Justin Trudeau releases Liberals’ multibillion-dollar platform; includes 15% tax for high-income earners - The Globe and Mail

Canada's Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivers a speech at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre during his election campaign tour in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, September 1, 2021.

CARLOS OSORIO/Reuters

The Liberal Party released a costed campaign platform Wednesday detailing how a re-elected government would spend an additional $78-billion over five years – primarily in areas like health care, housing and seniors – while targeting corporations and the wealthy for $25-billion in tax hikes.

Released on the day before the first French-language leaders’ debate, the platform features a heavy dose of wedge politics, including several proposals related to abortion that Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau immediately highlighted as an area where he says his party is different from the Conservatives.

Similarly, the Liberal platform promises legislation to ensure businesses and groups that require their customers to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 will be protected from legal challenges. Vaccine mandates is another issue Mr. Trudeau frequently raises on the campaign trail as an area where he says his views differ sharply from his Conservative opponent, Erin O’Toole.

While the platform includes several new proposals, many of the more expensive promises in areas like child care, health, housing and the environment have previously been announced. What is new is the detailed table that provides five-year cost estimates for each proposal and updated projections for Ottawa’s bottom line.

The platform estimates the federal deficit would decline from $156.9-billion this year to $32-billion in 2025-26, but offers no timeline for erasing the deficit entirely. Those annual deficits would be $14-billion higher per year on average than the projected pre-election deficit forecast released by the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) in August.

On the revenue side, the platform proposes a minimum 15-per-cent tax on high earners so that deductions and tax credits can’t reduce their tax obligations below that threshold. That would be in addition to a 3-per-cent surtax on banks and insurance companies with profits over $1-billion and a temporary recovery dividend on those same firms. The platform also counts on nearly $12-billion in new revenue through increased tax enforcement.

The platform shows the debt as a share of GDP would be reduced slightly over five years, from 51.2 per cent to 49.2 per cent. It also states that a steadily declining debt-to-GDP ratio would be a “fiscal anchor” that guides a re-elected Liberal government.

The figures include $15-billion over three years as a “risk adjustment” to cover unforeseen costs related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is a responsible and prudent plan that is fair and also completely transparent,” said Mr. Trudeau in Toronto. “None of the other parties have shown their numbers, have shared their costings beyond a few projections that rely on magical thinking, like 3-per-cent growth for the coming decade every year for Canada, which has only happens once in our history.”

The Conservatives and the NDP have already released their party platforms, but those documents did not include a detailed costing table. Both have promised to update those documents with costing figures once their proposals have been reviewed by the PBO.

The Liberal Party also released independent costing notes from the PBO related to some of the party’s main proposals.

Mr. O’Toole said this week that a Conservative government would balance the books over 10 years “without cuts.” His platform said this would partly be accomplished by achieving average economic growth of 3 per cent.

The Conservative Leader dismissed the Liberal platform Wednesday as a collection of recycled promises from the party’s 2019 platform and April budget.

“Canadians are kind of tired of this ‘fly by night, never live up to the promises you made’ Justin Trudeau,” he said. “Our plan is a balanced one to get our budget back to balance over the course of 10 years by controlling spending, but making sure upfront that we help the country get back on its feet.”

On abortion, the Liberal platform proposes adding new regulations to the Canada Health Act so that if any province fails to ensure access to such services, a penalty would apply via reduced federal health transfers. The proposed changes can be approved by cabinet without introducing legislation in Parliament.

Other proposals include removing charity status for anti-abortion organizations “that provide dishonest counselling to women about their rights and about the options available to them at all stages of their pregnancy.” Health Canada would also be given $10-million to fund a portal with “accurate, judgement-free, and evidence-based information” on sexual and reproductive health.

Mr. O’Toole has repeatedly said he is pro-choice and would not reopen the issue, but the Liberals point out that a large number of his caucus and party members oppose abortion.

Canadian federal election 2021: Latest updates and essential reading ahead of Sept. 20 vote

Other new Liberal proposals include allowing new parents with student loans to pause their payments and adding $400-millon over four years to the CBC/Radio-Canada budget to work toward a goal of eliminating advertising during news and other public affairs shows.

Another section outlines proposed new measures related to guns and crime. That includes $1-billion for the provinces and territories to implement a ban on handguns.

The lists of costs sets aside $350-million over two years to resettle an additional 20,000 refugees.

The most expensive new election promises the ones that each account in the billions annually, are chiefly for health care. The Liberals propose a fund to reduce backlogs for surgeries and other procedures, a new mental-health transfer to provinces, additional funds for long-term care – and programs that are supposed to address the cost of housing.

The Liberal platform also highlights major programs already announced by the Liberal government in the spring budget – notably, the pledge to introduce $10-a-day child care.

Ottawa has already signed agreements to fund that with eight provinces and territories, and the Liberal platform booklet makes it clear that child care is at the centre of what the Liberals are proposing to voters.

In fact, it presents the child-care plan as an economic boon, claiming it “has the potential to be the biggest economic boost since the NAFTA.”

The term “seniors” appears over 40 times in the platform, including a promised Career Extension Tax Credit worth up to $1,650 for those who choose to stay in the workforce.

Liberal promises to tax the rich and fund new programs like national child care borrow heavily from common NDP campaign themes. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh cautioned the public about believing in Mr. Trudeau’s plans.

“I want to remind folks: the Liberals have taken this strategy again and again. Why deliver on things when you can just campaign on it anyways? Why get things done when you can just promise it?” he said.

-With files from Laura Stone and Menaka Raman-Wilms

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Justin Trudeau releases Liberals’ multibillion-dollar platform; includes 15% tax for high-income earners - The Globe and Mail
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