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Canada: Trudeau announces $61.80bn in new spending to woo voters
According to a poll tracker, the Conservatives are now in a position to garner the highest number of seats at 143, with the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau-led Liberals at 132 in the 338-seat House of Commons.
Struggling to arrest a slide in support ahead of the September 20 general elections, the ruling Liberal Party of Canada released an expansive election manifesto on Wednesday that includes 78 billion Canadian dollars ($61.80 billion) in new spending to be funded from higher taxes on banks and insurance companies and individuals in higher income brackets.
However, the 86-page manifesto has no mention of India while it does talk of measures to “respond to illegal and unacceptable behaviour by authoritarian states, including China, Russia, and Iran”.
Much of the manifesto recaps the achievement of the government of outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over the past six years, including various benefits announced to counter the economic challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
In an introduction to the manifesto, Trudeau said, “This is our moment to decide where our country goes from here. This is our time to choose. And this platform is our path ahead for generations to come.”
It was released at an event in Toronto, with Trudeau adding that this was “the plan that Canada needs to be even more ambitious, to draw all that we’ve learned in fighting this crisis of Covid, to apply it to the crisis of climate change, of housing, of health care, of child care”.
It addresses the current crisis in Afghanistan, promising to increase the number of refugees to be accepted from that country from 20,000 to 40,000. However, it does not mention the logistics of that plan.
It added that a Liberal Party government will “continue to help support Afghan citizens through humanitarian assistance and to work with our allies to protect democratic and human rights, including for women, girls, and minorities”.
The new plan has many giveaways and is meant to be funded through revenue generated via new sources such as raising corporate income taxes “on the largest, most profitable banks and insurance companies who earn more than 1 billion Canadian dollars per year” and creating a “minimum tax rule so that everyone who earns enough to qualify for the top bracket pays at least 15% every year”.
The manifesto was launched as the ruling party continues to trail the principal opposition Conservatives in voter preference across a range of fresh surveys.
In fact, according to the poll tracker 338 Canada, the Conservatives led by Erin O’Toole are now in a position to garner the highest number of seats, at 143, with the Liberals at 132. That agency, along with others, places the Conservatives at least 2% ahead in national vote share.
A warning for Trudeau was sounded by pollster Darrell Bricker, CEO, Ipsos Public Affairs, as he tweeted, “An election that was supposed to be an opportunity for Trudeau and the LPC to score a quick majority has turned now into a fight for survival.”
