A lot happens in one week during federal election campaign season. Provinces are visited, promises are made and polls projecting who will be the next prime minister of Canada are updated every day.
Here’s what each federal party has promised from Sept. 29 to Oct. 4.
Conservative Party of Canada
- They promised to build a single coast-to-coast energy corridor to transport Canada’s natural resources if elected. It would transport oil, gas, hydroelectricity and telecommunications lines.
- Andrew Scheer promises if elected he would allow 35,000 more Canadians to qualify for the Disability Tax Credit.
- Scheer promises to slash foreign aid spending by 25 per cent.
- Scheer said if he were prime minister he would appeal the decision of Canadian Human Rights Tribunal to compensate First Nations children harmed by on-reserve child welfare system. The tribunal ordered the federal government to pay $40,000 to children taken from their homes and communities because of the on-reserve child welfare system. The deadline to appeal was Oct. 7.
- They promised to prioritize projects that would shorten commute times.
- The Conservatives announced a plan for safer streets. It includes targeting illegal firearms crossing the border, strengthening penalties for gang violence and gun criminals and helping Canadians recover from addiction.
Liberal Party of Canada
- Liberals released their full campaign platform on Sept. 29.
- Justin Trudeau promised to remove the application fee for Canadian citizenship.
- Trudeau wants a national ban on semi-automatic assault rifles. He said he would empower local governments to “further restrict” or completely ban handguns.
- Trudeau said he would bring in legislation to expand access to medical assistance in dying.
- He promised his government would plant 2-billion trees, reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
Green Party of Canada
- Elizabeth May said companies would be taxed every time they replace an employee with a machine, the same amount of income tax the laid-off worker would be paying to the government.
- May said Alberta will remain an “energy superpower.” Jobs in the geothermal, solar and wind sectors will require more skilled workers than in the fossil fuel sector so as May said, there will be more job openings.
- May would make an official Climate Change Act which would require a 60 per cent cut in carbon emissions below 2005 levels by 2030. She said a Canada governed by the Greens would reach net-zero emissions in 2050.
- They promise to plant 30,000 hectares of trees each year.
- May promised there would be free post-secondary education for Canadians. Existing student debt held by the federal government would be forgiven.
- They promised they would also remove the two per cent cap on increases in funding for Indigenous students in PSE? check
New Democratic Party of Canada
- Jagmeet Singh promised to pledge funding toward sports, after-school programs and drop-in centres for youth across the country in an effort to reduce gang recruitment.
- Create a Special RCMP unit tackling money laundering to help de-fund organized crime.
- The NDP promised to eliminate interest on all student loans.
- Singh also promised to pledge $10-billion for 500,000 new child-care spaces in Canada.
- If elected, the NDP said they would declare a public health emergency and stop criminalization of people dealing with addiction.
- Singh said if elected, he would ensure that if parents want to take a shorter parental leave, they can still receive the same amount of employment insurance benefits.
- If elected, Singh said he would pledge $40 million toward a Coastal Protection Fund to clean up coast, protect salmon move vessels in poor condition and improve Coast Guard training.
- The NDP said they are committed to introducing a national universal pharmacare plan by 2020.
- He also said he would expand affordable housing and provide in-need families help with rent.
People’s Party of Canada
- The Aquinian could find no new announcements made by Maxime Bernier during the week.
