The federal NDP released their full election 2025 platform on April 19. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh walks in his riding's voting station in Burnaby, B.C., on Friday.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is heading into the last week of the federal election campaign with a newly released platform that promises to improve access to family doctors, build more rent-controlled housing, and tax the wealthy, while adding $48-billion to the deficit over four years.
Speaking at a campaign event in Burnaby, B.C., Mr. Singh defended the deficit spending, saying now is not a time for austerity given the challenges of a trade war with the United States.
“You can’t cut your way out of those things,” he said. “You actually have to make investments.”
He said he was proud to share the campaign commitments, which he called “clear and bold and focused on the people who build this country, not rich CEOs.”
The NDP released its platform shortly after Liberal Leader Mark Carney unveiled his party’s plan Saturday morning. The Conservatives have said they will release their platform in the coming days.
At dissolution, the NDP were the fourth-place party in the House of Commons, with 24 seats, behind the Bloc Quebecois with 33 seats.
What you need to know about the Liberal and NDP election platforms
According to the latest poll by Nanos Research, conducted between April 15 and April 17, the NDP is trailing behind the Liberals and Conservatives with 8 per cent support, followed by the Bloc at 6 per cent, the Greens at 3 per cent and the Peoples Party of Canada at 1 per cent.
Nik Nanos, chief data scientist for Nanos Research, said Saturday the NDP is in a state where they have to rely on a twist of fate to do better.
“For the NDP, their best opportunity is for (Mark) Carney somehow to make a mistake in the hope that they can repatriate former NDP supporters who are currently strategically parked with the Liberals to block the Conservatives,” he said in a statement.
But campaign spokesperson Anne McGrath said in an interview on Saturday that NDP supporters are engaged, and the party will be highlighting key pieces of the platform as part of its offer to voters.
She said the platform pulls together messages that Mr. Singh has been delivering on the campaign trail, but also the priorities of the party in whatever role it plays in Parliament after the election.
The NDP platform would require other levels of government to put in place rent controls and prohibit measures such as renoviction if they want to access federal housing funding.
The party also provided additional details on a promised wealth tax, saying it would range between one per cent for holdings between $10-million and $50-million, two per cent for up to $100-million, and three per cent for households worth over $100,000-million. The party would also pursue a two-per-cent surtax on corporations earning more than $500-million in profits.
The NDP says it would guarantee every Canadian has access to a family doctor or primary-care team by 2030 through measures including the licensing of medical professionals across Canada so they could work where needed. To rally provinces to help with the effort, the party is also promising a one-per-cent boost to the Canada Health Transfer.
The party would also boost mental-health coverage to ensure all Canadians can access services such as psychotherapy and counselling.
In a bid to build three million homes by 2030, the party says it would replace the Liberals’ expiring Housing Accelerator Fund with a new permanent $16-billion housing strategy intended to include a target of 20 per cent non-market housing.
Canada is heading toward an election outcome not witnessed in generations