OTTAWA: The Liberals and the Conservatives are almost head to head with 33 and 32 per cent, respectively, in popularity ratings according to polls conducted by Canadian media houses.
Reports say that while the Liberals began with a five-point lead when the elections were announced, the Conservatives have caught up and are going strong.
The NDP has 21 per cent, with five and 6 per cent going to the Greens and the Bloc Quebecois and the remaining undecided. Canadians head to polls on September 20. One media poll showed that Justin Trudeau is still preferred as the prime minister followed by Erin O’Toole and NDP’s Jagmeet Singh.
Trudeau’s popularity, however, has slumped to below 50 per cent for the first time, during the ongoing pandemic and surveys show that he is battling trust issues. Analysts say that Ontario remains the key to whether the Liberals will regain the majority, and the party needs to do well in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton areas to stand a chance of getting a majority in the House of Commons.
The latest numbers, however, indicate that this may not be easy, with the Conservatives nipping at their heels.
Erin O’Toole and the Conservatives are campaigning strongly on their Canada Recovery Plan which lists five priority areas, with commitments to: Secure jobs by recovering the one million jobs lost during the pandemic within one year; Secure accountability by enacting a new Anti-Corruption law to clean up the mess in Ottawa; Secure mental health through a Canada Mental Health Action Plan; Secure our country by creating a strategic stockpile of essential products and building the capacity to manufacture vaccines at home; and Secure Canada’s economy by balancing the budget over the next decade On Tuesday, O’Toole focussed on mental health.
“If elected, we’re going to take bold steps to help Canadians with mental health. It’s time for a new approach and a serious Mental Health Action Plan. Progress has been too slow in this space. Mental health is health.
“We will create a national 3-digit suicide prevention line and boost health transfers by at least 6% annually (doubling the Liberal commitment). Indigenous communities are some of the hardest hit with the mental health crisis. We will partner with Indigenous leaders to enhance appropriate, on-land treatment and prevention programs for communities who need it.
“There’s a party now that stands for optimism and the future – and that’s the one I am proud to lead, Canada’s Conservatives.”
He also spoke about inflation “Across the country, inflation has been skyrocketing. Hardworking Canadians are being hurt by the rising cost of everything because paycheques aren’t going as far. To help you and to help our hardhit retail stores recover, we will implement a month-long GST holiday in December.”
O’Toole said the choice is clear for Canadians. “Canada’s Recovery Plan to secure the future or a Trudeau majority with more borrowing, more debt, higher taxes, and rising costs. Canada’s Conservatives will enact a comprehensive jobs plan to recover the million jobs lost during the pandemic within one year – and we won’t stop there.”
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Justin Trudeau and the Liberals are currently campaigning on the issue of homeownership. Trudeau said in Surrey on Wednesday: “Yesterday we announced our plan to put home ownership in reach for more Canadians. And today, we announced we’re going to ask the biggest banks and insurance companies to contribute a little bit more, so we can invest in you. A re-elected Liberal government will move forward with a plan to have Canada’s largest financial institutions pay more, to support Canadians in their goal of owning a home.”
He also announced that areelected Liberal government will:
• Raise the corporate income tax rate paid by Canada’s largest and most profitable banks and insurance companies by 3 percentage points on all earnings over $1 billion; and
• Establish the Canada Recovery Dividend so these institutions contribute more over the next four years of Canada’s recovery. In total, these measures will generate a minimum of $2.5 billion per year over the next 4 years, beginning in 2022-23.
The Liberals’s three point housing plan will:
• Unlock Home Ownership: Liberals will help renters become owners and save for a down payment faster, reduce the monthly costs of mortgages, and double the Home Buyers Tax Credit to help young Canadians buy their first home sooner.
• Build More Homes: Liberals will build, preserve, or repair 1.4 million homes in four years.
• Protect your Rights: Liberals will create a Home Buyers’ Bill of Rights to make the process of buying a home fairer, more open and transparent, and ensure homes are for people and families. Our plan includes banning blind bidding, establishing a legal right to a home inspection, and banning new foreign ownership for two years.
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NDP leader Jagmeet Singh was campaigning for the past two days on cellphone and data fees ‘which are out of control.”
“In 2019, Justin Trudeau promised Canadians that he would cut fees by 25% if they voted for him. He never did. He never intended to honour his promise. I will. “ Singh also emphasized the role of long-term care system in Canada.
“Our parents and grandparents have given us so much. As they age, they deserve to live in comfort and safety. But long-term care in Canada has long been underfunded and understaffed…. The situation was so bad that during the pandemic, the army had to be called in to care for seniors. Trudeau made a promise to better fund long-term care – instead, he underfunded senior care and protected the profits of big corporations and wealthy shareholders.
“We owe it to seniors to do better. New Democrats will end private, for-profit long-term care and bring long-term care homes under the public umbrella, as well as develop national standards for home care and long-term care.”