Comparing Healthcare Policies for Low-Income Canadians: The Recent Proposals Ahead of the Upcoming Canadian Federal Election
- thecatalystpress
- Apr 18
- 7 min read
Author: Anisah Ali
Editors: Nabiha Rahman, Sumairaa Ahmed
Amid recent discussions of an impending federal election, Canadians are called to fulfill their democratic duty in selecting leadership that will shape the nation’s future political and legislative landscape. Informed by democracy, the responsibility to engage politically rests with the voter. It is crucial to recognize that the collective outcome of our votes shapes the legislative and executive branches of government. However, this is not without its flaws. The existence of a two-party system, exclusive to the false dichotomy between the Conservatives and Liberals, has undermined the idea that our electoral choices reflect our genuine preferences, thereby eroding fundamental democratic principles.
This issue further exacerbates the inequities faced by marginalized groups, whose voices are often sidelined in the broader political discourse and whose votes may resonate better with alternate parties.
While the use of healthcare expenditures is a provincial and territorial responsibility, the allocation of such expenditures is determined and influenced by the federal government (Government of Canada, 2022). Notably, a reasonable marker of success in determining the efficacy of this allocation is to assess how some of our most disadvantaged groups, particularly Canadians of lower socioeconomic status (SES), access healthcare under these conditions. In this capacity, we’ll examine each political party’s healthcare proposals amid the impending federal election.
Conservative Party of Canada
With speculation about a potential shift in federal leadership, Pierre Poilievre, Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, has introduced proposals aimed at improving the Canadian healthcare system. One key aspect of his platform focuses on removing gatekeepers to expedite the integration of immigrant healthcare professionals. By prioritizing competency-based testing, Poilievre aims to streamline the evaluation of foreign education and qualifications, enabling quicker onboarding of doctors and nurses into the Canadian workforce (Conservative Party of Canada, 2023). In relation to low-income Canadians, these conditions may present an opportunity for economic growth and/or challenges in meeting requirements (i.e., costly exams, bridging programs, and unpaid residencies) amidst the changing immigration process (Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario, 2010).
While Poilievre has not explicitly endorsed privatized healthcare, some of his policy suggestions align with conservative preferences for market-based solutions. For example, he has vowed to reject implementing a national pharmacare program if given the chance (Health Coalition, 2024). This decision could significantly impact access to affordable medication, particularly for low-income earners, children, and seniors who currently rely on provincial healthcare programs for support (CIHI, 2024).
Although Poilievre’s proposals emphasize efficiency and reducing bureaucratic barriers, their potential consequences for marginalized communities and the broader healthcare landscape warrant careful consideration.
Liberal Party
Since 2015, the Liberal Party has successfully reinstated the leadership of party head, Justin Trudeau. In the past 9 years, we’ve witnessed the impacts of Trudeau’s leadership on Canadian healthcare, including, but not limited to, the management of the COVID-19 pandemic, a rising mental health crisis, and mitigating the issues causing collective discontentment towards our strained system. Amid Trudeau’s recent resignation, Mark Carney has stepped into the role of leader of the Liberal Party of Canada.
To examine Carney’s leadership, it’s imperative that we reflect on Trudeau’s past proposals and outcomes for healthcare. Central to Trudeau’s proposals was the continued investment in mental health support under the $4.5 billion Canada Mental Health Transfer, with allocations specifically targeting underserved communities (Liberal Party of Canada, 2021). This investment was not delivered – amidst a rising mental health crisis that disproportionately affects low-income populations due to the stressors of economic instability (CMHA, 2024). While there are other factors that lend themselves to the continued mental health crisis, the minimization of this promise has persistently impacted low-income populations.
Moreover, in 2023, the federal government had negotiated 10-year bilateral health funding agreements with each province and territory, focused on four federally identified target areas (CMHA, 2024). This includes expansion of family services, workforce supply, increased access to mental health and substance use services, and modernized data practices (CMHA, 2024). The progress on these targets has yet to be fully realized, however, the efforts to materialize them are in motion. As this develops, we’ll have a clearer picture on its impact on low-income populations.
Given past proposals and current developments, Carney’s platform has not substantially reported on policy directives centering healthcare and reflections on its impact for marginalized groups. Carney’s approach can be interpreted as a focus on fiscal responsibility and economic restructuring (Carney, 2025). The application of this approach has translated his discussions on healthcare with a focus on preserving federal transfers to provinces to ensure continued support for “essential” health services, as well as the implementation of AI (Carney, 2025). Parallel to this, Carney’s enhanced focus on economic restructuring aims to improve our social and healthcare systems (Carney, 2025).
Hence, the consideration of Trudeau’s initiatives and Carney’s present approach has brought forward aspirations to address foundational issues of Canada’s healthcare system.
New Democratic Party
Since 2017, the New Democratic Party (NDP) has been led by Jagmeet Singh, whom relayed aspirations to expanding public healthcare to address systemic inequities. A fundamental component of the NDP’s campaign relates to the proposal of a universal pharmacare program (NDP, 2022). The implementation of this program aims to eliminate out-of-pocket costs for prescription medications nationwide (NDP, 2022). The relief afforded to low-income households may assist in alleviating financial burdens. For instance, low-income individuals are more likely to experience "catastrophic" drug expenditures, in which allocating funds for prescription medications can often require a minimized budget towards basic necessities, such as food and heat (UBC, 2023).
In addition to pharmacare, the NDPs aims to deliver a fully-materialized Canadian Dental Care Plan (NDP, 2022). This program is designed to provide dental coverage to uninsured individuals with household incomes below $90,000, encompassing approximately nine million Canadians (NDP, 2022). Recent data from Statistics Canada indicates that cost remains a primary barrier to dental care access, particularly among lower-income and racialized populations, with one in three racialized Canadians and nearly one-quarter of individuals aged 12 and older avoiding dental visits due to financial constraints (Statistics Canada, 2024).
These initiatives ambitiously aim to address barriers to accessing essential healthcare, with extensive goals to address health inequities. Hence, the NDPs proposals embrace the socioeconomic realities associated with healthcare access.
Green Party
Lastly, the Green Party is co-led by Jonathan Pedneault and Elizabeth May. Pedneault possesses a background in human rights advocacy, along with experiences of international journalism (The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2024). Additionally, May is one of Canada’s early environmental researchers and contributed to studies examining the health impacts of environmental racism on marginalized communities. Her expertise in this field plays a role in shaping the healthcare policies advocated by the Green Party (Green Party of Canada, 2024a).
The Green Party’s policies focus on proliferating an honest practice of universal healthcare by addressing issues beyond a hospital or clinic (Green Party of Canada, 2024b). The aim is to extend resources into predominantly disadvantaged communities that experience compounding social issues that negatively impact their health and well-being. For instance, the Greens have advocated for a national drug reduction strategy and developed more safe injection sites, as a response to the ongoing opioid crisis (Green Party of Canada, 2024c). Further to this, the Greens aim to expand public services and extend pharmacare, such as dental care to low-income children (Green Party of Canada, 2024b). This assists in addressing the disparities experienced by low-income individuals that relieve them from the inability and/or demands of accessing healthcare (Rawson, 2020).
In harmonizing their ideals of enforcing universal healthcare and addressing issues from point-of-community care, the Green Party seeks to develop and implement comprehensive national healthcare guidelines. These guidelines aim to promote preventative health measures, establish localized, community-driven addiction support programs, and address mental health challenges through an evidence-based, socio-political framework.
Happy Voting!
It’s important to note that the proposals presented by federal leadership continue to develop. As each candidate campaigns for their federal leadership, it’s important to continue to assess and review new information relating to their proposals with a critical lens. While these inspections offer a glimpse into each party’s proposal, please take the time to research before you hit the polls.
Works Cited
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Conservative Party of Canada. (2023, February 1). Remove gatekeepers to bring home doctors & nurses.
Government of Canada. (2022, October 5). Canada Health Transfer.
Green Party of Canada. (2024a). Elizabeth May - Candidate Profile.
Green Party of Canada. (2024b, August 21). Green Party of Canada unveils bold plan to expand
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Statistics Canada. (2024). Dental care access in Canada. Statistics Canada. https://www.statcan.gc.ca.
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University of British Columbia (UBC). (2023). Canadians giving up food, heat to pay for prescription
drugs: UBC study. University of British Columbia. https://spph.ubc.ca/canadians-giving-up-
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