservative Party
Develop a comprehensive plan to implement TRC Calls to Action 71 through 76.
Fund the investigation at all former residential schools in Canada where unmarked graves may exist, including the sites where children have already been discovered.
Ensure that proper resources are allocated for communities to reinter, commemorate, and honour any individuals discovered through the investigation, according to the wishes of their next of kin.
Develop a detailed and thorough set of resources to educate Canadians of all ages on the tragic history of residential schools in Canada.
Build a national monument in Ottawa that honours residential school survivors and all the children who were lost.
Recognize safe drinking water as a fundamental human right and end long-term drinking water advisories and work with Indigenous communities to find new approaches, such as regional or coalition-based governance, that will help ensure water systems investments are protected and continue providing clean drinking water in the long term
Provide $1 billion over five years to boost funding for Indigenous mental health and drug treatment programs
NDP
Fully implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action.
Work with Indigenous peoples to co-develop a National Action Plan for Reconciliation
Establish a National Council for Reconciliation to provide oversight and accountability
Recognize and respect treaties, supporting Indigenous Nations who are building and re-building their governance structures
Respect Inuit self-determination by co-developing the federal government’s Arctic Policy Framework through shared governance within the Inuit Crown Partnership Committee
Recognize Métis self-determination and in government, we will respect the path forward established by the Métis National Council and its governing members
Green Party
Ensure that all First Nations are thoroughly involved in the development and design of UNDRIP implementation legislation
Provide sustainable funding for new and existing Indigenous Healing Centres to address the harms caused by residential schools;
Increase funding to Friendship Centres across Canada providing critical social services off-reserve;
Honour the original request from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for funding for work on the Missing Children and Unmarked Burials Project;
Call on the Pope to apologize on behalf of the Catholic Church for its involvement in residential schools;
Uphold fiduciary responsibilities, honour treaties, and respect all rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Work towards the creation of an Indigenous Lands and Treaties Tribunal Act.
Formally repudiate the doctrine of terra nullius, the doctrine of discovery, and other doctrines of superiority.
Guided by Indigenous leadership, establish a process to transition out from under the Indian Act.
Bloc Québécois
To replace the Indian Act imposed 150 years ago with a set of negotiated nation-to-nation treaties.
Housing:
Liberals
Introduce a new rent-to-own program to help make it easier for renters to get on the path towards homeownership while renting.
Introduce a tax-free First Home Savings Account will allow Canadians under 40 to save up to $40,000 towards their first home, and to withdraw it tax-free to put towards their first home purchase, with no requirement to repay it.
Double the First-Time Home Buyers Tax Credit, from $5,000 to $10,000, which will put $1,500 in your pocket to make a home purchase a little bit easier.
Reduce the price charged by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation on mortgage insurance by 25%. For a typical homebuyer, this will save $6,100.
Build or revitalize an additional 250,000 homes over 4 years. On top of the 285,000 homes currently being built each year. this will mean nearly 1.4 million homes will be built, preserved, or revitalized by 2025-26 under a re-elected Liberal government.
Create a national Home Buyers’ Bill of Rights so that the process of buying a home is fair, open, and transparent.
Conservatives
Implement a plan to build 1 million homes in the next three years
Build public transit infrastructure that connects homes and jobs by bringing public transit to where people are buying homes; and require municipalities receiving federal funding for public transit to increase density near the funded transit
Encouraging Canadians to invest in rental housing by extending the ability to defer capital gains tax when selling a rental property and reinvesting in rental housing, something that is currently excluded; and Exploring converting unneeded office space to housing.
Implement comprehensive changes to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act, and give FINTRAC, law enforcement, and prosecutors the tools necessary to identify, halt, and prosecute money-laundering in Canadian real estate markets
Ban foreign investors not living in or moving to Canada from buying homes here for a two year period after which it will be reviewed. Instead, encourage foreign investment in purpose-built rental housing that is affordable to Canadians.
Invest $325 million over the next three years to create 1,000 residential drug treatment beds and build 50 recovery community centres across the country
NDP
Create at least 500,000 units of quality, affordable housing in the next ten years, with half of that done within five years
Spur the construction of affordable homes by waiving the federal portion of the GST/HST on the construction of new affordable rental units
Re-introduce 30-year terms to CMHC insured mortgages on entry-level homes for first time home buyers
Put in place a 20% Foreign Buyer’s tax on the sale of homes to individuals who aren’t Canadian citizens or permanent residents.
Green Party
Allocate one percent of GST to housing and other municipal infrastructure on an ongoing basis to provide a consistent baseline of funding.
Establish a national moratorium on evictions.
Create national standards to establish rent and vacancy controls.
Raise the “empty home” tax for foreign and corporate residential property owners who leave buildings and units vacant.
Invest in construction and operation of 50,000 supportive housing units over 10 years.
Build and acquire a minimum of 300,000 units of deeply affordable non-market, co-op and non-profit housing over a decade.
Require that housing developments that receive federal funding must ensure that 30% of all units in each development must be deeply affordable and/or available to people with disabilities and special needs.
Appoint a Minister of Housing to meet the needs of affordable housing that are unique to each province, oversee its implementation in collaboration with provincial ministers, and build on other aspects of the housing and homelessness crisis in Canada to tackle these issues.
Bloc Québécois
Invest one percent of the Federal government’s annual revenue into social housing
Convert all unused federal properties in affordable social housing to fight the housing crisis
Introduce a new tax on real estate speculation
Liberals
Continue building a $10 a day Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care System, which so far the Liberal government has signed agreements with seven provinces and one territory, covering almost half of all children in Canada.
Conservatives
Canada’s Conservatives will convert the Child Care Expense deduction into a refundable tax credit covering up to 75% of the cost of childcare for lower-income families.
NDP
Work with the provinces to build a universal, $10 a day childcare system that’s there for all parents, no matter where you live.
Green Party
Collaborate with provinces/territories, local communities, Indigenous communities and the child-care sector to ensure that a comprehensive short-, medium- and long-term policy road map – based on the principles of universality, affordability, quality, inclusivity, accessibility, and equity – finally becomes a reality.
Make parental leave more inclusive so it covers leave to care for elderly family members, leave following miscarriages and more, and more flexible and better paid
Immediately begin to ramp up federal child care funding to achieve the international benchmark of at least one percent of GDP annually
Ensure the training, recruitment and retention of well-paid and professional staff.
Healthcare:
Liberals
Provide $3.2 billion to the provinces and territories for the hiring of 7,500 new family doctors, nurses, and nurse practitioners.
Establish a new federal transfer to provinces and territories—the Canada Mental Health Transfer—to assist jurisdictions to expand the delivery of high quality, accessible, and free mental health services
Immediately invest $6 billion—on top of $4 billion already committed—to support the elimination of health system waitlists.
Conservatives
Canada’s Conservatives will meet with the Premiers within the first 100 days of forming government to propose a new health agreement with the provinces and territories that boosts the annual growth rate of the Canada Health Transfer to at least 6%. This will inject nearly $60 billion into our healthcare system over the next ten years.
Encourage employers to add mental health coverage to their employee benefit plans by offering a tax credit for 25% of the cost of additional mental health coverage for the first three years
Create a pilot program to provide $150 million over three years in grants to non-profits and charities delivering mental health and wellness programming
NDP
Will work with the provinces and territories to tackle wait times and improve access to primary care across the country
Expand Medicare – to include quality prescription drug coverage for everyone and begin working with the provinces right away to target a 2022 start date, with an annual federal investment of $10 billion.
Work together with provincial partners, health professionals and dentists to develop a roadmap to incorporate universal dental care into Canada’s public health care system, and immediately deliver dental care coverage for people who don’t have any private insurance.
Bring in mental health care for uninsured Canadians – ensuring that people with no coverage for mental health services could gain access to these supports without worrying about the cost.
Green Party
Expand the Canada Health Act by fully funding a universal pharmacare program.
Expand Medicare to include free dental care for low-income Canadians.
Bring Long-Term Care under the Canada Health Act.
Establish a national mental health strategy and a suicide prevention strategy
Bloc Québécois
Call for an increase of the Canada Health Transfer coverage from 22 to 35 percent of the provinces’ total health costs
Seniors and Youth
Liberals
Move forward with our plan to boost the OAS by 10% next year for seniors 75 and over.
Increase the GIS by $500 for single seniors and $750 for couples, starting at age 65.
Permanently eliminate the federal interest on Canada Student Loans and Canada Apprentice Loans to support young Canadians who choose to invest in post-secondary education.
Increase the repayment assistance threshold to $50,000 for Canada Student Loan borrowers who are single.
Introduce a new fund for student well-being to improve wait times and increase access to mental health care at colleges and universities.
Conservatives
Amending the Home Accessibility Tax Credit by increasing the limit from $10,000 per dwelling to $10,000 per person.
Allowing seniors or their caregivers, including their children, to claim the Medical Expense Tax Credit for home care instead of only allowing them to claim attendant care if they live in a group home.
Introducing the Canada Seniors Care Benefit, paying $200 per month per household to any Canadian who is living with and taking care of a parent over the age of 70.
Canada’s Conservatives will devote $3 billion of infrastructure funding over the next three years to renovate Long-Term Care Homes in all provinces and territories across Canada
NDP
Fund a national dementia strategy, and an elder abuse prevention plan developed with seniors to put an end to abuse and neglect in our communities
Strengthen public pensions and improve retirement security for all Canadians and provide a basic guaranteed livable income for seniors
Work with the provinces and territories to cap and reduce tuition fees, and build towards making post-secondary education part of our public education system
Remove interest from federal student loans, and to help lift the debt burden from young people starting out.
Introduce a targeted debt forgiveness program for graduates that will forgive up to $20,000 in student debt.
Move away from loans and permanently double non-repayable Canada Student Grants.
Green Party
Fully fund the National Dementia Strateg
Ensure Seniors’ Violence and Abuse Prevention by developing a National Elder Abuse and Neglect Strategy to raise awareness and provide funding for instances of elder abuse and neglect across the Country.
Establish a Federal Office of the Seniors’ Advocate to provide systemic oversight and leadership on issues related to the current needs of Canadian seniors, as well as provide insight, analysis, and direction to the government on the future needs of our ageing population.
Abolish post-secondary education tuition
Cancel all federally held student loan debt
Reintroduce a retroactive Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB)
Sources: Liberal Party of Canada, Conservative Party of Canada, New Democratic Party of Canada, Green Party of Canada, Bloc Québécois
