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Election 2021: Where the parties stand

How federal party platforms address key issues as Canada gets ready for a September 20 vote
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With the snap federal election call, Canada's federal political parties are touting platforms decked with big-ticket promises

Where do the Liberals, Conservatives, NDP and Greens stand on major issues? Here is a breakdown of their positions on the issues of taxes, the economy, energy, climate change, infrastructure, child care and skills training. 

Taxes

Liberals

•Luxury tax on new cars and private aircraft worth at least $100,000

•Tax vacation properties of non- residents

•3% digital service tax

•Strengthen CRA to combat tax avoidance           

Conservatives

•Make foreign tech companies pay digital services tax representing 3% of their gross revenue if they don’t pay corporate income tax here

•Provide 25% tax credit on amounts of up to $100,000 invested in a small business over the next two years

•Appoint expert panel to review tax system

NDP

•1% tax on wealth over $20 million

•Excess profit tax on pandemic profits of large corporations

Greens

•Establish arm’s-length Federal Tax Commission to analyze the tax system for fairness and accessibility

•Apply a corporate tax on transnational e-commerce companies doing business in Canada

•Impose financial transactions tax of 0.5% in the finance sector as France has done since 2012

Economy           

Liberals

•Expand EI sick benefits to 26 weeks

•$250 million, three-year aerospace pandemic recovery bailout

•Allow firms to expense up to $1.5 million in eligible investments in each of next three years

•$15 federal minimum wage           

Conservatives

•Pay up to 50% of the salary of new hires for six months following the end of CEWS

•Provide 5% investment tax credit for any capital investment made in 2022 and 2023

•Loans of up to $200,000 to help small and medium-sized businesses in hospitality, retail, and tourism, with up to 25% forgiven

NDP

•Create one million jobs by investing in infrastructure, public transit, homes, retrofitting and transitioning to a carbon neutral economy

•Increase federal minimum wage

•Provide 10 paid sick days for workers in federally regulated industries

Greens

•Prioritize transition to green economy

•Measure well-being, rather than gross domestic product, as a sign of progress

Energy           

Liberal

•$1 billion over five years for large clean energy technology projects

•$35 million to create the B.C. Centre for Innovation and Clean Energy            

Conservatives

•Introduce renewable natural gas mandate

•Implement LNG export strategy

•Tax credit for carbon capture, use and storage technology           

NDP

•Create 300,000 jobs in the green economy

Greens

•No new pipelines, or coal, oil or gas drilling or mining, including offshore wells, will be approved

•Bitumen production phased out between 2030 and 2035

•Cancel the Trans Mountain pipeline as well as other subsidies to fossil fuel industries

Climate change           

Liberals

•$5 billion over seven years for the Net Zero Accelerator to help companies reduce emissions

•Reduce corporate income tax rate by 50% for zero-emission technology manufacturers

•$200 million for a Natural Infrastructure Fund; $5 billion in green bonds to fund conservation and green infrastructure           

Conservatives

•Implement Personal Low Carbon Savings Account

•Price carbon starting at $20/tonne and tie carbon price to the U.S. and European Union

•Introduce zero-emission vehicle mandate; $1 billion for electric-vehicle manufacturing; $1 billion for hydrogen technology; $3 billion investment by 2030 in natural climate solutions           

NDP

•Modernize and expand public transit with the goal of electrification by 2030

•Establish Canadian Climate Bank to boost investment in renewable energy and low-carbon technologies

•Set up a climate emergency cabinet to focus on reducing emissions 50% by 2030

Greens

•Retool society to run on non-polluting, renewable energy sources

•Pass into law a Climate Change Act requiring a 60% cut in climate-changing emissions below 2005 levels by 2030, reaching net zero in 2050

Infrastructure           

Liberals

•Build dedicated passenger rail tracks in the Toronto-to-Quebec City corridor for high-frequency trains

•$1 billion universal broadband fund

•$1.9 billion for upgrades to transportation routes           

Conservatives

•Eliminate and replace the Canada Infrastructure Bank

•Provide the funding needed to complete the extension of the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain           

NDP

•Infrastructure products to use Canadian inputs including steel and aluminum

Greens

•Expand charging stations for electric vehicles, including all parking lots associated with federal facilities

•Develop a Green Freight Transport program in partnership with the freight industry, shipping companies and delivery businesses

Child care           

Liberals

•$30 billion over five years for child-care system, to be $10 a day in five years           

Conservatives

•Replace Liberals’ child-care program with refundable tax credit for up to 75% of cost for low-income Canadians           

NDP

•National child-care program

Greens

•Ramp up federal child care funding to achieve international benchmark of at least 1% of GDP annually, adding an additional $1 billion each year until benchmark is reached

Skills training           

Liberals

•$470 million for new apprenticeship program

•$240 million to increase the wage subsidy in the Student Work Placement Program                       

Conservatives

•Double the Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit for the next three years

•Invest $250 million over two years to create the Canada Job Training Fund

•Create the Working Canadian Training Loan to provide low interest loans of up to $10,000 to people who want to upgrade their skills

NDP

•Create a hiring bonus where the government covers the employer’s share of EI and CPP premiums for new hires or rehired laid-off employees

Greens

•Invest in retraining and apprenticeship programs for industrial trades workers for jobs in the transition to a zero-carbon economy

Note: As of press time, the Green Party of Canada had not released its full 2021 election platform; entries above are taken from their platform as released in 2019.