Liberals and NDP play to strengths on campaign trail while Tories carve new path
Posted Aug 23, 2021 06:58:00 PM.
As the federal election campaign enters its second full week, the Liberals are painting themselves as the trusted guardians of universal health care and the New Democrats promise to be true environmental stewards by ending fossil fuel subsidies.
While Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and the NDP's Jagmeet Singh play to traditional strengths, Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole is taking an unexpected turn with an appeal to average workers buffeted by pandemic turmoil.
In Halifax, Trudeau says the Liberals would spend $3 billion over four years starting in 2022 to hire 7,500 family doctors, as well as tax and student loan incentives for health professionals who set up shop in rural or remote communities.
He is also pledging an extra $6 billion to wrestle with wait lists.
Singh tells supporters in Montreal that immediately ending the flow of federal funds to fossil fuel enterprises is “exactly what we need to do” to fight climate change.
O'Toole, meanwhile, says a Tory government would require federally regulated employers with over 1,000 employees or $100 million in annual revenue to include worker representation on their boards of directors.