The Liberal Party of Canada leadership race is coming to a close. The successful candidate will at some point run in a federal election that will significantly shape Canada’s social, economic and political future. Whoever becomes the new leader must present and deliver on an inspiring vision that is centred on ensuring Canada is a place where all residents have the resources and opportunities they need to be healthier and more resilient.
Wellesley Institute provided recommendations to candidates on issues we hope to see them address – ensuring everyone has the resources they need to thrive, ending homelessness and addressing housing affordability, and making sure everyone can afford healthy food.
Below, we analyze the candidates’ proposals around thriving and food security.
Thriving analysis
Although Karina Gould mentioned “getting people livable supports” and a “path to establishing a basic income,” we are concerned no candidate is clearly committed to ending poverty or to advancing significant poverty reduction measures. Poverty is a significant social determinant of health we cannot afford to perpetuate. All parties, and all levels of government, need to provide the public with their plans to eliminate it.
Karina Gould commits to a reformed social safety net that would provide a “more dignified” future for persons living with a disability. No candidate however mentioned the Canada Disability Benefit. We urge the federal and provincial government to increase and expand eligibility for the Canada Disability benefit to eliminate poverty, then ensure thriving, for everyone living with a disability.
Child care is not only an excellent educational investment, it helps move families who need it closer to thriving. Although we were pleased to see Chrystia Freeland include a commitment to expanding spaces, more is needed to make child-care programs equitable. This includes ensuring enough spaces for every child who needs one, better targeting of child-care benefits, and much faster and stronger improvements in working conditions for early childhood educators.
No candidate committed to expanding the current government’s pharmacare pilots or powerful dental care program. These are both excellent opportunities that should be taken advantage of to fight poverty and advance towards thriving.
Candidates did promise tax cuts that might help some who are in poverty or unable to thrive, but these do not seem to be targeted at those most in need. We hope tax changes will not interfere with a future government’s willingness to take other needed steps.
Overall, some candidates have proposed helpful ideas or made encouraging statements. Unfortunately, their visions so far would still leave significant gaps in our society that would negatively impact health through poverty and inadequate access to the resources needed to thrive. We hope in a new government or future campaigns to see significantly more ambition to build the society and future everyone in Canada deserves.
Food security analysis
Wellesley Institute has proposed ensuring grocers make the items in Canada’s National Nutritious Food Basket available to everyone at a price everyone can afford. It was heartening to see Chrystia Freeland commit to cap profit margins on essential groceries. We hope this could be a first step towards recognizing that healthy food is a utility that everyone must have access to in order to live a healthy life. Freeland and Gould also propose to improve anti-competition law and enforcement in the grocery industry.
Unfortunately, other candidates did not mention food affordability in this shortened campaign, and we hope the new leader will set affordable healthy food for everyone as their goal in the future.