Wellesley Institute’s 2025 Federal Election series laid out our recommendations for what federal parties can do to advance health equity in three key areas: thriving – policies that will help ensure everyone has what they need to live a healthy life, live in healthy housing and afford healthy food. Below, we examine the parties’ commitments on thriving leading up to the election on April 28.
Our analysis
Although no party has fully articulated a vision for ensuring everyone in Canada can thrive, some of their commitments would advance thriving.
Voters should be extremely disappointed that no party is committed to ending poverty. The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) platform does not mention “poverty” or “low income”, nor does it appear any of their proposed measures would meaningfully reduce it. The Liberal Party of Canada (LPC) mentions that their 5 per cent increase in the Guaranteed Income Supplement would help low-income seniors, but the increase is temporary and inadequate to end poverty for older adults. Their platform also proposes automatic tax filing, which they argue will ensure more households in poverty receive federal benefits that would help. The New Democratic Party (NDP) does commit to ending poverty for those eligible for the Guaranteed Income Supplement, and it would double the Canada Disability Credit. They additionally commit to ending “energy poverty” by 2035.
Whichever party forms government, they must commit to building a 10-year plan with the provinces, territories, municipalities and Indigenous leaders that ends poverty within 10 years. Poverty is devastating to health, and its continuation should shock the conscience of everyone in and outside of government. It cannot wait.
On additional income supports, we note the CPC proposes to make the caregiver tax credit refundable. The LPC proposes a refundable tax credit for personal support workers, a new benefit of up to $20,000 for one round of in-vitro fertilization and a new training benefit of up to $15,000 for workers in some sectors. All of the NDP’s proposed income supports are outlined in the previous section of this analysis. The CPC and LPC proposals would help some households who do not have access to the resources to thrive – presuming they need, and are eligible for, the changes.
On federal programs, the CPC commits to “honour existing” childcare and pharmacare agreements and “preserve existing” dental care. We are concerned this could mean current agreements would be allowed to end, or not be deemed “existing,” and that planned dental care expansions would be cancelled. The LPC proposes to add 100,000 childcare spaces and enhance pay and benefits for workers in that sector, which addresses two of the four pillars necessary for improving childcare. Their platform describes pharmacare as a “first phase”, and the current Liberal government has committed to previously proposed ongoing dental care expansions. The NDP seems to be committed to the current childcare and dental care expansions (which they supported), and their proposal to deliver “universal” pharmacare within four years would reduce costs for many households.
Finally, all parties also proposed significant reductions to government revenue that might affect those in need of the resources required to thrive (and the NDP proposed some increases to make up for their changes). Most significantly, the CPC would reduce the income tax rate charged on income earned within the lowest tax bracket by 2.25 per cent, the LPC would reduce that same rate by 1 per cent, and the NDP would raise the basic personal exemption to $19,500. If households needing to thrive are eligible for the maximum savings – which many will not be, either because they do not earn enough or they are eligible for tax credits that reduce their payments – these changes will help. The Conservatives and New Democrats also propose to remove the GST on Canadian automobiles, and the NDP on home heating, which would also help some households. Conservatives and Liberals also propose to make more travel expenses tax deductible for tradespersons, some of whom will need more resources in order to thrive.
However, tax system changes must be viewed holistically. First, they reduce the revenue the government takes in. All governments will have some limit, whether internal, political or external, to the amount of support they are willing to provide to those in need, relative to revenue. For the Conservatives and Liberals, this is exacerbated by commitments to large additional tax changes of no or limited aid to those who are not thriving. Canada’s next government must ensure they not only meet their commitments but exceed them to build towards a country in which everyone has what they need to live a healthy, meaningful life. Second, while some of these changes will benefit those needing to thrive, a large proportion of the reductions will actually go to higher earners, which seems likely to exacerbate income inequality in Canada. We hope our next government, and future party platforms, will more carefully consider these questions, and urge them to frame their ongoing work in terms of ending poverty and achieving thriving for all.
More detail on each of the parties’ platforms is presented below, alphabetically by party name.
Conservative Party of Canada
On providing services that advance individuals and families towards thriving, the Conservative Party proposes to:
- “Honour existing deals” on childcare and pharmacare
- “Preserve existing” dental coverage.
On our federal tax system, they propose to:
- Reduce revenue from the lowest income tax bracket from 15 per cent to 12.75 per cent, which they estimate could reduce tax payments by $900 for a single person earning enough to receive the maximum reduction
- Remove the GST from Canadian-made cars (while American tariffs persist)
- Increase the age amount tax credit for adults over 65 by $10 000
- Make long distance travel costs for tradespersons tax deductible
On income support programs, they propose to:
- Make the caregiver tax credit refundable
- “Streamline and simplify” the Disability Tax Credit and make eligibility automatic for related programs
Liberal Party of Canada
On providing services that advance individuals and families towards thriving, the Liberal Party proposes to:
- Add 100,000 new childcare spaces by 2031, ensure childcare workers have good wages, and work with provinces and territories towards investments in pensions and benefits for those workers
- Continue with the “first phase” of the current pharmacare program
On our federal tax system, they propose to:
- Reduce revenue from the lowest income tax bracket from 15 per cent to 14 per cent, which they estimate could reduce tax payments by $825 for two-income households earning enough to receive the maximum reduction
- Introduce automatic tax filing, beginning with low-income households
- Expand the labour mobility tax deduction
On income support programs, they propose to:
- Increase the Guaranteed Income Supplement by 5 per cent for one year
- Provide up to $1,100 each year to personal support workers through a new refundable tax credit
- “Review and reform” the process to apply for the Disability Tax Credit and “consider” expanding the eligibility criteria to include additional impairments
- Provide up to $20,000 for one round of in-vitro fertilization
- “Strengthen [Canada’s] social safety net” (beginning with EI reform)
- Introduce a new training benefit of up to $15,000 for workers in priority sectors
New Democratic Party
On providing services that advance individuals and families towards thriving, the New Democratic Party proposes to:
- Enhance the current pharmacare system to include “essential” medicines within one year and be “universal” within four years
- Cover psychotherapy and counselling for everyone without a workplace plan
On our federal tax system, they propose to:
- Reduce revenue by raising the basic personal exemption to $19,500, which they estimate could reduce tax payments by $505 for everyone earning between $19,500 and $177,882
- Remove the GST from Canadian-made cars and home heating
On income support programs, they propose to:
- Double the Canada Disability Benefit
- Raise the Guaranteed Income Supplement “to lift all [eligible persons] out of poverty
- Fund energy efficiency upgrades for “millions of low-income households” with a goal of eliminating energy poverty in Canada by 2035