Explainer: Heading to the polls this federal election

On April 28, Canadians will head to the polls for the 2025 federal election. There are six main federal parties campaigning in this year: the Liberal Party of Canada, the Conservative Party of Canada, Canada’s New Democratic Party (NDP), the Bloc Québécois, the Green Party of Canada, and the People’s Party of Canada.  

The three parties leading the race are the Liberals, Conservatives, and NDP. Key issues in this year’s election include U.S. relations and tariffs, the cost of living, housing, health care, and climate change and energy, among others. 

U.S. relations and tariffs

In terms of U.S. relations, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal Party plans to impose 25-per-cent tariffs on vehicles imported from the U.S. that don’t comply with the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). It also wants to invest $5 billion into trade diversification and renegotiate bilateral agreements with the U.S. The Liberals also said they would create a $2-billion strategic response fund to support industries hit by the tariffs and protect manufacturing jobs, among other plans. 

Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative Party plans to tackle U.S. relations by keeping Canada’s counter-tariffs until the U.S. removes all of its tariffs, and said it will put all collected tariffs into tax relief, especially for workers hit the hardest by U.S. tariffs. The party also wants to implement tax cuts and take GST off Canadian-made car sales so long as U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration’s tariffs are in place. The Conservatives said they would also ask Trump to renegotiate CUSMA and propose a tariff pause on day one of forming a government, among other implementations. 

Jagmeet Singh’s NDP favours retaliatory tariffs and plans to put the collected tariffs towards supporting impacted workers. The NDP would also issue five-and-10 year “victory bonds” that Canadians can buy through a payroll deduction to strengthen the economy during the trade war. The party said it would protect essential Canadian industries and ban U.S. companies from federal procurement contracts if Canadians can do the job. It also plans to bar Trump from the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alta., this June for undermining Canada’s sovereignty, among other initiatives. 

Cost of living

To address the cost of living, the Liberal Party said it would trim one percentage point off the lowest income tax bracket, saving a two-income family $825 a year in savings, and cancel a proposed hike to the capital gains inclusion rate. The party also aims to ease access to employment insurance and increase the guaranteed income supplement (GIS) by five per cent for over a year. The Liberals would also reduce the minimum amount that must be taken out of a registered retirement income fund (RRIF) by 25 per cent for a year, among other initiatives. 

The Conservatives plan to keep the retirement age at 65 and allow working seniors to make up to $34,000 tax-free. They also plan to increase the age to keep savings in a registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) from 71 to 73. The party has promised to cut income tax by 2.25 percentage points, which the party said would save a two-income family $1,800 per year. It would also increase the annual tax-free savings account (TFSA) contribution limit by $5,000 if the money is invested in Canadian companies. The party will also remove GST on new homes sold under $1.3 million, among other plans. 

The NDP has said it will increase the amount of untaxed income from $16,129 to $19,500 and get rid of GST on essentials. The party would keep the proposed increase in capital gains tax cuts and increase the Canada disability benefit and guaranteed income supplement for seniors at a cost of $3 billion to $4 billion respectively. It also wants to open up more $10-per-day child-care centres and increase the employment insurance replacement rate to two-thirds of insurable earnings. The party also plans to ensure that the Competition Bureau can monitor tax profits from Canada’s biggest grocery chains.

Housing

The Liberals plan to address housing by getting rid of GST for first-time home buyers on new and renovated homes under $1 million and create a standalone entity, Build Canada Homes, which would oversee the construction of affordable housing in the country. The party plans to build 500,000 homes annually over the next decade and invest $74 million into critical housing infrastructure improvements and speed up housing developments. It would also invest $66 million into homes across Nunavut including First Nations and underserved groups, among other initiatives. 

The Conservative Party also plans to cut GST, but on new homes up to $1.3 million, and would link federal funding to cities to the number of housing starts. It will also sell off 15 per cent of federally owned buildings towards affordable housing and implement a “not in my backyard” (NIMBY) fine on municipalities that block construction because of “egregious” backlash from local residents. The party said it will incentivize municipalities to cut building taxes and will reimburse 50 per cent for every dollar a municipality provides in relief for development charges, leading to a maximum saving of $50,000 for new homebuyers, among other implementations. 

The NDP promises to build three-million homes by 2030 and implement a $16-billion housing strategy. It would also set all suitable federal Crown land aside to build over 100,000 rent-controlled homes by 2035. The party plans to speed up approvals on land owned by the federal government and would require the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) to offer low-interest, public-baked mortgages. The party also supports renting protection and would ban corporations from buying affordable rentals and corporate landlords from accessing low-interest federal loans and preferential tax treatment, among other plans. 

Health care

In terms of health care, the Liberal Party has expanded the eligibility for dental care to include coverage for 18 to 64 year olds, potentially saving people about $800 a year in dental-care costs. Pharmacare will stay as is, and the party announced $52 million in funding for 16 projects across the country to allow internationally trained professionals to get jobs in health care and construction, among other initiatives. 

The Conservative Party aims to get rid of supervised consumption sites and promote rehabilitation. It is open to imposing mandatory drug treatment on minors and those incarcerated when found “incapable of making decisions for themselves.” Canadians who have access to federal dental care, child care, and pharmacare programs would not lose these services under a Conservative government. 

The NDP plans to protect Canadians’ wallets by strengthening the Canada Health Act to prevent clinics from charging people for care and discourage provinces from privatizing health care. The party is looking to create 1,000 new physician residency spaces by 2030 to ensure all Canadians have access to a family doctor and plans to ban U.S. companies from buying Canadian health-care businesses. It would also deliver full public pharmacare within four years, starting with 100 of the most-prescribed medications and expand pharmacare, dental care, and mental health supports, among other implementations. 

Climate Change and Energy

To tackle climate change, the Liberals have cut consumer carbon pricing and plan to present incentives to support families’ investments in clean energy, which includes reinstating the zero-emissions vehicle subsidy program. The party is open to building pipelines, but would allow Quebec to say no to any pipeline on its territory, and would tighten output-based pricing systems for large industrial emitters. It also aims to phase out fossil fuel usage in government buildings by 2030, among other initiatives, and invest $20 million to help the Nunavut Nukkiksautiit Corporation complete the first development phase of its hydroelectricity facility. Other investments include $94 million towards upgrading powerplants. 

The Conservative Party would repeal all carbon pricing and boost incentives for businesses that reduce emissions. It supports an east-west pipeline and is open to exporting oil from the Port of Churchill, pledging to speed up the port’s development. It also favours building the LNG pipeline in Quebec, among other plans. 

Under an NDP government, Canadians would also see the removal of consumer carbon pricing, and the party would keep the industrial carbon price. It plans to cut $18 billion in oil and gas subsidies and is against building an LNG pipeline in Quebec. The party is also against the Energy East project, but hasn’t said no to developing pipelines, and would prioritize making an east-west electricity grid. The 100-per-cent tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles would stay in place. The party would give families and businesses $10,000 for buying or leasing a Canadian-manufactured zero-emissions vehicle and $5,000 for buying or leasing zero-emission vehicles manufactured out of the country. 

Ridings

Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Surrey campus falls within the Surrey Newton riding. There are four candidates in this electoral district: Sukh Dhaliwal for Liberals, Harjit Singh Gill for Conservatives, Raj Singh Toor for NDP, and Salman Zafar for the Communist Party of Canada. 

KPU’s Langley campus is in the Cloverdale-Langley City riding, which has five candidates. Tamara Jansen is with the Conservatives, Kyle Latchford is with the Liberals, Jim McMurtry is for the People’s Party of Canada, Vanessa Sharma is with the NDP, and Kevin Daniel Wilkie is with the Greens. 

The Richmond campus falls within the Richmond Centre-Marpole riding. There are five candidates in this electoral district: Chak Au for the Conservatives, Martin Li for the NDP, Wilson Miao for the Liberals, Michael Sisler for the Greens, and David Wang for the People’s Party of Canada. 

KPU’s Civic Plaza campus is in the Surrey Centre riding, which has six candidates. Ryan Abbott is with the Communist Party of Canada, Dominic Denofrio is with the NDP, Rajvir Dhillon is with the Conservatives, Krishan Khurana is with the Greens, Randeep Sarai is with the Liberals, and Beverly Tanchak is with the People’s Party of Canada. 

The Tech campus falls within the South Surrey-White Rock riding. There are four candidates in this electoral district: Kerry-Lynne Findlay of the Conservatives, Christine Kinnie of the Greens, Ernie Klassen of the Liberals, and Jureun Park of the NDP. 

Advanced polling will take place until April 21 from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm daily. The deadline to vote by mail is April 22. Those wishing to vote on the April 28 voting day must bring an accepted ID and head to their assigned polling station, which is indicated on Canadians’ voter information cards. 

For more information about the federal election, visit www.elections.ca/home.aspx.