The Canadian Press
Wed, April 16, 2025 at 3:00 a.m. EST·9 min read
OTTAWA — The party leaders are on the campaign trail making promises to Canadian voters, who will go to the polls on April 28.
Here is a running list of the promises announced by the Conservatives, Liberals and NDP ahead of election day.
Conservatives
April 14: Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre promises to protect older voters from fraud by punishing banks and telecoms that don't do enough to prevent it, including fines of up to $5 million.
April 14: Poilievre says he would use the notwithstanding clause to impose consecutive life sentences for multiple murders.
April 13: Poilievre pledges to introduce new legislation that would tighten transparency rules for elected officials.
April 12: Poilievre promises to cut red tape and step up support for veterans.
April 12: Poilievre says if his party forms government, it will keep Canada's medical assistance in dying regime intact but won't expand it.
April 11: Poilievre says he'll require banks to make all skilled trades and apprenticeship programs eligible for Registered Education Savings Plans.
April 10: Poilievre proposes a plan to reimburse cities for half of every dollar they cut in development charges.
April 9: Poilievre promises to ban bail, parole and house arrest for repeat "serious" offenders.
April 8: The Conservatives say that if they form government, they will crack down on offshore tax loopholes by appointing a "bring it home tax task force."
April 7: Poilievre promises a "one-and-done" approach to approving resource projects if he becomes prime minister.
April 6: Poilievre announces a Conservative plan to fund recovery treatment for 50,000 people facing addiction.
April 5: Poilievre promises to cut bureaucratic red tape by 25 per cent in two years.
April 4: Poilievre says he would create a new criminal offence for assaulting an intimate partner and pass a law to require the strictest possible bail conditions for anyone accused of intimate partner violence.
April 3: Poilievre announces a plan to cut federal sales tax on Canadian-made vehicles to support an auto industry reeling from U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
April 2: As part of a proposed plan to address the trade war, Poilievre says he would propose an early renegotiation of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement ahead of its planned revision in 2026.
April 1: Poilievre announces he would eliminate automatic annual tax increases on alcohol.
April 1: Poilievre promises to enact a set of five demands from the country's energy sector in the face of U.S. tariffs if his party forms government.
March 31: Poilievre promises to create a pre-approved national energy corridor to speed up infrastructure projects.
March 30: Poilievre pitches a new tax measure he says would act like "rocket fuel" for the Canadian economy — a deferral of tax on capital gains.
March 29: Poilievre promises to expand the tax writeoff that trade workers can declare for work travel.
March 28: Poilievre repeats an earlier promise to pass a law to impose mandatory life sentences on people found guilty of trafficking fentanyl on a large scale.
March 27: Poilievre says a Conservative government would allow Canadians to contribute another $5,000 — for a total of $12,000 a year — into tax-free savings accounts, provided they invest that extra money in Canadian companies.
March 26: Poilievre says a Conservative government would keep the retirement age at 65 and allow seniors to keep their savings in an RRSP until age 73, up from 71.
March 25: Poilievre promises a government led by him would maintain existing federal dental-care, pharmacare and child-care programs.
March 25: Poilievre pledges to eliminate the GST on purchases of new homes for up to $1.3 million if he wins the federal election.
March 24: Poilievre promises an income tax cut that he says would save a dual-income family $1,800 per year.
March 21: Poilievre announces a plan to boost training and employment for workers in the skilled trades.
March 20: Poilievre says he wants to create what he calls "shovel-ready zones" with pre-approved permits for major resource or energy projects.
March 19: Poilievre says he'd "set a deadline" to approve all federal permits for mining in northwestern Ontario's Ring of Fire region within six months.
March 17: Poilievre says a Conservative government would repeal the entire carbon pricing law for consumers and big industry.
Liberals
April 14: Liberal Leader Mark Carney promises a new worker skills training benefit of up to $15,000 to mid-career workers in manufacturing, health care, construction and other "priority" sectors.
April 14: Carney promises to create a separate defence procurement agency tasked solely with streamlining military purchases that tend to get tangled in red tape.
April 12: Carney pledges to make visiting national parks and museums more affordable for Canadian families.
April 10: Carney announces a series of public safety measures, including improvements to the Liberal gun buyback policy and legislation that would make it a criminal offence to "intentionally and wilfully obstruct" access to places of worship, schools and community centres.
April 9: Carney says he wants to speed up major natural resource project approvals and make Canada an "energy superpower."
April 7: Carney promises a number of conservation measures, including the creation of at least 10 new national parks and marine conservation areas, as well as 15 new urban parks.
April 7: Carney promises temporary supports to help retirees cope with U.S. tariffs, including lowering the minimum amount that must be withdrawn from a Registered Retirement Income Fund by 25 per cent.
April 5: Carney promises support for the skilled trades through a new apprenticeship grant, increased access to union-led training initiatives and a new $20-million capital funding stream for colleges to support new training spaces for apprenticeships.
April 4: Carney promises to boost CBC/Radio-Canada's funding by $150 million a year and enshrine its funding structure in law so that Parliament would have to pass legislation to change it.
April 2: The federal Liberals promise to strengthen Canada's agri-food sector and maintain production quotas that have caused friction in trade talks with the U.S.
March 31: Carney says his government would double Canada’s rate of residential housing construction over the next decade to nearly 500,000 new homes per year.
March 28: Carney says his government would invest $5 billion in a new Trade Diversification Corridor Fund to build the infrastructure that would help diversify Canada's trade and create jobs.
March 26: Carney pledges a $2-billion strategic response fund for the auto sector and a Canadian auto manufacturing network, and vows to "leverage government funding" to prioritize Canadian-built vehicles.
March 25: Carney promises to modernize the recruitment process for the Canadian Armed Forces to address a shortage of CAF members.
March 23: Carney promises a one-point cut to the middle class tax rate.
March 21: Carney promises to waive the one-week waiting period for employment insurance for those who lose their jobs to U.S. tariffs and temporarily allow Canadian businesses to defer income tax and GST and HST payments to help boost their liquidity.
March 21: Carney confirms that a plan to hike the inclusion rate on capital gains — first pitched in the federal budget last year — will not move forward.
March 20: Carney announces a $187-million investment to repair and rebuild critical infrastructure in Jasper National Park.
March 20: Carney announces that his government will eliminate GST for first-time homebuyers on homes sold at or under $1 million.
March 18: Carney says his government will expand the Canadian Armed Forces’ presence in the Arctic and pledges $253 million in new funding for Indigenous reconciliation initiatives in the North.
NDP
April 14: NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he would bring back the proposed increase to the capital gains tax that the Liberals introduced last year and then scrapped before the election.
April 14: Singh promises to hire 35,000 nurses by 2030 and tie new federal health transfer money to hiring and recruitment.
April 13: Singh talks about his plan for northern Ontario, which includes boosting the number of doctors in the region through local training and "fair wages."
April 9: Singh says an NDP government would establish a complete public pharmacare system within four years of being elected.
April 8: Singh says he wants to ban foreign buyers from purchasing homes in Canada and that a government led by him would close loopholes in the existing rules by barring numbered companies and corporate proxies from purchasing homes.
April 7: Singh promises that an NDP government would spend $16 billion over four years to build three million homes by 2030.
April 6: Singh pledges to implement national rent control to protect tenants from unfair rent increases.
April 5: Singh promises to ensure all Canadians have access to a family doctor by 2030.
April 4: Singh vows to close loopholes that allow corporations to put money in offshore accounts, saying companies would have to provide a "genuine business reason" for having such accounts.
April 3: Singh proposes tax-free savings bonds to shore up the economy against Trump's tariffs.
April 2: Singh says his party's plan to safeguard Canada from Trump's trade war includes affordability promises like removing the GST from "essentials," capping grocery prices on staples and expanding health programs like dental care.
April 1: Singh promises to crack down on "cash-for-care" clinics, which charge Canadians for basic services, and to ban American firms from buying up Canadian health-care assets.
March 31: The NDP promises to retrofit 3.3 million homes and pay for it by cutting supports for big oil and gas companies.
March 30: Singh says a federal government led by him would offer first-time homebuyers access to low-interest loans.
March 29: Singh says he would introduce emergency price caps on basic food items.
March 28: Singh says the New Democrats would ban corporations from buying affordable rental buildings and boost the rental protection fund to help non-profits buy affordable apartments.
March 27: Singh announces a plan to protect jobs in the Canadian auto sector that includes a pledge to boost employment insurance, give all money collected from counter-tariffs to workers and communities hit the hardest by the trade war, and require federal departments and agencies to buy vehicles made in Canada.
March 26: Singh says his party would cut taxes by increasing the basic personal amount of income exempted from taxation to $19,500, and would cut the GST from things like diapers, grocery store meals and bills for cellphones, internet and heating. He also pledges to raise the guaranteed income supplement for seniors.
March 24: Singh says a government led by him would use federal Crown land to build more than 100,000 rent-controlled homes over the next 10 years.
March 20: Singh promises to improve employment insurance, create jobs by investing in infrastructure and using Canadian resources, and expand trade beyond the United States.
March 16: Singh says an NDP government would cancel Canada's F-35 contract and bolster Canada's Arctic with new defence spending.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 16, 2025.
The Canadian Press
