Conservative leadership hopefuls: Where they stand on the economy
Libertarianism, populism — and everything in between, writes Drew Hasselback.
Most of the economic positions taken by Conservative leadership candidates won’t surprise you.
Lower taxes and smaller government are popular themes. Deficits and red tape are bad, jobs and innovation are good.
Still, several of the candidates have some ideas and policies that stand out. By Saturday night, when the ballot-by-ballot results are revealed at the Conservative Party of Canada’s leadership convention in Toronto, we’ll know which vision goes before the country in the next election.
Maxime Bernier, a Quebec MP known for his libertarian views, opposes agricultural supply management — a position few Canadian politicians would ever dare embrace. He is also calling for a revamp of the equalization formula that redistributes wealth among the provinces. In fact, his economic vision is aggressive across the board and if fully implemented, would result in a smaller federal government, lower taxes, and freer trade, both interprovincially and internationally.
Michael Chong voices support for a carbon tax. That’s an unusual position for a Conservative politician, but he’s throwing it out there as a means to pay for a tax reform plan. The Ontario MP wants to simplify the system to two tax rates, and fund that with a mix of spending cuts and his carbon tax. He says this would add $86.9 billion in stimulus to the economy over 10 years.
Andrew Scheer, an MP from Saskatchewan, is willing to step on the third rail of Canadian politics and open constitutional talks so property rights could be added to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. He’s also calling for Canada to rid itself of the need for foreign oil, for an end to “corporate welfare,” and for measures that would boost Canada’s forest industry.
Most candidates support natural resource development, but Kellie Leitch’s plan is rooted in her embrace of populism. The Ontario MP wants tougher penalties for those who use vandalism or violence to disrupt natural resource projects. She would also crack down on environmental lobbying by getting “international money” out of the process.
Lisa Raitt, another Ontario MP, also advocates energy and resource development, but makes it part of a broader policy to grow the economy in Canada’s north. Among her specific ideas is a call to lock in the Mineral Exploration Tax Credit program, which helps junior miners explore for resources within Canada, for 10 years.
The remaining candidates, Chris Alexander, Steven Blaney, Pierre Lemieux, Deepak Obhrai, Erin O’Toole, Rick Peterson, Andrew Saxton, and Brad Trost, each call for a mix of lower taxes, balanced budgets, more jobs, and less red tape.
Some have ideas that are built on their prior experience in politics or private life.
Alexander, an immigration minister in Stephen Harper’s government, argues that boosting annual immigration, perhaps to 400,000 a year from the 2006-2016 average of 265,000, would “unlock” Canada’s potential is a country. Peterson, a venture capitalist from Vancouver, thinks corporate income tax should be eliminated entirely.
As a Quebec MP, Blaney has emerged as one of the strongest defenders of supply management in the race, particularly since calls for its elimination comes from Bernier, another Quebec MP.
Obhrai, an MP from Calgary, suggests the government allow capital gains taxes to be deferred and charged at lower rates if those gains are reinvested in ways that create jobs.
O’Toole, an Ontario MP, advocates a “CANZUK” trade and security pact that would include Canada, UK, Australia, and New Zealand.
Saxton, a former MP from British Columbia, calls for “sound fiscal fundamentals and low public debt levels,” along with expanded trade and infrastructure spending.
Trost, an MP from Saskatchewan, and Lemieux, a former MP from Ontario, have positioned themselves as social conservative candidates. On the economics front, Trost says Canada should aim for four per cent GDP growth. Lemieux calls for spending cuts, lower taxes, support for pipelines and opposition to a carbon tax.