On Oct. 21, Canadians are asked to cast their vote, choosing the next government between the Liberals, Conservatives, NDP, Greens and Bloc Québécois.
LIBERALS
Environment & Climate Change
- Reach a carbon-free goal by 2050, starting with a 30 per cent reduction of greenhouse gasses by 2030, compared to 2005.
- Eliminate single-use plastic products by 2021, fuel-fired cars by 2040 and coal-fired power plants by 2030.
- Raise carbon tax to $50 per ton of greenhouse gas emissions (currently $20).
Education & job training
- Establish a law ensuring a smooth transition and proper training of jobs affected by a green transition. The party did not share any further information on this matter.
- Raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour indexed to inflation by 2020 for all federal jobs.
- Allocate grants – up to $50,000 – to startup companies.
Healthcare
- Invest $6 billion in Medicare and public health services
- Create a federal universal drug coverage
- Establish a list of drugs covered by the federal government which would reduce the prices of medication.
Housing
- Possibility for first buyers with a family income of less than $120,000 of entrusting up to 10 per cent of mortgage-free of interest to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
- Establish interest-free loans – up to $40,000 – for renovations making a home more energy-efficient.
- Creation of national insurance in case of flooding.
Indigenous affairs
- Making all water drinkable in every Indigenous community by 2021
- Abolition of the Indian Act and full application of the Indigenous Languages Act and the Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families.
- Apply the recommendations from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
Immigration
- Accept 350,000 immigrants as of 2021, 29,000 more than in 2018.
- Grant refugee status to 250 human rights advocates, journalists and aid workers at risk every year.
- Grant free citizenship applications for all permanent residents
CONSERVATIVES
Environment & Climate Change
- Promises to eliminate the federal carbon tax and introduce green technologies instead
- Would introduce the Green Public Transit Tax Credit that would apply on the purchase of public transport passes for unlimited travel within Canada
- Forcing heavy polluters to invest in green technology if they go over their set emission limits
Education & job training
- Increase the government’s contribution to the Registered Education Savings Plan from 20 per cent to 30 per cent
- Promotion of Freedom of Speech on campus
- Repealing of Bill C-69 – the No More Pipelines Act in order to create more jobs
Healthcare
- Allow parents to benefit tax credit while earning money under the Employment Insurance Maternity or Parental Benefits
- Pledges to make it more accessible to qualify for the Disability Tax Credit which gives financial support to disable Canadians
- Up to $1,000 per children per year for expenses related to sport and fitness programs
Housing
- Would make building new homes more accessible by lowering and extending mortgage payment
- Would introduce a Green Home Renovation Tax credit help cover the cost of green home renovations such as solar panels
- Would introduce introduce the Build More Homes Competition which would promote and award new constructions between municipalities
Indigenous affairs
- $10,000,000 each year to organizations that promote mutual relations with Indigenous communities and project development
- Creation of a Minister for Consulting Indigenous Rights Holder to consult with communities on major projects
Immigration
- Support economic immigration by restructuring the Express Entry Program to increase the numbers of point awarded for a job offer
- Promoting rural communities to new immigrants
- Reform the Temporary Foreign Workers to fill the labour shortage
NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY
Environment & Climate Change
- Prepared to declare a climate emergency and create an independent Climate Accountability Office to do regular inspections of progress towards their climate actions
- Pledges to convert all public transit systems in Canada to electric vehicles by 2030
- Intends to kill the TransMountain pipeline expansion and give each province a veto on major natural resources projects that move through their jurisdictions.
Education & job training
- Plans to make post-secondary education affordable for everyone by reducing tuition fees while significantly increasing access to non-repayable Canada Student Grants
- Creation of a new tax credit for graduates to work in designated rural and northern communities to make it easier for employers to hire and retain the workers they need.
- Creation of a new Workers Development and Opportunities Fund to expand training options while forcing employers to spend at least 1 per cent of payroll on training for their employees annually
Healthcare
- Promises to bring universal national pharmacare which would also include dental coverage
- Intends to develop a consistent quality of national care standards for home care and long-term care that will be amended into the Canada Health Act which would legally protect their access to all Canadians
- Pledges to ensure equal access to abortion services
Housing
- Creation of 500,000 units of affordable housing in the next 10 years
- The expansion of the government’s first-time homebuyer initiative to cover homes worth up to $789,000 in cities in Canada where it’s the most expensive to live
- Doubling the Home Buyer’s Tax Credit, which is available to first-time homebuyers, to $1,500
Indigenous affairs
- Pledges to improve massively cell service on reserves, firefighting, housing and water infrastructure
- Intends to fund and hand over child welfare systems jurisdiction to Indigenous communities so they can exercise their authority over matters involving their own children and families
- Will establish Indigenous history education programs for all Canadians and ensure that the development and implementation of these programs are led by Indigenous people
Immigration
- Promises to help resettle LGBTQI2S+ refugees from around the world
- Allocates $73 million more to Quebec’s immigration ministry in order to help the province welcome immigrants
- Suspension of the Safe Third Country agreement with the United States, allowing people to make asylum claims at official border crossings
GREENS
Environment & Climate Change
- Reach a carbon free goal by 2050, starting with a reduction of greenhouse gas by 60 per cent by 2030 compared to 2005 in the meantime.
- Creation of a cross-party cabinet to combat climate change
- Ensure Canada uses 100 per cent renewable electricity by 2030.
Education & job training
- Grant federal jobs to all individuals affected by Quebec’s Bill 21.
- Raise minimum wage to $15 an hour indexed to inflation by 2020 for all federal jobs while eliminating unpaid internships.
- Help workers from industrial sector to switch to renewable energy sectors
Healthcare
- Establish a federal overage for drugs and dental care.
- Deal with addiction as a public health issue rather than a criminal act.
- Decriminalization of all drugs and establish higher surveillance in prescribed opioids
Housing
- Construction of 25,000 affordable housing and the renovation of 15,000.
- Addition of an affordable housing right to the current Charter of Rights and freedom.
- Creation of a housing minister
Indigenous affairs
- Abolition of the Indian Act
- Proposition of a strategy for housing, drinkable water, health care and food security.
- Apply all the recommendations from Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
Immigration
- Accept more immigrants in parts of Canada where worker shortages are most important
- Grant asylum to victims of climate change
- Establishment of a new program to deal faster with the current 200,000 files of people living in Canada without official status.
BLOC QUEBECOIS
Environment & Climate Change
- Pledges to push a bill to give Quebec the power to reject federal project affecting Quebec territory and environment
- Would impose a carbon tax in provinces where greenhouse gas emissions are higher than average per capita
- Vows the end of fossil fuels investments, to sell TransMountain and use the money to invest in clean energy
Education & job training
- Favours the building of a francophone university in Ontario
- More fundings towards University and researches
Healthcare
- Pledges to retrieve the United States from the referral list in terms of setting the medication prices
- Reforms in the Employment Insurances to ensure women who lose their jobs towards the end of their maternity leave, or once they came back, can benefit from EI
- Argues that Quebec should be compensated for the cost of drugs
Housing
- Allowing natural disaster victims to be able to take money out of their REER without penalty or tax to renovate their home post-disaster
- Vows to use 1 per cent of Federal annual revenues to be invested in building social, affordable housing
- Tax credits on intergenerational housing promoting eco-energetic renovation
Indigenous affairs
- Pledges to increase the political autonomy of Indigenous communities
- The recognition and funding of an Indigenous police system
- While remaining vague, vows to facilitate the employment of Indigenous people
Immigration
- Interdiction to deport immigrants towards a conflict country
- Introducing a tax credit for recent graduates and immigrants who accept a job in the province
- Without clear numbers, it was mention that a Bloc Quebecois government would reduce the number of immigrants
