Change would give MPs a pension perk
Delaying next year’s vote due to Diwali will trigger access to plan for dozens
OTTAWA Proposed changes to Canada’s election law could see the country’s next federal contest pushed back by one week — meaning dozens of MPs could access tens of thousands of dollars in annual pension payments if Justin Trudeau’s minority government lasts that long.
Under the Canada Elections Act, federal elections — if not triggered earlier — must be held on the third Monday in October four years after Canadians last went to the polls. That means the latest possible date the next general election can be held is on Oct. 20, 2025.
On Wednesday, the Liberals introduced a new bill aimed at ushering in a series of amendments to the act, some of which are included in the governing pact that could see the New Democrats prop up Trudeau until next year.
One of the proposed changes, which falls outside the scope of that agreement, would have the next fixed election date moved one week later to Oct. 27, because the original date coincides with Diwali, a holiday celebrated by a number of religious communities.
But a rather remarkable perk would accompany such a change: bumping the date by a few days means dozens of MPs would be entitled to the generous pension members of Parliament received if they serve in the House of Commons for at least six years.
“I think Canadians are … just going to ask the obvious question: ‘Why do we have to bump it a week back and not a week early?’ ” said Franco Terrazzano, the federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
“And if the response from the government or members of Parliament is, ‘Well, that’s how the law or the rules are currently implemented,’ well, change the law or the rules.”
At issue are the roughly 80 MPs who were elected for the first time on Oct. 21, 2019. If an election were to be held on Oct. 20 of next year — just shy of the six-year mark — anyone who became an MP in 2019 and lost their seat in 2025 would be locked out of the plan, the office for the Speaker of the House of Commons confirmed to the Star.
“It’s a huge amount of money. And we just also have to understand that there are so many Canadians out there that are struggling, and do not have even close to these types of pensions,” Terrazzano said.
“Not to mention, MPs are already paid a very high salary. MPs, if they’re not eligible for a pension, already get a platinum severance. So that just adds to, I think, the frustration that many Canadians will have over this.”
MP pensions are governed by the Members of Parliament Retiring Allowances Act. Anyone who fails to make the six-year cut-off receives a separate, one-time payment upon leaving Parliament.
There are also a number of factors that influence how much MPs receive. It depends on their years of service, the type of role they held, and what pension rules were in place while they sat as an MP.
Right now, MPs are paid a base salary of $194,600, and are paid more if they have other responsibilities and hold more demanding roles.
After the last two federal elections, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation estimated just how much money defeated or departing MPs were set to receive in pension payments. The organization concluded that eligible MPs who lost or gave up their seats in the 2021 election would collect $1.4 million in annual pension payments. A handful of MPs who had higher salaries or served longer terms were slated to receive more than $100,000 a year apiece, with those pensions totalling more that $13 million if those politicians were to collect payments until the age of 90.
The Taxpayers Federation does not have current estimates for the 2019 cohort of MPs, but Terrazzano said he estimates that a starting annual pension for a backbencher “would be around $30,000 a year and cost taxpayers more than $1 million over their lifetime depending on their current age.”
Conservative MPs — who this week attempted, but failed, to topple the Liberal government and call a “carbon tax election” over their opposition to Ottawa’s carbonpricing scheme — stand to lose the most if they were first elected in 2019 and happen to suffer defeat in an election that takes place on or before Oct. 20 of next year.
Just over 30 Tory MPs currently fall into that category, compared to just over 20 Liberals, around 18 Bloc Québécois MPs, and six New Democrats.
Two-thirds of those Conservative MPs are members of Leader Pierre Poilievre’s shadow cabinet.
And of those Liberals, three current cabinet ministers — who earn higher salaries — could also miss the boat: Treasury Board President Anita Anand, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, and Tourism Minister Soraya Martinez Ferrada.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, meanwhile, won’t have to worry if the election isn’t pushed back. While he was also a newly minted MP in 2019, he secured his seat in a byelection that took place months before that year’s federal contest.