The New Democratic Party is promising to raise about $94.5 billion by taxing the extremely wealthy, a plan designed to help finance tens of billions in new spending, deliver a tax cut for workers and bolster and expand Canada’s health-care system.
“I’m proud to share our campaign commitments. It’s clear. It’s bold. And it’s focused on the people who build this country,” said NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh as he unveiled the party’s platform at a campaign event in Burnaby, B.C., on Saturday morning.
The NDP says those commitments will add $48 billion to the federal deficit over the next four years on top of the existing deficit. The party also says $43.2 billion is new spending not offset by revenue.
In the fall economic statement, the Liberal government of former prime minister Justin Trudeau projected the deficit in 2025-26 would sit at $42.2 billion. That was projected to drop to $31 billion in 2026-27, $30.4 billion in 2027-28 and $27.8 billion in 2028-29.
Asked by the CBC’s David Thurton whether Canada can afford the projected deficit increase in the NDP’s campaign platform, leader Jagmeet Singh says ‘you can’t cut your way out’ of a difficult economy and investments must be made.
The top revenue generator in the NDP platform is a graduated wealth tax.
The NDP would implement a one per cent tax on households with a net worth between $10 million and $50, percent, two per cent for those worth $50 million to $100 million and three per cent for those over $100 million.
According to their platform, that would raise about $94.5 billion in revenue over four years. The party also says they can raise $24.8 billion by closing tax loopholes and another $8 billion by reducing the federal government’s use of consultants.
That money would help finance a costly part of the NDP platform, which is to raise the basic personal amount — the threshold under which Canadians do not pay tax — to $19,500, along with improving Canada’s employment insurance system.
Raising the basic personal amount will cost approximately $48.1 billion over four years, according to the NDP platform.
“No nurse, no teacher, no tradesperson should pay more than a billionaire flipping stocks,” Singh said on Saturday.
The New Democrats also want to improve Canada’s employment insurance system by extending the duration that benefits last to 50 weeks, as well as increasing the benefit level and insurable earnings cap to provide a minimum weekly benefit of $450.
That’s expected to cost $41 billion over four years. The party says $16 billion would be spent in the next budget year, with the number scaling down over the three following budget years as Canada navigates its ongoing trade war with the United States.
NDP would spend $46.2B to improve health care
The NDP is pledging $46.2 billion in new health-care spending over the next four years.
Expanding Canadians’ access to health care has been a cornerstone of Singh’s campaign. The NDP announced earlier in April they would train more doctors and boost Canada Health Transfers by an extra one per cent to provinces that commit to action.
The party’s platform says that part of their health-care plan will cost $10 billion over four years.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Saturday that an NDP government would improve access to family doctors by opening more residency spots for internationally trained physicians living in Canada, and boost federal health transfers by one per cent to provinces and territories that can ‘guarantee’ access to doctors.
The NDP also wants to implement a universal pharmacare program within four years, projecting that will cost approximately $29.2 billion over that time frame.
On Saturday, the NDP also unveiled a new plank of their health-care plan: spending $7 billion over four years to expand mental health coverage so Canadians can better access services like psychotherapy and counselling.
“We’ll make mental health care part of public health care. No more waiting. No more choosing between your well-being and your bank account,” Singh said.
Also pledges contingency fund
The NDP platform also acknowledges that Canada’s “economic and fiscal picture is uncertain and facing unprecedented volatility as a consequence of Donald Trump’s trade war.”
“In an abundance of caution, our fiscal plan will set aside an additional amount each year as a contingency fund,” the platform says, adding that the fund can hedge against risks, external shocks or events that could reduce government revenue.
The NDP promises to set aside approximately $4.2 billion over four years for the contingency fund.
In its platform, the NDP also said it rejects “calls for cuts to the public sector and to social programs — cuts which would be made to reach a budgetary balance in the short-term, despite the costs and the consequences for people.”
“Instead, we are proposing increased investments in both infrastructure and in people,” the NDP added.
