Affordability & Housing platforms

Here's what the candidates in South Shore—St. Margarets, and their parties, are promising.

Childcare

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We don't have any Green policies on Childcare.
We don't have any Conservative policies on Childcare.

Food prices

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We don't have any Green policies on Food prices.

Liberal

  • Amend the mandates of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the Pest Management Regulatory Agency to ensure they consider food security and the cost of food in regulatory decisions

    "Amend the mandates of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the Pest Management Regulatory Agency to ensure they consider food security and the cost of food in all their regulatory decisions without compromising on health and safety. Currently, these important agencies only look at their respective mandates through a health and safety lens." — liberal.ca, retrieved 2025-04-21

We don't have any Conservative policies on Food prices.

Fuel and transportation costs

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We don't have any Green policies on Fuel and transportation costs.

Liberal

  • Reduce tolls on the Confederation Bridge from $50 to $20
  • Lower costs for passengers by at least half on the Northumberland Ferries, several Marine Atlantic ferry routes, and The Coopérative de Transport Maritime et Aérien ferry

    "We will also lower costs by at least half for passengers on the following routes:

    1. The Northumberland Ferries, while commiting to the long-term viability of the two-ferry service;
    2. The Marine Atlantic ferry routes between Port aux Basques, Newfoundland and Labrador, North Sydney, Nova Scotia, and between Argentia, Newfoundland and Labrador and North Sydney, Nova Scotia; and,
    3. The Coopérative de Transport Maritime et Aérien ferry in cooperation with the Government of Quebec.

    We will also reduce fares for those using these routes to transport goods. Significantly reducing the costs associated with the Confederation Bridge and these ferry services will make it easier to trade between provinces, unite Canada, and build one Canadian economy."

    liberal.ca, retrieved 2025-04-21

Conservative

  • Commit $50M to removing tolls on the Confederation Bridge

    "Conservative Deputy Leader Melissa Lantsman announced today that a Conservative government led by Pierre Poilievre will scrap the tolls on the Confederation Bridge to save residents and businesses over $50 every time they travel to the mainland." — conservative.ca, retrieved 2025-04-17

    "This $50 million commitment will cover the operating costs for the Confederation Bridge which is currently paid for with tolls. It will end the unfair tax that Islanders have to pay just to leave their own province, keeping more of their money in their pockets." — conservative.ca, retrieved 2025-04-17

  • Review government support for the Wood Islands-Caribou ferry to Nova Scotia

    "Conservatives will also immediately conduct a review of federal support for the Wood Islands-Caribou ferry." — conservative.ca, retrieved 2025-04-17

Home construction and supply

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We don't have any Green policies on Home construction and supply.

Liberal

  • Have the federal government act as a developer to build affordable housing at scale, including on public lands
  • Provide $25B in financing to prefabricated home builders

    "catalyzing the housing industry by providing over $25 billion in financing to innovative prefabricated home builders in Canada, including those using Canadian technologies and resources like mass timber and softwood lumber, to build faster, smarter, more affordably, and more sustainably;" — liberal.ca, retrieved 2025-04-14

    "BCH will also catalyze the housing industry and create higher-paying jobs by providing $25 billion in debt financing and $1 billion in equity financing to innovative Canadian prefabricated home builders. Prefabricated and modular housing can reduce construction times by up to 50 per cent, costs by up to 20 per cent, and emissions by up to 22 per cent compared to traditional construction methods." — liberal.ca, retrieved 2025-04-16

  • Subsidize municipalities for five years so that municipal development charges for multi-unit residential housing can be cut in half

    "cutting municipal development charges in half for multi-unit residential housing while working with provinces and territories to keep municipalities whole;" — liberal.ca, retrieved 2025-04-14

    "We will cut municipal development charges in half for multi-unit residential housing and work with provinces and territories to make up the lost revenue for municipalities for a period of five years. For a two-bedroom apartment in Toronto, the cost savings from this measure would be approximately $40,000." — liberal.ca, retrieved 2025-04-14

  • Publicly report on municipalities' progress on speeding up permitting and approval timelines

    "publicly report on municipalities’ progress to speed up permitting and approval timelines and implement other commitments under the Housing Accelerator Fund;" — liberal.ca, retrieved 2025-04-14

  • Use pre-approved, standardised housing designs across all public lands, and encourage their adoption country-wide

    "leverage pre-approved, standardized housing designs across all public lands and encourage its adoption as-of-right across the country;" — liberal.ca, retrieved 2025-04-14

  • Allow builders and other orders of government to apply for multiple projects at once
  • Fast track applications for builders with a proven record with government funding
  • Simplify the Building Code to speed up approvals

Conservative

  • Require municipalities to free up land, speed up permits, and cut development charges, or have their federal funding removed

    "Conservatives will also incentivize municipalities to free up land, speed up permits and cut development charges to build 15% more homes each year." — conservative.ca, retrieved 2025-04-17

    "We’ll start by firing the gatekeepers who block housing construction instead of giving them massive bonuses. A Conservative government will require cities to free up land, speed up permits and cut development charges to build 15 percent more homes each year. If they miss their target, their federal funding will be withheld, equal to how much they miss their target by.

    Going forward, this target will compound on top of the previous year’s 15% target. Cities that fail to meet their targets will be required to build even more homes the following year while those who get homes built will be rewarded with a bonus based on how much they exceed the target. Municipalities will also be required to pre-approve building permits for high-density housing around transit stations, and will not receive federal funding for transit until there are keys-in-doors." — conservative.ca, retrieved 2025-04-17

  • Sell off 6,000 federal buildings and thousands of acres of federal land to build new homes
  • Reimburse municipalities at a rate of 50% for every dollar they take off of development charges, up to $50,000

    "For every dollar of relief a municipality offers in development charges, a Conservative government will reimburse 50%, up to a maximum of $50,000 in savings for new homebuyers." — conservative.ca, retrieved 2025-04-17

  • Require municipalities to pre-approve building permits for high-density housing around transit stations

    "Municipalities will also be required to pre-approve building permits for high-density housing around transit stations, and will not receive federal funding for transit until there are keys-in-doors." — conservative.ca, retrieved 2025-04-17

  • Cut bonuses and salaries for, and potentially fire, staff of the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation if they don't approve housing applications in 60 days or less

    "We’ll also end federal delays by cutting the bonuses, salaries and, if needed, firing the gatekeepers at the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation if they fail to approve housing applications in 60 days or less." — conservative.ca, retrieved 2025-04-17

Home ownership

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We don't have any Green policies on Home ownership.
We don't have any Liberal policies on Home ownership.

Conservative

  • Remove the GST on the sale of new homes up to $1.3M, and cut $8B of current government housing initiatives to pay for it

    "A Poilievre government would fund this homebuyers’ tax cut by eliminating $8 billion of the Liberals’ bureaucratic housing schemes that have only driven up housing prices. Conservatives will also incentivize municipalities to free up land, speed up permits and cut development charges to build 15% more homes each year." — conservative.ca, retrieved 2025-04-17

Homelessness

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We don't have any Green policies on Homelessness.

Liberal

  • Immediately develop homelessness reduction targets with provinces and territories, and use for targeting investments

    "We will immediately develop homelessness reduction targets with every province and territory to inform Housing First investments, improve access to treatment, and end encampments community by community." — liberal.ca, retrieved 2025-04-14

  • Invest in deeply affordable housing, supportive housing, and shelters to address links between housing and mental health outcomes

    "Invest in deeply affordable housing, supportive housing, and shelters in recognition of the link between housing and mental health outcomes. We will do this through $6 billion invested in the new Build Canada Homes (BCH) which will build and acquire housing. This investment builds on the Rapid Housing Initiative which supported 15,000 homes for our most vulnerable, including projects like Dunn House in Toronto, Canada’s first-ever social medicine supportive housing initiative. We will continue to work with partners to deliver projects that recognize the link between housing and health outcomes." — liberal.ca, retrieved 2025-04-22

We don't have any Conservative policies on Homelessness.

Public and affordable housing

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We don't have any Green policies on Public and affordable housing.

Liberal

  • Have the federal government act as a developer to build affordable housing at scale, including on public lands
  • Invest in deeply affordable housing, supportive housing, and shelters to address links between housing and mental health outcomes

    "Invest in deeply affordable housing, supportive housing, and shelters in recognition of the link between housing and mental health outcomes. We will do this through $6 billion invested in the new Build Canada Homes (BCH) which will build and acquire housing. This investment builds on the Rapid Housing Initiative which supported 15,000 homes for our most vulnerable, including projects like Dunn House in Toronto, Canada’s first-ever social medicine supportive housing initiative. We will continue to work with partners to deliver projects that recognize the link between housing and health outcomes." — liberal.ca, retrieved 2025-04-22

  • Provider $10B in low-cost financing and capital to affordable home builders

    "BCH will also provide $10 billion in low-cost financing and capital to affordable home builders. $4 billion will go towards long-term fixed-rate financing for affordable housing builders. $6 billion will go towards rapidly building deeply affordable housing, supportive housing, Indigenous housing, and shelters. BCH will direct $2 billion of this amount to build new student and seniors housing, in partnership with provinces and territories. We will immediately develop homelessness reduction targets with every province and territory to inform Housing First investments, improve access to treatment, and end encampments community by community." — liberal.ca, retrieved 2025-04-14

We don't have any Conservative policies on Public and affordable housing.

Renting and rental housing

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We don't have any Green policies on Renting and rental housing.

Liberal

  • Reintroduce the Multiple Unit Rental Building cost allowance to encourage the production of rental housing units

    "We will reintroduce a tax incentive which, when originally introduced in the 1970s, spurred tens of thousands of rental housing across the country. Known as the Multiple Unit Rental Building (MURB) cost allowance, this policy helped produce nearly 200,000 units in seven years (1974-81)." — liberal.ca, retrieved 2025-04-14

  • Reduce tax on the sale of multi-purpose rental to non-profit operators, land trusts, or non-profit acquisition funds

    "We will facilitate the conversion of existing structures into affordable housing units by reducing the tax liability for private owners of multi-purpose rental when they sell their building to a non-profit operator, land trust, or non-profit acquisition fund - so long as the proceeds are reinvested in building new purpose-built rental housing." — liberal.ca, retrieved 2025-04-14

We don't have any Conservative policies on Renting and rental housing.

Tax measures and rebates

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We don't have any Green policies on Tax measures and rebates.

Liberal

  • Drop the tax rate on the lowest income tax bracket from 15% to 14%

    "This middle-class tax cut will save two-income families up to $825 a year, by reducing the marginal tax rate on the lowest tax bracket by 1 percentage point. More than 22 million Canadians will benefit directly from this tax cut, and middle- and low-income Canadians will benefit the most." — liberal.ca, retrieved 2025-04-14

Conservative

  • Drop the tax rate on the lowest income tax bracket from 15% to 12.75%

    "Poilievre announced he will cut income tax by 15%, dropping the tax rate on the lowest income tax bracket from 15% to 12.75%, meaning the average Canadian worker earning $57,000 will save $900, with two income families saving $1,800 a year. It’s time to let Canadians keep more of what they earn." — conservative.ca, retrieved 2025-04-17

  • End tax write-offs for luxury corporate jets

    "No more write-offs of luxury corporate jets. Corporations will be able to write off the equivalent of a commercial flight. Charter flights needed to get workers to remote job sites will not be impacted by this change." — conservative.ca, retrieved 2025-04-17

Trades

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We don't have any Green policies on Trades.

Liberal

  • Provide an Apprenticeship Grant up to $8,000 for registered apprentices
  • Double funding for the Union Trading and Innovation Program, increasing it to $50M/year
  • Create a new $20M capital funding stream for colleges to support new training spaces for apprenticeships
  • Expand the Labour Mobility Tax Deduction so trades workers can write off more travel expenses, and increase the per-year deduction limit

    "Expand the Labour Mobility Tax Deduction to ensure workers who travel more than 120 km from their home to a job site can deduct more of their expenses, and commit to significantly increasing the per-year tax deduction limit." — liberal.ca, retrieved 2025-04-14

  • Provide up to $10,000 to eligible employers for each new apprentice hired in Red Seal trades

    "Uphold the Apprenticeship Service program to support employers in hiring new apprentices in Red Seal trades, with up to $10,000 for eligible employers for each new apprentice hired;" — liberal.ca, retrieved 2025-04-14

Conservative

  • Allow trades workers to write off the full cost of food, transport, and accommodation needed to go from one job to another

    "Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre announced today that a new Conservative government will allow travelling trades workers to write off the full cost of food, transport and accommodation needed to go from one job to another while ending write-offs for luxury corporate jets that are not needed to do business." — conservative.ca, retrieved 2025-04-17

  • Back 350,000 positions for trade schools and union halls to train red-seal apprentices to build homes
  • Require banks to recognise apprenticeships as eligible Registered Education Savings Plans programmes

    "Today, Conservatives announced that they would deliver fairness for the skilled trades by requiring banks to recognize apprenticeships for Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs). Financial institutions that offer RESPs will be required to recognize all skilled trades and apprenticeship programs as eligible RESP programs, ensuring that all related expenses qualify for Education Assistance Payments." — conservative.ca, retrieved 2025-04-17