Young families need access to quality, affordable child care. But today, there is an affordability crisis in child care across the country. Families are struggling to find child care spaces – before their children are even born. Costs are unaffordable in many cities. Not-for-profit child care centres across the country are closing down because of the pandemic. And parents are forced to make impossible choices between delaying their return to work or paying huge amounts for the child care they need.

The pressure that parents feel today is the result of inaction by Liberal and Conservative governments. For ten years, the Conservative government worked against every effort to make quality child care more accessible to Canadian families – and in the six years since taking power, the Liberals have only offered promises that haven’t made a difference for families struggling to find the care they need.

The result is a broken system with child care costs that are among the highest in the world, and enormous worry in the lives of Canadian families. Failing to invest in child care also keeps women out of the workforce, which will be a huge barrier to economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic is over.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

Our vision is to give families relief. Every parent across Canada should be able to find affordable child care you need, when you need it, with a licensed provider making a fair wage. We’ll work with other levels of government, Indigenous communities, families and child care workers to ensure that care is inclusive and responsive to the needs of all Canadian children. And we’ll introduce legislation that enshrines Canada’s commitment to high-quality, public child care in law. Public early childhood education and child care that is affordable and available to all families is critical to our economic recovery, and gives parents real choices.

In the absence of federal leadership, provinces have stepped up to take strides towards affordable, accessible, quality child care – Quebec continues to be a leader, and the New Democrat government in British Columbia has shown that investments in child care make a real difference in the lives of children, women, and families.

It’s urgent to both protect existing child care spaces, and create more. We will take immediate action to save not-for-profit child care centres that are at risk of closure with relief fund to re-open spaces that were lost during COVID-19. From there, we’ll immediately work with the provinces to build a universal, $10 a day child-care system that’s there for all parents, no matter where you live. New Democrats will actually create enough spaces so families don’t spend months on wait lists, and ensure that child care workers are paid a fair, living wage. Canadian families deserve no less.

When a crisis hits, working families need to be able to count on our Employment Insurance (EI) system to be there for them. But as we’ve seen throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, our EI system is out-dated, under-funded and inflexible, and too often doesn’t provide any help to those who need it most.

Although all workers pay into EI, even in normal times less than 40 percent qualify for benefits when they need them. Only a third of unemployed women can access EI, a trend that’s only set to worsen with the growth of precarious and part-time work.

For decades, Liberal and Conservative governments have used the EI fund to balance the books, while fewer and fewer workers can access the benefits that they’ve already paid for. The Conservatives brought in mean-spirited changes to EI that hurt workers, families and communities – and the Liberals have tinkered at the edges, rather than improving the system for all. During the COVID-19 crisis, the changes they’ve made to EI are temporary and won’t fix the underlying problems that prevent Canadians from getting the help they need.

It’s time to make EI work for Canadians, for good.

To help make ends meet while on EI, we’ll create a low income supplement so that no one who is relying on EI regular or special benefits to stay afloat receives less than $2,000 a month.

Particularly in the midst of a global health crisis, New Democrats know that there are circumstances where people leave a job voluntarily but still need support. That’s why we would make EI available to people who quit their jobs to go back to school, to provide necessary childcare, or to protect their health or the health of immunocompromised family members.

For many Canadians who need EI when they’re dealing with an illness, the current system falls far short and doesn’t provide the kind of help people actually need. To make sure that Canadians can count on EI when they’re dealing with a serious illness, a New Democrat government will extend sickness benefits from 15 to 50 weeks, and create a pilot project to allow workers with episodic illnesses and disabilities to access EI sickness benefits a day at a time, as they need them. This flexibility will help support those who want to continue to work while providing the seriously ill with the benefits they need.

New Democrats also understand that seasonal workers face particular challenges accessing EI. To help Canadians in seasonal industries bridge the gap between the end of EI and the start of seasonal work, we’ll bring back the former Extra Five Weeks pilot project and make it permanent, and we will restore the economic regions in the territories and PEI to their 2014 boundaries.

Parental leave should be available for all Canadian families, in the way that works best for them. Eighteen months of leave is an attractive option for many parents, but not many Canadians can afford to live on just 33 percent of their salary. New Democrats will bring in a new special leave that allows parents to take shorter parental leave at a higher replacement rate. We’ll also allow self-employed workers to opt-into parental benefits at any time before taking the leave, and move to double leave for parents of multiples.

Finally, we will also protect the EI Operating Account in law, so that future governments can’t raid it for general revenue. Premiums, which are currently at a historic low, will be frozen until the economy recovers.

Liberals and Conservatives like to say they support workers, but when push comes to shove, they always take the side of big corporations. This has never been more true than during the COVID-19 pandemic, when they failed to support universal sick leave and minimum wage policies, putting the most vulnerable workers and their families at risk.

New Democrats know that the federal government has an important role to play in making work better, fairer and more secure for everyone. We can do so much better to protect the health, safety and rights of all workers in Canada.

We believe that membership in a union is the best ticket into the middle class, and that workers and our entire economy are better off when worker’s rights are protected and bargaining is fair.

That’s why New Democrats believe that it should be easier to join a union that will protect your rights and ensure fair working conditions. We will defend the Rand formula, so that unions can effectively advocate for workers, and we will continue to oppose heavy-handed legislation that suspends the rights to bargain and to strike.

New Democrats will make sure that workers and employers can take action together to improve health and safety, eliminating unsafe working conditions and ensuring that whistleblowers are protected.

We believe that it’s time to update the Canada Labour Code to enhance safeguards for workers so that everyone can stay safe and healthy at work. We urgently need to do more to make sure that people can access paid sick leave when they need to take time off from work due to illness.

New Democrats will work with the provinces to update federal standards and bring in a permanent safety net of paid sick leave across the country, and to close the gap until every worker has access to paid sick days, we will fix the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit and keep it going until all Canadians have access to paid sick days.

We’ll allow sick leave to be taken by workers one or two days at a time, give full income replacement to workers who are sick, and reimburse employers instead of putting the onus on workers to apply for the program. Unlike the Liberals, we’ll move immediately to legislate 10 paid sick days in the Canada Labour Code for federally regulated workplaces.

During labour disputes, the use of scab replacement workers undermines workers’ ability to negotiate fairly and hurts labour relations. Scabs prolong strikes and give the employer little incentive to reach a fair deal. New Democrats would prioritize anti-scab legislation that will ban the use of replacement workers in labour disputes – for good.

For too long, the Liberal and Conservative governments refused to take action on low wages. It’s not okay that Canadians can get up every morning and work 40 hours a week, yet still live below the poverty line. New Democrats believe that everyone deserves a living wage – and unlike the Liberals who stalled on a federal minimum wage for years, we’ll actually put in place a living federal minimum wage starting at $15 an hour and rising to $20 an hour, indexed to the cost of living. Not only will this help hundreds of thousands of workers; it will also set a national standard for a fair, living wage.

Right now, without access to benefits like extended health coverage and dental care, temporary workers earn roughly 75 per cent of what permanent employees do – a divide that hits the most vulnerable and precarious workers hardest, and gives employers an incentive to limit the number of full-time positions they offer. We don’t think that’s right, and we will put in place rules to require that part-time and contract workers be compensated equally to full-time workers.

The rampant use of unpaid internships exposes young workers to abuse. The Liberals promised to end unfair unpaid internships, but nothing has been done. A New Democrat government will immediately ban unpaid internships outside of education programs.

Finally, public servants make incredible contributions to our country – and they deserve a government, and an employer, that treats them with respect. New Democrats will replace the failed Phoenix pay system brought in by the Conservative and Liberal governments. We will also work to reduce the inefficient and costly practice of contracting out government work, which has only grown under the Liberal government, and we will take action to put an end to harassment in the federal workplace.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, technology was rapidly changing the workplace. These developments could lead to economic growth and prosperity, but only if we make sure that workers share in the gains that will come from these changes. But instead of broadening opportunity for everyone, the Liberal government made the disappointing decision to exclude unemployed and precariously employed Canadians – people who need support the most – from the opportunity to get paid training.

New Democrats know that we can do better for all workers. We’re committed to working with the provinces to ensure that Canadians have access to education throughout their professional lives, including proactive training and retraining, as well as support when they are unemployed.

Our vision is one where training opportunities are flexible enough to work with people’s busy lives, and significant enough to really improve job prospects.

To get there, we’ll change EI rules to allow workers who quit their job to go to school to qualify for EI benefits, so that families can count on some income support during that period of transition back to school. We’ll also expand options for workers in designated sectors and regions to take EI funded training in advance of losing a job while at the same time promoting investment to ensure that regional economies are creating good jobs that support families and communities. Finally, to make sure that businesses are investing in the training that Canadians need, a New Democrat government will require large employers to spend at least 1 percent of payroll on training for their employees annually.

In order to deliver these changes, we’ll work closely with the provinces to establish national training priorities, and create a new Workers Development and Opportunities Fund to expand training options beyond people who qualify for EI. This fund will be provincially directed, with dedicated support for marginalized workers, those in transitioning sectors and for efforts to improve literacy and essential skills.

Small businesses are one of the engines of job creation in Canada, and an important part of every community across the country. Local shops keep our communities running, and they need our support now more than ever.

Too many main street small and medium-sized businesses have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Small businesses need a government that helps them access the services and infrastructure they need to recover, thrive and expand, while investing in a healthy and talented workforce.

New Democrats believe that small businesses should have access to all the support they need to get through this crisis, grow, innovate and stay competitive in Canada and around the world. That’s why we have stood up for emergency small business aid during COVID-19, lower small business taxes, opposed unfair merchant fees, and fought to make it easier to pass on small businesses to the next generation.

We know that there’s so much more to do to help the small businesses that our communities rely on. That’s why New Democrats will make sure that small businesses wage and rent subsidies continue until small businesses are able to fully reopen. To help small businesses get people back to work, we’ll put in place a long-term hiring bonus to pay the employer portion of EI and CPP for new or rehired staff.

New Democrats will keep working hard for small businesses to tackle issues that impact their bottom line. As more and more small businesses rely on credit card and virtual transactions, we’ll put an end to gouging by capping high credit card merchant fees at a maximum of 1%.

Our plan for public, universal pharmacare will also save businesses approximately $600 per employee with extended health benefits every year – and it means that all small businesses can feel confident knowing that their employees are able to access the prescription drugs they need.

To help Canadian small business step out on the world stage, a New Democrat government will streamline access to government export services and make it simpler to break into foreign markets. We’ll also provide small- and medium-sized businesses with a single point of contact to help ease regulatory processes and support compliance - freeing up time for entrepreneurs to invest in growing their business.

Recognizing that a shortage of workers is a major barrier for many small businesses operating in rural areas, we’ll make important new investments in training Canadians and boost support to traditionally underemployed groups, ensuring that they can access good jobs that pay a fair wage.

Canadians know that trade is essential for our economic success – but they expect that trade deals will be fair, respect human rights, protect the environment, and put the interests of Canadian workers and communities first. Unfortunately, under Liberal and Conservative governments, trade negotiations have too often hurt Canadian industries – and cost us jobs.

New Democrats support fair trade that broadens opportunity in all areas of the country, while protecting our industries and upholding labour standards, environmental protections and human rights around the world. That’s why we’ll always defend Canadian workers in trade negotiations, protect supply management, stand up against unfair tariffs.

We’re committed to improving the transparency of trade negotiations, so that Canadians can clearly understand the costs and benefits of any proposed agreement and have their say before it’s signed. Already, New Democrats have won changes that require the government to notify Canadians before trade negotiations begin, make them put forward clear negotiating objectives in advance, and do a full economic impact assessment of every deal.

A New Democrat government will directly engage with Canadians on the expected costs and benefits of potential trade deals, as well as ensure that all trade agreements are consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. We will evaluate all potential trade deals for their social, environmental and gendered impact on Canadians.

When it comes to what’s on the negotiating table, Canadians know that there are some things that we shouldn’t be willing to compromise on, like investor-state dispute settlement measures that hand too much power to corporations and undermine the rules that keep us safe and healthy.

Trade agreements should have enforceable labour, human rights and environmental protections – and New Democrats will always protect Canadians against measures that could increase the cost of pharmaceuticals, weaken our cultural protections, or undermine privacy rights. We will also protect Canadian businesses who are taking action to transition to a low-carbon future with a border carbon adjustment that will level the playing field on imports from areas without a carbon price.

A New Democrat government will also do more to defend Canadian workers and communities from unfair trading practices. We will modernize Canada’s trade remedy system and make sure that trade unions have full standing in trade cases and the ability to initiate trade disputes, as is the case in other countries.

From steel mills and auto plants to farms and high-tech companies, and everything in between, Canadian industries power our economy and sustain the jobs that families across the country rely on. But for too long, Liberal and Conservative governments have ignored the need to support Canadian industry, trading away advantages in trade deals and failing to invest in the targeted support that our industries need to thrive.

As the global economy slowly bounces back from the pandemic, we have a critical opportunity. If we make the right choices now, we can make Canada an even better place to invest, protect and create good jobs for the future, and make Canadian industry a global leader as market needs evolve.

New Democrats are committed to putting Canadian workers at the centre of a robust strategy to drive innovation and boost competitiveness, now and into the future. And as we recover and grow our clean energy economy, we’ll protect and create good jobs for families today – and tomorrow.

The pandemic has shown the critical importance of domestic manufacturing. Without it, Canada has struggled to get necessary personal protective equipment and vaccines. For the security of all Canadians, we can’t leave this to chance. That’s why New Democrats will develop comprehensive industrial strategies to incubate and expand critical domestic manufacturing capacity and supply chain infrastructure including for auto, aerospace, shipbuilding, construction materials, pharmaceuticals and personal protective equipment.

New Democrats will begin by strengthening and modernizing the Investment Canada Act to protect Canadian jobs and undo the damage done by the Liberal government that allows more takeovers of Canadian companies by foreign investors without national security reviews. We’ll scrap the failed Invest in Canada agency and create iCanada, a one-stop shop inside the federal government to help attract investors to Canada and turn their plans into reality – and champion Canadian industry on the international stage.

New Democrats are committed to reenergizing a made-in-Canada auto industry. For generations, millions of Canadian families have been supported by good jobs in the automotive and parts industries. Those good jobs have helped to build many of our communities. And, today, we need to protect and keep those jobs – while attracting the next generation of automotive manufacturing to Canadian communities.

A New Democrat government will urgently convene an auto summit with provincial, municipal, industry and labour leaders to develop a consensus on a National Automotive Strategy to attract and retain jobs and investment. This strategy will make sure that Canadian product lines and manufacturing processes are adapted to meet changing consumer needs and evolving realities in the manufacturing industry – while protecting workers for the long term.

We will also restore the Automotive Innovation Fund and make contributions to automakers tax-free to help secure next generation production capacity. And we will commission an independent study into the causes and consequences of the trade deficit in automotive products with Mexico, along with potential strategies for reducing it.

New Democrats will help Canadian industry lead in the development and manufacturing of the vehicles of tomorrow. We’ll work with labour and industry to make sure that Canadian workers have the skills they need to benefit from the adoption of these new technologies – and drive demand by ensuring that federal incentives for zero-emissions automobiles prioritize made-in-Canada vehicles.

We understand that manufacturing helped to build Canada. And good manufacturing jobs should continue to build Canada’s future, too.

A New Democrat government will bring together all levels of government, together with business and labour leaders, to develop a national industrial strategy to build an advanced low carbon manufacturing economy in Canada that will provide good middle-class jobs to Canadian workers. We will also take measures to grow the domestic market for Canadian manufactured goods, and provide strategic supports to our long-neglected steel and aluminum industries to attract and retain jobs and investments in communities across the country.

When the Liberal government signed a new trade deal with the United States that contained damaging steel and aluminum tariffs, New Democrats fought alongside labour and the industry get the tariffs permanently removed – and won. But there is still much work to be done to protect Canadian jobs against the risk that the U.S. could impose new tariffs. For New Democrats, no tariffs against our steel or aluminum will ever be acceptable.

As well, Canadian mills and workers continue to be affected by unfair foreign exports – especially from China. That’s why we will adopt measures to stabilize the Canadian steel market, and protect the sector from predatory practices of foreign producers who are shut out of other markets.

Liberal and Conservative governments have failed to use Canadian government infrastructure procurement to support Canada’s manufacturing economy, and have often negotiated trade deals that put domestic procurement policies at risk. New Democrats will require the use of Canadian-made steel and aluminum for infrastructure projects across the country.

A New Democrat government will step up as a partner to foster entrepreneurship, including through dedicated support to get the hard-hit tourism sector back on its feet.

We will help launch a Canadian start-up culture, with a focus on helping Canadian companies in all regions of the country commercialize new technologies and scale-up, train and retain the highly-skilled Canadian workforce needed to support industry growth, and bolster Canadian competitiveness on the world stage.

Agriculture is another vital sector of our economy. It’s time for a government that’s actually working on the side of Canadian farmers, producers, and farm families. New Democrats have a plan for a Canadian Food Strategy that will take a whole-of-government approach to address regional needs and priorities by investing in our agricultural communities, supporting young and new farmers and taking steps to ensure that rural livelihoods are good and sustainable.

Supply management protects our family farms, rural communities and hundreds of thousands of jobs. New Democrats are committed to fully protecting supply management and ensuring reciprocity in all trade negotiations, and supporting our supply managed sectors as they innovate and grow.

We also know that it’s a challenge to grow a business without modern communications infrastructure. That’s why New Democrats will make sure that high-speed broadband and cell phone infrastructure is available to connect our farmers and rural communities to the services and tools they need, no matter where in the country they are.

Finally, New Democrats will introduce a payment protection program for produce growers and take immediate steps to restore protection for growers selling to the United States under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act.

A New Democrat government will invest in forestry innovation and support value-added Canadian wood products – and the good jobs that go with them. Our plan will support forestry research and development, help companies commercialize new technologies, and expand market access for wood products to keep Canada competitive.

New Democrats are committed to a vision of strong coastal communities, sustainable fisheries and thriving marine and freshwater ecosystems. With the right choices today, we can protect our fisheries and the jobs they provide for generations to come – and make Canada a global leader in ocean and freshwater sustainability.

In order to protect wild salmon on the Pacific coast, our approach will be focused on conserving, protecting, and restoring critical habitat. We will fully implement the recommendations of the Cohen Commission and work with the province of British Columbia and First Nations to support the transition to land-based closed-containment systems.

On the Atlantic coast, New Democrats will ensure that resource allocations in the fishery are guided by the principles of adjacency, historic dependence and sustainability, while also respecting Indigenous rights.

When it comes to sustainability, New Democrats recognize that the wellbeing of our communities is reliant upon the health of our marine and freshwater ecosystems. That’s why we will invest in habitat restoration and the rebuilding of fish stocks, as well as in strengthening our response to oil spills and derelict vessels to better protect our coasts.

Canadians know that good services we can all count on need to be funded sustainably. But for too long, Liberal and Conservative governments have told Canadians to expect less – cutting back on services, while handing out special deals for big corporations and big polluters and giving tax breaks to their wealthiest friends. Instead of lowering costs for Canadian families, they have delivered outrageous giveaways to the richest few – and watched as costs grow for everyone else.

The COVID-19 pandemic has driven these inequalities even deeper. While millions of families and small businesses have been pushed to the brink during the pandemic, the super-rich are doing better than ever. Canadian billionaires are $78 billion richer since the first lockdown in 2020 – and counting. They’re making big money while people suffer.

It’s scandalous. And it’s time to put a stop it.

We believe that those who have profited off the pandemic should be the ones to pay for the recovery – not families who are struggling to make ends meet. It’s time to demand that the wealthiest pay their share, so we can build a better future for everyone.

We’ll protect family budgets, and force big corporations and big polluters to start paying what they owe. And we will raise revenues through new, fair and progressive taxation sources to make the investments Canadians need to thrive.

No one should be profiteering during a global health crisis when so many Canadians are suffering and need help more than ever. New Democrats will introduce a temporary COVID-19 excess profit tax that puts an additional 15% tax on large corporate windfall profits during the pandemic. We will go after large corporations that took publicly-funded COVID-19 wage subsidies and turned around and paid out executive bonuses, executed stock buy-backs or paid shareholder dividends.

To make our tax system fairer and ensure that the wealthiest individuals are paying their fair share, we will increase the capital gains inclusion rate to 75 percent. A New Democrat government will also boost the top marginal tax rate two points, put in place a luxury goods tax on things like yachts and private jets, and ask the very richest multi-millionaires to pay a bit more towards our shared services with a wealth tax.

A New Democrat government will ensure that large, profitable corporations are contributing to the important services and infrastructure that make Canada such a good place to do business. We will roll back the Conservatives’ corporate income tax cuts by three percentage points to 2010 levels. We will also ensure that internet giants like Facebook, Google and Amazon pay their fair share of taxes, just like every other company – unlike the Liberals, who broke their campaign promise to make these companies play by the rules.

To boost the integrity of our tax system and combat tax evasion, we will take measures to close loopholes that include eliminating bearer shares, compelling companies to prove the economic reason for their offshore transactions, and improving transparency on the taxes paid by large corporations. We will also boost compliance funding to Canada Revenue Agency’s enforcement section dealing with international and corporate taxation, to ensure that companies can’t evade new measures.

New Democrats will make the investments needed to help Canadian families who are struggling and improve the services we all count on. In all cases, we will manage debt and deficits responsibly, borrowing when required to defend the services that Canadians and their families rely on, and moving towards balance in the future when it’s prudent to do so.

For too long, Canadians have been told that opportunity is cyclical, boom and bust – or worse, that it can never come to their region at all. For decades, Conservative and Liberal governments have denied the existence of climate change, protected big polluters, and destroyed protections for our air and water. They’ve told Canadians that it’s a trade-off: environment, or jobs, never both.

Young people have been told to settle for gig work that keeps them living paycheque to paycheque, families have to leave their communities to chase decent-paying jobs, and during the pandemic women have been pushed out of the workforce entirely to care for children. All this while the reality of climate change and its devastating impacts unfolds around us every day.

These failures hurt our communities and put unbearable stress on too many families. The reality is that Justin Trudeau can’t talk his way out of the climate crisis, the Conservatives can’t be allowed to drag us back to a time before climate change existed, and we can’t return to normal after this pandemic when normal simply hasn’t worked for so many Canadians.

New Democrats are committed to doing better. We believe that Canada can’t truly recover from the COVID-19 pandemic until hope, prosperity and security are within reach of everyone.

When we build back, we have to build back for better. That means ensuring that the economic recovery also sets us up to succeed in a low-carbon future. New Democrats are ready to position Canada for the next boom – making sure that bold public investments are directed to clean energy, climate resilience, social infrastructure, and energy efficiency in communities across the country.

We’re committed to making work better with supports like paid sick leave and prescription drug coverage, because we know that creating jobs means treating workers as essential at all times, and not just during emergencies.

Our plan will put people to work building up our communities with energy-efficient retrofits and affordable homes, because building housing and infrastructure will lead to more jobs and stronger communities in every region.

New Democrats also know that helping Canadian workers make more products here at home will boost our manufacturing sector and better position us to fight the climate crisis and build the economy of the future.

We also know that investing in care work means creating good quality, dignified jobs for those who care for our loved ones. Good wages, benefits and stable, full-time work are the basics that these workers deserve.

Our plan will cut greenhouse gas emissions at same time as it will create good, family-sustaining jobs in every part of the country. It will clean up our environment and make sure that the water, air and land are protected from catastrophic climate change. It will create opportunity for today, and security for generations to come. And it will ensure that the rewards of our prosperity go to ordinary people working hard to build a better future, not to big polluters.

Our investments will create more than a million good jobs in a first mandate, addressing the climate crisis, boosting our economic recovery and making life better for all Canadians.

These jobs in energy efficiency retrofits, affordable housing, renewable energy, infrastructure, transit, child care and more will lift up every part of the country and give families hope for the future.

This job-creation plan will be paired with new access to training and education for the low carbon future, and targeted support for impacted workers, families and communities so that the changing economy works for them. With New Democrats, no one will be left behind and there will be new opportunities in every part of the country.

For too long, Liberal and Conservative governments have told Canadians that the real income safety net that keeps people out of poverty is impossible. They’ve chosen to hand out tax breaks to big business while under-funding the programs that people rely on when they are older, when they lose a job, or when they can’t work because of disability.

As we grapple with the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, too many Canadians are living on the edge, or sliding deeper into poverty. Even when the economy recovers, it’s clear that those who are struggling now will be at a disadvantage for a long time to come. We need big ideas to confront the challenges our country is facing.

New Democrats believe that this is a critical moment to strengthen our social safety net and to improve income supports so that all Canadians can live in dignity and security. We know that when we invest in meaningful income supports, it gives people a chance to live full and healthy lives.

With the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, we have seen what’s possible when governments mobilize to make a livable income a priority. But unlike the Liberals, who moved quickly to cut these benefits, New Democrats won’t stop there – we’ll get to work right away building towards a guaranteed livable income for all Canadians.

We’ll start this work immediately by lifting every senior and person living with a disability out of poverty, and build from there until every Canadian can count on a basic livable income when they need it. This will be complemented by bold new investments in housing, health care, post-secondary education and training to set all Canadians up to succeed.

In time, New Democrats will work to expand all income security programs to ensure everyone in Canada has access to a guaranteed livable basic income. Making the creation of a guaranteed livable basic income a priority will strengthen our social safety net and finally ensure dignity, security and peace of mind for everyone in Canada.