WE

VOTE!

POLITICAL PARTIES

There are currently 20+ registered / eligible political parties* in Canada. Each party has different positions and proposes different strategies to address various issues.
The following information, excerpted from each partys website, media statements and non-partisan resources, summarizes platforms
of the four main parties representing Alberta, on basic points related to poverty. Please visit each partys website for full details.

TRUTH & RECONCILIATION

COMMISSION REPORT
(TRC)

TRUTH &
RECONCILIATION

New Democratic Party

Green Party of Canada

Liberal Party of Canada

Conservative Party of Canada

NDP

GREEN

LIBERAL

CONSERVATIVE

Call a national inquiry into murdered &

missing Aboriginal women
Act on other recommendations from
the TRC
Improve educational outcomes for First
Nations, Inuit & Mtis communities
Ensure federal government decisions
respect treaty rights & Canadas
international obligations

Adopt recommendations from the TRC

Report, including a national inquiry into
murdered & missing Aboriginal women
Change laws to recognize Indigenous
approval of natural resource projects
Increase access to social housing for First
Nations on and off-reserve

Work with First Nations, Mtis & Inuit

Peoples to enact TRC recommendations,
starting with implementing the UN
Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous People
Support reconciliation & continue the
process of truth telling & healing
Immediately launch a national public
inquiry into missing & murdered
Indigenous women and girls in Canada
Develop a Federal Reconciliation
Framework in full partnership with
Indigenous Peoples
Ensure parity in education funding &
equitable funding for child & family
services on reserves

Sustain investment in Canadas

affordable housing agreements
Appoint an Urban Affairs Minister &
identify worthy new or extensions of
the social housing investments
Provide incentives for construction of
10,000 affordable & market rental
housing units
Introduce an Affordable Housing Act
recognizing housing as a right

Change the Canadian Charter of Rights &

Freedoms to reflect that everyone living in
Canada is entitled to safe shelter
Appoint a Minister for Housing; develop &
implement a National Affordable Housing
Plan & set an annual rate of building
affordable housing
Revert the CMHC mandate to include
affordable, non-market & cooperative
housing

Increase social infrastructure investment

to $20 billion over 10 years
Prioritize investment in affordable
housing & seniors facilities
Help build more housing units, refurbish
existing ones, renew existing co-operative
agreements & provide operational
funding support for municipalities
Invest in new programs for supportive
& affordable housing & encourage
construction of new affordable rental
housing
Renew federal role in housing;
remandate the CMHC

Reform income assistance programs,

such as Employment Insurance, to better
reflect labour market realities & other
gaps in the system
Increase the National Child Benefit to
$5,600 annually for eligible families &
index it to the cost of living

Maintain personal income-tax rates

Cancel income-splitting government
policy for families
Increase GIS by $400 million to help
Canada's most vulnerable seniors
Reverse the eligibility for Old Age
Security back to 65 years of age

Create negative income tax, or Guaranteed

Livable Income (GLI) for all; set payment
slightly above regional poverty levels
Provide financial support for low-income
caregivers providing end-of-life care at
home & for persons with disabilities
Increase GIS for seniors by 25%
Remove personal income taxes for those
living below the LICO
Allow income assistance recipients to
keep wages earned up to the LICO
Implement $15/h federal minimum wage

Raise taxes on the wealthiest 1% & cut

taxes for the middle class
Cancel the increase in OAS eligibility age
to 67; increase GIS for seniors 10%
Enhance EI: Compassionate Care Benefit,
reduce waiting period for EI benefits &
more flexible parental leave for family &
work circumstances

Develop a high-quality, universal, publiclyfunded & managed early childhood

education and care program for children
aged 0-5 and for school-aged children up
to age 12, to be phased in by 2020
Dedicate federal transfers of $1 billion, $1.6
billion, and $2.3 billion over each of the
next 3 years to achieve the international
benchmark of spending at least 1% of GDP
on childhood education and care by 2020

Honour the expanded Universal

Child Care Benefit
Create a million new childcare spaces
Cap child care fees to no more than
$15 a day
Guarantee a childcare spot for
every child

Create a universal access child care

program in Canada, providing workplace
child care spaces via a tax credit of $1500
tax credit/child per year
Create a national Childrens Commissioner
as recommended by UNICEF, to ensure
childrens best interests are served in policy development & services
Top up income support for single parents
on welfare attending school or job
training

Prioritize early learning & child care

Introduce the Canada Child Benefit (CCB),
an automatic monthly child benefit for all
families with children & annual income
below $150,000. Depending on income
level, CCB will be up to $533 a month
per child
Create a new Teacher & Early Childhood
Educator School Supply Tax Benefit worth
up to $150 annually

The TRC developed 94 recommendations

to redress the legacy of residential schools
& advance the process of Canadian
reconciliation
A number of recommendations require
leadership & support from the
Federal Government

NATIONAL
ANTI-POVERTY PLAN
RECOMMENDATIONS
Released by Dignity for All, a collaborative
campaign between Citizens for Public Justice
& Canada Without Poverty in January 2015

HOUSING

INCOME

CHILD
CARE

A SUMMARY
(aka THE NUTS & BOLTS)
OF PARTIES POSITIONS
ON POVERTY REDUCTION

Develop & implement a coordinated

National Housing Strategy based in
human rights
Increase funding by no less than $2 billion
per year in new money to implement
housing strategies that meet the targets

Review the 94 recommendations

released by the TRC
Commit $567 million over 5 years for
First Nations, Inuit & Metis Peoples
to help build stronger communities
Released Action Plan to Address Family
Violence and Violent Crimes Against
Aboriginal Women & Girls, in
September 2014 . The Plan includes
measures totaling nearly $200 million
over 5 years, to address crimes against
Aboriginal women and girls

Spend more than $2.3 billion per year

over the next 4 years to help ensure
Canadians in need have access to
affordable, sound and suitable housing
Support social housing by allowing
providers to prepay their long-term,
non-renewable mortgages without
penalty
Introduced a new Home Accessibility
Tax Credit
Create a permanent Home Renovation
Tax Credit

Maintain current personal income

tax rates
Extend the life of some job retraining
programs, wage earner protection
program & interest-free student loans
for part-time workers
Increase the Guaranteed Income
Supplement & the maximum annual
Canada Disability Savings Grant for
low- & middle-class families from
$3,500 to $4,000
Introduce a $2,000 Single Seniors
Tax Credit
Support doubling the child fitness
tax credit to $1,000
A family tax cut that allows couples
with children under age 18 to
split up to $50,000 of income
Enhanced the UCCB that provides an
increased benefit of $160 per month
for children under the age of 6, and
$60 per month for children aged 6-17

Each party has different

positions (also called platforms)
on various matters, such as
poverty. Accordingly, each party
proposes different strategies
and public policies
they would use to address
these matters,
if they were elected.
Check out the list of all
registered/eligible parties.
The list is kept current on the
Elections Canada website

www.elections.ca

Canada Child Benefit (CCB)

Bloc Qubcois

Canada Mortgage and Housing

Canada Party

Corporation (CMHC)

Canadian Action Party

Employment Insurance (EI)

Christian Heritage Party of

Canada

Greenhouse gas (GHG)

Communist Party of Canada

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

Conservative Party of Canada

Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS)

Democratic Advancement Party

of Canada

Guaranteed Livable Income (GLI)

Forces et Dmocratie

Low Income Cut-off (LICO)

Green Party of Canada

Old Age Security (OAS)

Liberal Party of Canada

Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)

Libertarian Party of Canada

Marijuana Party
Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada
New Democratic Party

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB)

Party for Accountability,

Competency and Transparency
Pirate Party of Canada
Progressive Canadian Party
Rhinoceros Party
The Bridge Party of Canada
United Party of Canada

#VotetoEndPoverty

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

This material was produced for the We VOTE! event

International Day to Eradicate Poverty Calgary, October 17, 2015

CONVERSATIONS
TO IGNITE
VOTER
PARTICIPATION

WE
VOTE!

NOW
LETS
VOTE!

There are
currently
more than 20
registered / eligible
political parties in Canada.

Animal Alliance Environment

Voters Party of Canada

TO
LEARN
MORE

Elections Canadaeverything a voter should know

www.electionscanada.ca
Federation of Canadas Municipalities Cities Can
www.citiescan.ca/policy_tracker
International Day to Eradicate Poverty
www.un.org/en/events/povertyday
Party Standings in the House of Commons
www.parl.gc.ca/parliamentarians/en/partystandings
Truth & Reconciliation Commission of Canada
www.trc.ca
United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #1: End Poverty
www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/poverty
VoteKit and 30 Days to Vote
www.votekit.ca

*MORE
THAN
20!

LIST OF
REGISTERED
POLITICAL GLOSSARY OF
TERMS
PARTIES
Cities Matter
www.citiesmatter.ca
Citizens for Public Justice and Canada Without Povertys National Anti-Poverty Plan for Canada
www.dignityforall.ca/en/FedPlan

We have made our best efforts to summarize the main parties positions
on poverty-related matters, in an unbiased, non-partisan way.
Information was accurate as of printing October 15, 2015.
To gain a full picture of your alternatives
as you decide which party best reflects your personal values and ideas,
we recommend you visit each partys website.

DISCLAIMER

WHAT
PARTIES CAN
CANADIANS
VOTE FOR?

EASY PEASY!
THATS
THE NUTS
& BOLTS
FOR OCT 19