Poilievre says costed platform is coming ‘soon,’ becoming last leader to release a plan

With just a week to go before election day and over two million ballots already cast, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has yet to release a detailed and costed platform outlining his plans for the country and how he intends to fund his multibillion-dollar commitments.

Despite the looming deadline and the end of advance voting on Monday, Conservative campaign sources have indicated that the platform will not be released on Easter Sunday. Poilievre, speaking to reporters in Richmond, B.C., stated that Canadians are already aware of “95 per cent” of what a government led by him would do, as he has been unveiling policies throughout the campaign. However, he assured that a platform would be released “soon,” making him the last major party leader to present a plan to voters following the release of platforms by Liberal Leader Mark Carney and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh over the weekend.

Poilievre criticized Carney for his promises of significant new spending on housing, infrastructure, and defense, labeling the level of spending as “shocking.” However, Poilievre has not provided many specifics on how he plans to fund his proposals, including a substantial middle-class tax cut estimated to cost the federal treasury around $14 billion annually.

To finance his agenda, Poilievre has pledged to defund the CBC, except for its French-language service Radio-Canada, which would result in savings of less than $1 billion annually. Additionally, he plans to reduce Canada’s foreign aid budget, which totaled around $5.6 billion last year. Moreover, Poilievre aims to recover $1 billion in new tax revenue by cracking down on Canadians holding assets in offshore tax havens.

Eliminating the English public broadcaster, targeting tax havens, and cutting all forms of foreign aid would still fall short of funding Poilievre’s proposed tax cut, let alone his other commitments such as increasing defense spending and eliminating the GST on new home purchases. To address the budget shortfall, Poilievre mentioned capping government spending and implementing a “dollar for dollar” law, where every new dollar spent by the government must be offset by a cut elsewhere, although specific details are lacking.

In contrast to Carney’s promise to eliminate the GST on new homes for first-time buyers, Poilievre’s commitment to removing the tax altogether is more costly. Both leaders have indicated a need to cap government spending to address budget deficits.

Poilievre has been critical of the Liberals for running large deficits post-COVID and has vowed to restore a balanced budget if elected. However, when questioned about a timeline for achieving this goal, Poilievre remained noncommittal, stating that the deficit would be reduced under a Conservative government.

In comparison, the Liberal platform includes $35.2 billion in new spending for the upcoming year, with a total of $129 billion in new measures over the next four years, focusing heavily on infrastructure development, defense, and housing. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh’s platform forecasts a net increase of $48 billion to the federal deficit over four years, offset by a new tax on the wealthy.

The upcoming election will ultimately determine which party’s vision and economic plan resonates most with Canadians as they head to the polls.