OMA’s 2025 Federal Election Party Platform Analysis

April 24, 2025 – With the federal election campaign reaching its end, OMA has reviewed each party’s promises regarding culture and heritage organizations and workers in Ontario.

Even more than the Ontario election in February, federal announcements have focused on the economic threat of US tariffs. Though there have been few explicit references to heritage or culture, comments on overall spending also have implications for heritage and culture.

The governing Liberal Party of Canada, under new Prime Minister Mark Carney, have focused much of their heritage and culture program on a renewed mandate for the CBC/Radio Canada. However, they have announced a Canada Strong Pass, which will run from June to August 2025 and provide children and youth under the age of 18 with:

free access to national galleries and museums, and

free seats on VIA Rail when they travel with their parents.

On Indigenous issues, they would:

commit to developing and supporting, in partnership, the structures that support a nation-to-nation, Inuit-Crown, government-to-government relationship to progress on shared priorities;

move forward on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action and support Indigenous communities to uncover unmarked and undocumented graves and burial sites at residential schools;

move forward on the implementation the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Calls for Justice and the National Action Plan; and

implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act and the Action Plan.

Most of their platform is focused on responding to US tariffs and otherwise positioning the federal government to respond to bad economic news. They would:

trim one percentage point off the lowest income tax bracket;

temporarily raise regional unemployment rate percentages (which allows unemployed workers to access benefits more easily and/or for a longer time);

eliminate the GST on all homes up to $1 million for first-time homebuyers;

temporarily allow Canadian businesses to defer income tax as well as GST and HST payments;

suspend rules that prevent people with severance packages from collecting EI for six months;

increase the guaranteed income supplement (GIS) by five per cent for one year; and

reduce the minimum amount that must be withdrawn from a registered retirement income fund (RRIF) by 25 per cent for one year.

They would shrink public spending by capping the size of the public service and making government operations more efficient by “leveraging AI and machine learning.” They would aim to balance the government’s operational spending within three years, while running a “small deficit” on capital spending.

The Conservative Party of Canada, have focused on taxes as a policy tool. They would:

drop the tax rate on the lowest income tax bracket from 15 per cent to 12.75 per cent;

defer capital gains taxes if the proceeds are reinvested in Canada;

increase the annual TFSA contribution limit by $5,000 a year, provided the money is invested in Canadian companies;

remove the GST on new homes sold for under $1.3 million;

allow working seniors with an annual income under $42,000 to earn as much as $34,000 without paying taxes, and let seniors continue to contribute to RRSPs until the age of 73, rather than the current limit of 71;

allow travelling trades workers to write off the full cost of food, transportation and accommodation; and

require that any new or higher federal taxes be approved in a referendum.

They would also cut the federal public service through attrition, which would reduce the headcount by about 17,000 per year¹, and require that, for every new dollar spent, an equal amount must be reduced.

The New Democratic Party of Canada has focused on social programs as an additional response to the economic impacts of US actions. They would:

raise the amount of untaxed income from $16,129 to $19,500;

eliminate GST on essentials (e.g., energy, internet and mobile phone bills);

double the amount of the Canada disability benefit and increase the guaranteed income supplement;

open up more $10-a-day child-care spots.;

increase the EI replacement rate to two-thirds of insurable earnings, with a minimum weekly benefit of $450;

extend EI benefits to 50 weeks nationwide;

implement a national 360-hour standard to qualify for benefits; and remove the one-week waiting period; and

temporarily remove the one-week EI waiting period.

They would also implement recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

The Green Party of Canada would also provide targeted funding to help museums and cultural institutions fully recover from pandemic impacts, improve digital accessibility, and broaden public engagement.

They would act on every Call to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and specifically on Indigenous cultural issues, they would:

provide dedicated federal funding to support the creation, conservation, and public accessibility of Indigenous art and cultural expressions;

protect Indigenous intellectual and artistic property rights by legislating and enforcing meaningful recognition and protections, ensuring Indigenous artists and communities retain full control over their cultural creations and heritage;

fund initiatives for Indigenous artists to travel and provide mentorship in Indigenous communities, supporting cultural transmission, artistic development, and youth engagement;

provide targeted federal funding to ensure that all museums and cultural institutions across Canada fully comply with UNDRIP and the TRC Calls to Action, facilitating accurate representation and meaningful reconciliation; and

establish dedicated national funding for reconciliation-focused commemoration projects, supporting initiatives that recognize and honour Indigenous histories and experiences.

They focus more on income supports than tax measures to respond to the economic impact of tariffs:

raising the amount of untaxed income to $40,000;

creating a guaranteed livable income;

expanding paid leave to elder care, miscarriage and other family needs;

creating universal early learning and child care that every family can afford; and

making college and university free.

The Bloc Québécois propose

investments for promoting Indigenous languages, cultures and traditions;

ensuring that the federal government follows the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP); and

working to implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action.

Their economic development proposals are very focused on protecting impacted workers, including:

increasing old age security payments for those aged 65 to 74 by 10 per cent and giving tax incentives to seniors who choose to remain in the workforce;

Adapting the child benefit to blended families and based on the income of the parents who have custody;

doubling the GST credit t in quarters when the inflation rate exceeds the Bank of Canada’s target (between one and three per cent) and paying it out monthly;

restricting credit-card interest rates;

cutting the GST on all second-hand goods;

giving pandemic-style wage subsidies to workers impacted by tariffs; and

requiring the federal government to pay off the federal employment insurance debt accumulated during the pandemic, rather than raising premiums to repay it.