Federal Political Parties: Positions on Health and Nursing Issues

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Federal Political Parties: Positions on Health and Nursing Issues

Disclaimer:

The Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) maintains political neutrality and does not endorse or support any political party or candidate. This webpage is designed solely to provide an impartial overview of the federal political parties' positions on health and nursing-related issues for informational purposes.

The information presented here has been compiled from various sources, including political parties' press releases, third-party media coverage, and direct responses provided by the parties to specific questions sent to them by CNA during the week of March 31, 2025.

While we strive for accuracy, CNA advises readers to use caution, as there may be unintended errors or inaccuracies. Readers are encouraged to consult directly with political parties for the most accurate and up-to-date information. Inaccuracies, precisions, or updates can be reported to govtrelations@cna-aiic.ca

The information below has been last updated on April 15, 2025:

Liberal Party of Canada

(Press release, April 1, 2025 and April 14, 2025)

  • Dental Care: Expanding coverage to Canadians aged 18–64, benefiting approximately 4.5 million people and saving each around $800 annually.
  • Affordability and Cost-of-Living: Proposing middle-class tax cuts and GST elimination for first-time homebuyers to indirectly support household health expenses.
  • Pharmacare: This release does not contain new commitments, but negotiations with provinces and territories were underway when the election was called, while other jurisdictions had reached agreements.
  • Canadian Armed Forces: Providing better housing, health care, and child care support to Canadian Armed Forces members.

Conservative Party of Canada

(CTV News coverage, March 24, 2025; CBC coverage, March 25, 2025; CPC release and speech by Leader Pierre Poilievre in Vancouver, April 7, 2025)

  • Dental Care and Pharmacare: Committed to preserving existing programs without further expansion.
  • Mental Health and Addiction:
    • Creating 50,000 new addiction treatment spaces emphasizing recovery and abstinence.
    • Opposing supervised consumption sites, safe supply programs; plans to end federal funding and increase legal penalties for drug trafficking.
  • Child Care: Honouring existing $10/day agreements but advocating increased provincial flexibility; no further expansions planned.
  • Affordability and Income Tax: Pledging to reduce the lowest personal income tax bracket from 15% to 12.75% by 2027–28, resulting in estimated annual savings of $900 for individuals and $1,800 for dual-income families. The measure would be funded through spending cuts and a proposed "dollar-for-dollar" savings law for new expenditures.

New Democratic Party

(Press releases, April 1, April 5, April 7, April 9, and April 14, 2025, and comments by Leader Jagmeet Singh in St. John’s, April 5, 2025)

  • Universal Pharmacare: Committing to delivering full public pharmacare within four years, beginning with coverage for approximately 100 essential medicines that account for half of all prescriptions in Canada.
  • Primary Care: Guaranteeing universal access to family doctors by 2030; initiatives include funding incentives, streamlined recruitment, and rural/northern community support.
  • Workforce and Retention:
    • Tie new federal health transfers to measurable hiring and retention strategies.
    • Require provinces to implement nurse-to-patient ratios and improve wages and working conditions.
    • End reliance on private nursing agencies and reinvest $1.5B into public health teams, particularly in underserved areas.
    • Incentivize provinces to fast-track accreditation for internationally educated nurses and recruit qualified nurses from the U.S.
    • Pay student nurses during clinical training.
    • Introduce a $5,000 Health Care Workers Tax Credit for over 780,000 nurses and personal support workers.
  • Social Determinants of Health: Investing in affordable housing (3 million new homes), rent control, and homelessness elimination, linked to infrastructure funding.

Bloc Québécois

(Responses to CNA questions, see full document linked below; Toronto Star and Journal de Québec coverage, March 24, 2025, political platform)

  • The Bloc Québécois has responded to questions submitted by CNA (in French only).
  • Federal Health Transfers: Increase the federal government’s contribution to 35% of total health care costs.
  • Dental Care: Call for the transfer of the federal dental care program to Québec.
  • Supply Chain Resilience: Calling for "Buy Canadian" measures to reduce dependence on U.S. supply chains, which could have an impact for the health sector. Advocating that the federal government prioritize Canadian-made goods and services to bolster domestic resilience and reduce foreign reliance.

Green Party of Canada

(Responses to CNA questions, see full document linked below; Press releases, April 4 and April 8, 2025)

  • The Green Party of Canada has responded to questions submitted by CNA.
  • Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID): Opposing expanded eligibility ("Track 2"), citing concerns about social inequities.
  • Social Safety Net and Disability Justice: Advocating strengthened disability supports and financial security (Canada Disability Benefit), promoting independence and accessibility.
  • Universal Access to Care: Proposing a new Primary Care Health Act to guarantee every Canadian access to a family doctor, nurse practitioner, or community health team.
  • Mental Health: Fully integrating mental health services into public health care as an insured benefit.
  • Pharmacare: Implementing universal pharmacare to cover all prescription medications.
  • Dental Care: Expanding the Canadian Dental Care Plan to all eligible Canadians.
  • Health-care Workforce: Investing in health worker training and compensation, and streamlining credential recognition for internationally educated professionals.
  • Public Health System Protection: Enforcing and enhancing the Canada Health Act to ensure new federal funds support public, not-for-profit care only.
  • Equity and Accessibility: Prioritizing underserved and rural areas with commitments to Indigenous-led services, mobile clinics, telemedicine, and culturally appropriate care.
  • Prevention and Cost Savings: Emphasizing prevention and early intervention to improve outcomes and reduce long-term costs.