Green Party Highlights Its Foreign Policy

The Green Party highlighted elements of its foreign policy over social media on Saturday, including "pursuing disarmament" and "strengthening multilateralism." Green Party platform pledges relating to foreign policy include:

  • Sign and ratify the Treaty to Abolish Nuclear Weapons;
  • Convert military industries in Canada into "peaceful and restorative industries";
  • Cease all federal support for Canadian exporters of arms "with the exception of potential necessary sales of peacekeeping equipment in cooperation with the United Nations"; and
  • Assess Canada's membership in military alliances including NATO and NORAD to "ensure they are meeting Canada's priorities of diplomacy, development, and defence".

Singh Pledges to Crack Down on Tax Evasion

New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh was in Sudbury, Ontario, on Sunday, highlighting his commitment to tackle tax avoidance. Singh pledged to invest $100 million in the Canada Revenue Agency to hire additional staff to crack down on tax evasion and strengthen the enforcement of tax rules. The NDP platform also commits to eliminating "bearer shares," compelling companies to prove the economic reason for their offshore transactions, and improving transparency on the taxes paid by large corporations. "If you vote for New Democrats," Singh stated, "we will put an end to these offshore tax havens, these loopholes and make sure that we're recovering this revenue, and investing it back into people."

Blanchet Pledges to Restore Image of Quebec Around the World

Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet was in Sainte-Luce, Quebec, on Sunday pledging to defend the values he ascribes to Quebec, and restore its image around the world. Blanchet pledged to "rebuild the diplomatic machinery" to enable Quebec to have "appropriate international relations," and undertake a campaign to combat negative media coverage of Quebec, including sending open letters to media outlets across the U.S., U.K., and Canada. "We are going to restore the image of Quebec as a very quiet, powerful and unstoppable nation," Blanchet stated in French.

Trudeau Reaches Out to Middle Class Canadians and Quebec Voters

Liberal leader Justin Trudeau was in Mississauga, Ontario, on Saturday, positioning his platform as a plan to support middle-class Canadians. Trudeau highlighted his platform's climate change plan, commitment to deliver a $10-a-day child care, and affordable housing strategy, among other commitments. According to the Liberal Party's background material, its plan for middle class Canadians will help first-time home buyers save $30,000 and help homeowners retrofit their homes with $4,000 grants and interest free loans of up to $40,000.

On Sunday, Trudeau was in Candiac, Quebec, outlining his plan for the province of Quebec. The Liberal plan consists of previously announced policy commitments, including reducing emissions by 40% below 2005 levels, capping emissions from the oil and gas sector, maintaining its assault weapons ban, and moving forward with its $6 billion child care agreement with Quebec. The Liberal leader has criticized both the Conservative platform's emission reduction target of 30% below 2005 levels and the Conservative proposal to replace the Liberal government's $10-a-day child care plan with a tax credit.

O'Toole Announces Plan to Support Grieving Parents

Conservative leader Erin O'Toole was in Vancouver on Sunday, outlining his plan to support grieving parents. O'Toole stated he would reform Employment Insurance to ensure that parents who lose a child are not abruptly cut off from their maternity and parental leave benefits. The proposed reforms include extending E.I. parental leave for at least eight weeks following the death of a child, and providing eight weeks of paid leave in the event of a stillbirth. O'Toole also pledged to provide three days of paid bereavement leave in the event of a miscarriage. "Canada's Conservatives will be there for grieving parents," O'Toole stated. "We will be there to give them peace of mind, and the chance to heal."

Liberals Jump Ahead in Nanos Poll

The Nanos' Nightly Ballot Tracker [PDF] has the Liberals ahead of the Conservatives in polls conducted over three nights ending on September 11, 2021. According to the nightly tracker, if an election were held, the Liberals would win 34% of the vote, the Conservatives 30.7%, the NDP 18.6%, the Bloc Québécois 6.6%, the People's Party of Canada 5.1%, and the Green Party 4.1%. The polls found that nearly 9% of Canadians remain undecided. 

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