Good Morning,
The Conservative Party’s campaign platform hit all the right spots with a focus on job creation, fighting COVID-19, expanded support for healthcare and tourism workers, lowering housing and food prices, and fighting climate change.
Other parties are also expected to rollout their plans for Canada soon as Federal Election 2021 kicks off in earnest.
The campaign has already taken a very business-oriented tone with NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh promising to pry money out of the pockets of CEOs who saw their compensation rise even as their companies received federal business aid. Meanwhile, the Liberals are promising to extend a hiring credit first unveiled in their recent budget, aimed at boosting payrolls.
Mike Moffatt, senior director at Smart Prosperity, said he was impressed with the Tory’s housing plan: “1. They understand it’s going to require supply-side solutions 2. They understand the magnitude of the problem. Kudos to @CPC_HQ on both,” he tweeted.
The Conservatives will need to impress as they are trailing the Liberals in the polls, according to the CBC Election Poll tracker.
“Based on current polls, the Liberal government is getting high marks from households over their handling of the pandemic, including the unprecedented fiscal response,” said Craig Alexander, chief economist at Deloitte Canada, in a note to clients.
“The upbeat assessment of Canadians will also be helped by the vast savings accumulated during the crisis, the remarkable real estate home price growth and the considerable equity market gains,” Alexander noted.
“Opposition parties will have a hard time making a case of health and economic mismanagement during the crisis.”
Clearly, economic growth is front and centre in this election, given the financial hit taken by the government, companies and the workforce during the pandemic — and the debt needed to prop up the economy.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business says its struggling members are worried that enough attention will not be paid to their needs.
“Small businesses have been through the wringer over the past 16 months, and many are looking at a long and bumpy road to recovery. They want to see all political parties commit to real measures that can support them now that an election has been called,” said Dan Kelly, President at CFIB in a press release.
In a separate survey for CFIB, an Angus Reid Forum poll showed the economy (59 per cent) and small business recovery (47 per cent) ranked among the top five election issues for Canadians.
“More than nine in ten Canadians (93 per cent) agreed that small business recovery is crucial for Canada’s economic recovery, with 83 per cent also saying a strong small business platform will be important in this election,” the survey noted.
CFIB says its members want to hear a detailed economic recovery blueprint and a plan to reduce the overall tax burden — that old chestnut — on small businesses from the political parties. A commitment to control government spending, a timeframe for balancing the budget and policies to address labour and skills shortages were also on the list of issues of interest to businesses.
Expect vaccinations, climate change, government debt and housing to be among the issues vigorously debated — or at least frequently raised — during the election.
But Deloitte’s Alexander says he is concerned that the election could also politicize the renewal of the Bank of Canada policy mandate, which must happen this year. The current policy target is keeping inflation between 1 and 3 per cent.
“Several politicians have asked me about whether the mandate should change to include full employment or average inflation targeting or something else. My view is that if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it,” Alexander said in a note. “Inflation expectations are well anchored so don’t mess around with the Bank mandate. Regardless, the independence of the central bank is essential, so this should not be allowed to become an election issue.”
