As federal party leaders campaign for the spring election, the Western Standard will be keeping an up-to-date inventory of promises made by all six candidates.
Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, Bloc Québécois leader Yves Francois Blanchet, PPC leader Maxime Bernier and Green party co-leaders Elizabeth May and Jonathan Pedneault are competing for seats in the April 28 vote.
HOUSING
Conservatives:
Cut GST on new homes under $1.3 million
Make 15% of federal buildings available for housing (including CBC offices)
Removing stress test requirement for mortgage renewals, encourage longer-term mortgages
Increase homebuilding by 15% each year (measured at the municipal level)
Sell federal land to build privately owned homes
Build 2.3 million new homes over five years
Liberals:
Cut GST for first-time homebuyers under $1 million
Spend $4 billion to expedite construction of 100,000 new homes, $15 billion to build 30,000 rental apartments, $35 billion to finance "sustainable," modular homes
500,000 annual housing starts
Two-year ban on new foreign ownership
Crack down on short-term rentals
Spend almost $66 million on building and repairing indigenous housing in the North
NDP:
Spend $1 billion on acquiring public land for build 100,000 subsidized, rent-controlled homes by 2035
Construct 500,000 affordable housing units by 2035
Moratorium on 'renovictions'
20% foreign buyers' tax
Bloc:
Increase funding for Quebec affordable housing (unspecified amount)
Prioritizing rental housing over homeownership
Unconditional federal funding for homelessness programs in Quebec
PPC:
Cool housing market by lowering Bank of Canada's inflation rate from 2% to 0%
Repeal federal initiatives for local governments to densify family neighbourhoods to accommodate mass immigration
Privatize or dismantle the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)
Restrict foreign home buyers
Curb foreign non-resident buyers in housing markets
Greens:
Use public funds to finance housing projects where people spend no more than 30% of their income on rent or mortgage payments
Develop 25,000 new housing units and rehabilitate 15,000 units annually through 2035
Push for "intergenerational co-housing"
IMMIGRATION
Liberals:
Maintain current immigration caps, which dropped 21% last year from 500,000 to an expected 395,000 in 2025 after facing major public backlash over out-of-control immigration.
Expect to allow 380,000 immigrants in 2026 and 365,000 in 2027
More skilled trade immigrants to compensate for what they call a "labour shortage"
Conservatives:
Cap immigration at between 200,000 and 250,000 annually
Link immigration to housing availability
Focus on skilled economic immigrants
Stricter border controls
Bloc:
Reduce immigration, no specifics given
PPC:
Impose a moratorium on new permanent permanent residents until the housing crisis cools and thereafter reduce numbers to 100,000 to 150,000 annually
Reform system to accept more economic immigrants and abolish the program for parents and grandparents
Increase resources for federal agencies like CSIS for screening, deport illegals, accept fewer temporary workers and refugees and ban birth tourism
Withdraw from the UN's Global Compact for Migration
Eliminate work permits for students, except for academic work on campus
Criminalize "birth tourism"
CANADIANS' PERSONAL WEALTH/ TAXES
Conservatives:
Raise TFSA by $5,000
Repeal latest capital gains inclusion rate hike in last budget back down to 50%
Cut middle income tax bracket by 15%
Reinvestment tax cut
Defer capital gains taxes if the money is reinvested in Canada
Allow trades workers to write off travel costs between job sites
Liberals:
Scrap their own capital gains inclusion rate hike proposed in the last federal budget
Cut middle income tax bracket one percentage point
Allow trades workers to write off travel costs between job sites
Temporarily remove the one-week employment insurance waiting period
NDP:
Maintain the capital gains hike
Remove GST on items and services deemed "essential," like children’s clothing, heating bills and pre-made grocery meals
Raise the tax-free income threshold by about $5,000 to $19,500
Double the Canada disability benefit
Increase guaranteed income supplement to $4 billion
increase EI two-thirds of income, with a minimum payment of $450/week
Cap price of groceries
PPC:
Abolish capital gains tax altogether
Reduce taxes and simplify the tax system
Greens:
Increase capital gains tax to 100%
Raise untaxed income to $40,000
ECONOMY
Conservatives:
Will not remove any tariffs on US until the US removes them first
Remove GST from Canadian-made vehicles as long as US tariffs are in place
Greenlight federal permits within six to 12 months to harvest critical minerals in Northern Ontario's Ring of Fire
Spend $1 billion on building a road to these northern areas
Have "shovel ready zones" designated with pre-approved building permits
Boost training for skilled trade workers
Cut federal public service, implement monitoring for higher efficiency
No plans to balance the budget
$100 billion in deficits over four years
$34 billion in new program spending over four years
$75 billion in tax cuts over four years
$56 billion in savings by cutting the Liberal consulting budget, among other things
"Dollar-for-dollar” law that requires the government to find a dollar of savings for every new dollar spent
Liberals:
Establish a $2 billion fund to enhance automotive industry
Impose 25% tariffs on US auto imports not covered under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)
Spend $187 million to repair Jasper National Park
Spend $5-billion on trade diversification
"Leverage AI and machine learning" to shrink the size of the public service
Balance federal operational spending within three years, while simultaneously running a "small deficit" on spending projects
Spend $175 million on Hudson Bay Railway, Port of Churchill, MB
No plans to balance the budget
$225 billion in deficits over four years
$130 billion on new spending
NDP:
Issue Victory Bonds in response to tariff war
"Try to" balance the budget, while borrowing “when required"
Require Canadian steel to be used exclusively in all federally funded infrastructure projects
Bar Trump from G7 meeting in June in Kananaskis, AB
No plans to balance the budget
PPC:
Eliminate deficit, balance the budget within one year by cutting federal spending
Reduce corporate taxes gradually from 15% to 10%
Target a 0% inflation rate
Establish a Department of Government Downsizing
Prioritize US relations, Canada's "main trading and defence partner"
Diversify Canada's trade relations with as many other countries as possible
PIPELINES
Conservatives:
Repeal anti-pipeline Bill C-69
Repeal West Coast tanker ban Bill C-48
"Shovel-ready zones" and National Energy Corridor, plans that would pre-approve pipelines from west to east, ship overseas
Six-month approvals for resource projects
Liberals:
Will not repeal Bill C-69
NDP:
No new pipeline approvals
Transition away from fossil fuels
Bloc:
Firm opposition to pipelines through Quebec
Reject Energy East pipeline
Protect Quebec’s clean energy development
PPC:
Counter anti-oil and anti-pipeline propaganda from radical environmentalists and foreign foundations
Repeal Bill C-69
Repeal Bill C-48
Streamline pipelines approvals
Approve, launch Trans Mountain pipeline project
Work with industry and American partners to revive cancelled projects
Find a buyer for the Trans Mountain pipeline
Keep Line 5 from Ontario to Michigan
Greens:
Cancel pipelines
ENVIRONMENT
Conservatives:
Repeal all carbon tax
Issue tax credits to businesses that reduce emissions
Cancel Liberals' plan to tax gas-powered vehicles
Spend on energy technologies, such as carbon capture
Liberals:
Scrap consumer carbon tax, replace it with an industrial carbon tax that would trickle down to consumers
Reinstate zero-emissions vehicle subsidy
Emissions cap on LNG producers
Phase out the use of fossil fuels in government buildings by 2030
Tariff countries that don't have comparable carbon tax
Spend $20 million on Nunavut hydroelectricity facility
Spend $94 million to upgrading power plants in the North
NDP:
Scrap consumer carbon tax, replace it with an industrial carbon tax that would trickle down to consumers
Cut $18 billion in LNG subsidies
Tariff countries that don't have comparable carbon tax
Issue $10,000 to families/businesses that buy/lease a zero-emissions vehicle made in Canada, $5,000 for foreign-made
Bloc:
Tax LNG profits and "reinvest" in climate change initiatives
Tariff countries that don't have comparable carbon tax
Expand Canada-Quebec Nature Agreement fund from $100 million to $300 million
PPC:
Abolish all climate programs
Launch adaptation strategies for floods and forest fires
Greens:
Create national emergency response agency for climate change
DEFENCE/MILITARY
Conservatives:
Meet NATO's 2% of GDP targets by 2030
Revenue from US tariff war will go to the Armed Forces
Slash foreign aid, divert money to the military
Block Russia from joining G7
Double Canadian Rangers 1st Patrol Group to 4,000
Build at least one Arctic military base withing two years
Procure two more polar icebreakers
$17 billion in military spending over four years
Liberals:
Meet NATO's 2% of GDP targets by 2030
Spend $420 million on Arctic military "operation centres"
Modernize equipment procurement for military
Impose sanctions on Russia to push for a ceasefire with Ukraine
$18 billion in defence spending over four years
NDP:
Meet NATO's 2% of GDP targets by 2032
Cancel contracts for US-made F-35 fighter jets, P-8 Poseidon aircraft
"Attempt to" establish Northern military base
Bloc:
Meet NATO's 2% of GDP ASAP
Use Quebec shipbuilding to "strengthen" Arctic sovereignty
Build global shipping hub in Quebec
PPC:
Repair US relations
Work with allies to maintain peaceful international order
No spending on foreign wars, including Ukraine," unless we have a compelling strategic interest in doing so"
Greens:
Prevent Canada from selling weapons to countries that "abuse human rights"
SOCIAL PROGRAMS / HEALTHCARE
Conservatives:
Maintain existing federal dental care, pharmacare and child-care programs
End "radical Liberal drug policies"
Accelerate access to EI for skilled trades workers
Abolish supervised drug consumption sites and promote recovery and rehab instead
Impose mandatory drug treatment on minors and prisoners
Developing new standardization system to allow qualified doctors and nurses to work in any province
Reforming the disability and caregiver tax credits
Liberals:
Expand existing programs such as dental care, pharmacare and child-care
Increase regional unemployment rate percentages
$52 million in funding for 16 projects across Canada
$4 billion to construct and renovate community healthcare infrastructure
Introduce a permanent health services fund for young Canadians
NDP:
Expand existing programs such as dental care, pharmacare and child-care
Spend $3.5 billion for full public pharmacare within four years, including pain medication
End privatization of health care
Hire 35,000 new nurses by 2030, streamline credentials for foreign-educated nurses
Cover mental health services
Bloc:
Protect the French language, Quebec culture
Allow state euthanasia (MAiD) consent in advance (before a person's mental capacity deteriorates)
Push for an increase in federal health transfers to cover 35% of Quebec’s health-care costs
PPC:
Reinstate fair disability for veterans, as previously under the Pension Act. Pension payments would retroactively apply back to 2006
Review the New Veterans Charter, simplify the system
Abolish Trudeau-era programs such as dental care, pharmacare and child-care
Eliminate all spending programs that intrude on provincial jurisdictions
Repeal state euthanasia (MAiD) legislation
All provinces to set up mixed private-public universal healthcare systems
Restrict abortions after the first trimester and only permit late-term abortions in exceptional circumstances
Outlaw the use of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, surgical procedures for transgender minors
Abolish federal sex change funding
Replace the Canada Health transfer cash payments with a “permanent transfer of tax points of equivalent value”
Greens:
Guaranteed basic income
Make college and university tuition free
Expand universal health coverage to include mental health
Transexual surgery as healthcare
Make “medication free for everyone”
SENIORS
Conservatives:
Allow working seniors to earn up to $34,000 tax-free and flexibility to grow RRSP savings until age 71.
Keep the retirement age/CPP eligibility at 65
Liberals:
Restore the starting age for Old Age Security (OAS) and Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) from 67 to 65
Increase the GIS for single seniors
NDP:
Increase the GIS for all seniors
Keep the retirement age/CPP eligibility at 65
Increase federal funding for long-term care homes
Bloc:
Increase old age security for ages 65 to 74 by 10%
Tax incentives for working seniors
Greens:
Implement Guaranteed Livable Income, expand GIS
GLOBALIZATION
Conservatives:
Ban all members of the party to have any affiliation with the World Economic Forum
PPC:
Withdraw from the UN's Global Compact for Migration, the Paris Climate Accords, the World Economic Forum and the World Health Organization
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION (DEI)
Conservatives:
Remove "woke" military programs
Cancel DEI funding for university research programs
PPC:
Abolish all DEI programs and policies in federal institutions, including the Canadian Armed Forces
Prohibit DEI re-education training (such as the one imposed on Dr. Jordan Peterson after some netizens complained about his tweets)
Stop funding DEI groups
Outlaw all medical sex transitioning procedures for minors, defund sex-change surgery
Repeal bill C-4 (the bill compelling adults to affirm gender dysphoria in minors)
Remove pornographic material from libraries
Protect women's spaces, maintain separate sports for males and females
Repeal Bill C-16 (the bill that added gender self-identification as ground for protection against discrimination)
INDIGENOUS RECONCILIATION
Conservatives:
Indigenous loan guarantees on energy projects
$47.8 billion First Nations child welfare reform deal
Liberals:
Spend $253 on "indigenous reconciliation" in Northern Canada
Double the Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program to $10 billion
PPC:
Bring clean drinking water to remote First Nations communities
Replace the Indian Act with a new legal framework to guarantee indigenous people’s "equal rights and responsibilities as Canadians" and to "promote the self-reliance of communities"
Establish individual property rights on reserves
Review federal indigenous spending to target communities that have "the greatest needs"
FIREARMS
Conservatives:
Reverse the Liberals’ gun-buyback program
Install high-powered scanners at all major land crossings and shipping ports to intercept gun trafficking
Liberals:
Maintain gun-buyback program for "assault-style" firearms
Automatically revoke gun licences for individuals convicted of violent offences
Require the RCMP, not the gun industry, to classify new firearm models
Increase RCMP National Forensic Laboratory Services and the Saskatchewan Ballistics Laboratory funding to track down guns used in crimes
PPC:
Replace the Firearms Act and supporting legislation
Eliminate the licensing system with a lifetime certification system for firearms owners who would undergo mandatory vetting, safety training and testing
Legalize simple possession of firearms for “certified Canadians,” as long as they don’t commit crimes that would disqualify them from firearms ownership
Reclassify all firearms based on the simplified classification system proposed by the Canadian Shooting Sports Association
Repeal Bill C-71, which forces retailers to keep records of firearms sales
Repeal Bill C-21, the national handgun freeze that added new offences around unlawfully manufactured firearms.
Mandate that all future changes to firearms regulation be made only by Parliament
SUPPLY MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT
Conservatives:
Maintain dairy, poultry industry controls
Liberals:
Changing the agreement is not on the table
Bloc:
Says issue should not be up for discussion
PPC:
Abolish what Bernier refers to as the "dairy cartel"
EQUALIZATION PAYMENTS
Conservatives:
Not to make any "big changes" to equalization payments
Liberals:
Have already locked in current equalization payments until 2029
Bloc:
Reject proposal to impose conditions on transfers to provinces
Push for 35% boost for health transfer
Push for $1.2 billion from the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund to be transferred to Quebec without conditions
PPC:
"Radically reduce" equalization payments, notably from Alberta to Quebec
CRIME
Conservatives:
Mandatory life sentences for fentanyl kingpins, Canada's "worst criminals"
Repealing Liberal “Catch-and-Release” laws
"Biggest ever crime crackdown in Canadian history"
Three Strikes, You're Out law that will lock up repeat criminals for life
Bloc:
Tougher penalties for border smugglers
PPC:
Repeal Bill C-48 (bail reform
MEDIA SUBSIDIES:
Conservatives:
Defund the CBC, but keep funding French-language state broadcaster Radio-Canada
Increase media subsidies by $25 million, indigenous media subsidies by $25 million
Liberals:
'Reform' CBC/Radio-Canada funding to make it more "viable," indicated funding would be doubled from the current $1.3 billion in subsidies
Provide an initial $150-million annual funding increase to CBC/Radio-Canada
PPC:
End all media subsidies and bailouts
