We asked our supporters for their priorities in this federal election. Using that feedback, we drafted the following questions that we sent to each of the major political parties, and encouraged our supporters to send them to their local candidates:
- Climate change: With the end of the consumer carbon tax, how will your government meet our climate targets?
- Reproductive rights: How will your government expand access to abortion and contraceptives?
- End-of-life rights: How will your government work to remove barriers to medical assistance in dying?
- LGBTQ2S+ rights: How will your government meaningfully protect LGBTQ2S+ rights from provincial bills that threaten the safety of trans and gender-diverse youth?
- Religious charities and tax exemptions: Will your government implement the House of Commons Finance Committee's recent recommendation to amend the Income Tax Act provide a definition of a charity which would remove the privileged status of "advancement of religion" as a charitable purpose? Will your government repeal the clergy residence deduction?
- God in Government: Do you support ending the daily prayer in the House of Commons and removing references to god from O Canada and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms?
As of April 25, we've received one response from the Green Party of Canada. Read their answers (we've included these in our analysis below). Otherwise, we've relied on details pulled from each party's platform and public statements. In some cases, these are brief summaries; please refer to the platforms themselves for further details. Note, we haven't included the minor or regional parties (that are generally only running a small number of candidates) or independents.
You can find each party's full platform here:
If we receive additional responses, we'll add those.
Climate Change
With the end of the consumer carbon tax, how will your government meet our climate targets?
Conservative
The Conservatives pledge to repeal many recent environmental initiatives including the consumer and industrial carbon taxes, updates to the federal Impact Assessment Act, the West Coast tanker ban, fuel regulations, the oil and gas production emissions cap and X. They also pledge to increase oil production in Newfoundland and Labrador and LNG production in BC and Quebec. The party will also “fast-track approvals” for pipelines along “a pre-approved corridor.” The party will maintain clean incentives for the auto-sector.
In its section “Protect the Environment and Lower Emissions,” the Conservatives promise:
- Ending the dumping of raw sewage into Canada’s waterways.
- Adapting Marine Protected Areas to ensure science, not ideology, determines where harvesters can land their catch.
- Reform Investment Tax Credits (ITCs) to reward clean Canadian manufacturing and production to help lower emissions and fight climate change.
- Use Article 6 of the Paris Agreement to bring home jobs while exporting cleaner resources like Canadian liquified natural gas (LNG) and technologies to help lower global emissions.
Article 6 relates to voluntary cooperation among parties to achieve GHG reductions through agreements to transfer mitigation outcomes. In other words, the Conservatives plan to export Canadian LNG to offset high-emission fuels like coal and oil in developing countries.
Green
We support carbon pricing and would not end the carbon tax. We believe polluters should pay.
To meet climate targets we will:
- Keep and improve carbon pricing while returning revenues to Canadians.
- Phase out fossil fuel use and infrastructure.
- Invest in 100% renewable electricity and energy-efficient homes.
- Expand green public transit and clean transport.
- Support nature-based solutions and Indigenous-led climate action.
- Enforce strong, science-based emissions targets across all sectors.
Climate action must be fair, ambitious, and driven by the public good.
The Green platform calls for a Just Transition Act and “Green Jobs” through a National Civil Defence Corps, a National Green Jobs Training and Apprenticeship Program, Indigenous-led training and employment opportunities and Youth Climate Corps.
The platform contains an extensive section on “Energy Transition” that calls for the phase out of fossil fuels in favour of “a true national grid powered by 100% renewable electricity.” They propose to achieve this through transitioning from coal, oil and gas-fired power to renewables, building a national electric grid and banning new nuclear development. The Greens will also improve efficiencies through an energy efficiency retrofit program, providing grants and zero-interest loans for renewable energy and mandating net-zero building standards by 2030. They will phase out fossil fuels by cancelling new pipelines and oil exploration, banning fracking and new offshore oil and gas development, ending fossil fuel subsidies, divesting from public investments in fossil fuels and implementing carbon border adjustments.
The Greens would also implement a national Buy Clean strategy that requires 50% of federal procurement to prioritize clean technology and low-carbon materials. The party will aim to reach zero-carbon public ground transportation by 2040, support active transportation and expand support for EVs while banning the sale of internal combustion engine passenger vehicles by 2030.
In the Green platform’s Climate Action section, they also propose to introduce a National Adaptation Strategy to promote resilience and a Climate Change Act with binding reductions targets. The party’s goal is zero emissions by 2050 with interim goals every five years.
Liberal
The Liberal platform promises an east-west electricity grid to promote clean energy. They will prioritize low carbon emissions purchases for Government procurement. They also pledge to legislate the repeal of the consumer carbon tax, while maintaining the industrial carbon tax.
In its “Building a Clean Economy and Tackling Climate Change” section, the Liberal platform focuses on making Canada “an energy superpower,” promoting clean investment and creating an industrial competitiveness strategy. Specifically, this includes:
- Supporting EVs with more charging stations and reintroducing the purchase incentive.
- Expand investment tax credits for clean energy and technology.
- Invest in carbon capture, utilization and storage technology
- Issue transition bonds
- Phase out fossil fuel use in government-owned buildings by 2030
- Invest in prefabricated and modular housing construction to reduce emissions from home construction
- Improve the Output-Based Pricing System for large emitters
- Implement a Carbon Border Adjustment
- Speed up approval of clean energy projects
NDP
The NDP platform’s climate commitments are centered around a green economy.
The first section promises “good jobs in a sustainable economy.”
- A ‘Build Canadian, Buy Canadian Plan’ to create a stronger and more independent economy, with sector-specific industrial strategies. Each of these will have a goal of accelerating the clean energy transition.
- Low-carbon projects will require Community Benefits Agreements
- A goal of net-zero electricity by 2035 and 100% non-emitting by 2045. This is achieved in part through an East-West power grid.
The next section promises lower emissions and energy bills through a national retrofit program that will retrofit every building by 2050. The platform also promises efficiency and building code updates, including a safe maximum indoor temperature limit.
Third, the platform promises transportation investments, with a goal of doubling public transit ridership by 2035, re-establishing intercity bus routes and high-speed rail for Quebec-Windsor and Edmonton-Calgary Banff. The platform includes the EV purchase incentive, up to $10,000 for made-in-Canada EVs, with a mandate of 100% zero-emission vehicle sales by 2035.
Next, the platform promises to cut GHG emissions to 50% below 2005 levels by 2035. The Net-Zero Advisory Body will be directed to consult on an emissions reduction plan. The platform will remove the consumer carbon tax while retaining the industrial pricing system. Fossil fuel subsidies will be eliminated by the end of 2026, there will be an immediate cap on oil and gas emissions, greenwashing will be banned, and all federal-regulated industries will need to have emission reduction plans.
Reproductive rights
How will your government expand access to abortion and contraceptives?
Conservative
The Conservative platform states:
- Maintaining the party’s 21-year-old policy that a “Conservative Government will not support any legislation to regulate abortion.” There will be no laws, rules or regulations passed restricting abortion.”
The platform says the party will “honour existing deals with provinces and territories on child care and pharmacare.”
Green
We support reproductive rights and access to care. Every person should have safe, timely, and barrier-free access to abortion and contraceptives.
To expand access, we would:
- Provide free contraception and expand reproductive health services nationwide.
- Ensure abortion remains legal, accessible, and free from political interference.
- Support national standards for sexual health education.
- Fund family planning counselling through public health systems.
- Recognize reproductive care as a core part of universal health coverage.
Reproductive rights are human rights and we will defend them.
The Greens promise “universal access to reproductive health services” by:
- Advocate for the enforcement of the Canada Health Act to ensure all provinces and territories provide comprehensive reproductive health services, including abortion, without financial or logistical barriers.
- Support the expansion of telemedicine services to provide medication abortion and related care, particularly in underserved and remote communities.
- Ensure that reproductive health services are inclusive and affirming for LGBTQ+ individuals.
- Enhance the collection of disaggregated data on reproductive health to identify and address disparities in access and outcomes.
- Oppose any legislation that seeks to restrict access to abortion or undermine reproductive rights.
Liberal
The Liberal platform promises to
- Assert Canada’s leadership in supporting women and girls by protecting funding for sexual and reproductive health care and rights, education, and combatting child marriage.
- Protect and permanently fund Sexual and Reproductive Health Fund
- Establish a new in vitro fertilization program
- Invest in postpartum maternal health research
- Maintain the pharmacare deals
NDP
The NDP platform does not have explicit promises on reproductive rights besides the promise to continue to expand the pharmacare program beyond prescription contraceptives.
End-of-life rights
How will your government work to remove barriers to medical assistance in dying?
Conservative
The Conservative platform does not mention medical assistance in dying. During the campaign, leader Pierre Poilievre said the Conservatives would not roll back expansions but “are not proposing to expand medical assistance in dying beyond the existing parameters.” The party’s 2023 policy handbook opposes MAID “in principle” for those whose death is “not reasonably foreseeable.”
Green
We support access to medical help in dying (MAID). Every competent adult with a terminal illness should have the right to choose a peaceful end to their life.
To remove barriers, we would:
- Amend the Criminal Code to allow MAID with clear and compassionate conditions.
- Ensure access is safe, patient-centered, and guided by medical professionals.
- Protect the rights of individuals to make end-of-life decisions with dignity.
- Uphold strict safeguards to ensure informed and voluntary consent.
End-of-life care should respect autonomy, reduce suffering, and reflect each person’s values.
The Greens propose to:
- Create an independent federal oversight body to regulate MAiD, investigate complaints, ensure accountability, and guarantee accessible reporting and appeals processes.
- Mandate that no person be offered or approved for MAiD without first being provided access to appropriate health care, social services, housing, and income supports.
- Pause the planned expansion of MAiD to cases where mental illness is the sole underlying condition, until meaningful mental health care and social supports are in place.
- Ensure robust consultation with Indigenous governments and communities on MAiD policy, consistent with the principles of free, prior, and informed consent.
Liberal
The Liberal platform does not mention medical assistance in dying. Liberal leader Mark Carney has not made any announcements about MAiD.
NDP
The NDP platform does not mention medical assistance in dying. According to Dying With Dignity Canada:
“The NDP supported the Carter decision in 2015 but felt that the provisions outlined in Bill C-14 did not meet the requirements of the decision and did not support the Bill. Later, during Bill C-7 in 2021, they supported the removal of the reasonably foreseeable death requirement, but expressed concerns about the protection of people with disabilities. The NDP supported an indefinite pause to MI-SUMC (MAID for those whose sole underlying condition is a mental illness). They have historically supported advance requests for MAID in some cases.”
LGBTQ2S+ rights
How will your government meaningfully protect LGBTQ2S+ rights from provincial bills that threaten the safety of trans and gender-diverse youth?
Conservative
The Conservative platform does not mention LGBTQ2S+ rights. Poilievre has previously supported trans sports and bathroom bans and restricting access to gender-affirming care for trans youth.
Green
We support LGBTQ2S+ rights.
We will:
- Make sure Canada’s laws clearly protect people based on gender identity and expression.
- Fully carry out a national plan to stop gender-based violence, with special support for LGBTQ2S+ youth.
- Enforce the ban on conversion therapy and help survivors get justice.
- Make sure all youth can access gender-affirming care, mental health services, and inclusive education.
- Stand against any law, federal or provincial, that puts LGBTQ2S+ youth in danger.
Everyone deserves to be safe, respected, and supported.
The Green platform promises to support 2SLGBTQIA+ rights through core funding for community-led organizations, implementing the recommendations of the LGBT Purge Fund’s Emerging from the Purge report, including reparations for those affected by state discrimination. They would establish pathways to asylum for 2SLBGTQIA+ individuals, end discriminatory policing practices, strengthen enforcement of the conversion therapy ban, improve the census, strengthen federal employment equity programs and mandate the inclusion of gender-neutral washrooms in federal buildings.
Liberal
The Liberal platform promises to:
- Protect the safety of 2SLGBTQI+ people by maintaining support for Fierté Canada Pride in administering funding for security needs at Pride festivals across the country.
- Add additional funding for the LGBTQI+ International Assistance Program
- Make funding permanent for the 2SLGBTQI+ Community Capacity Fund
NDP
The NDP platform only says that the party “would take new steps to protect diversity in Canada, including supporting 2SLGBTQI+ communities who are increasingly subjected to hate and to violence.”
Religious charities and tax exemptions
Will your government implement the House of Commons Finance Committee's recent recommendation to amend the Income Tax Act provide a definition of a charity which would remove the privileged status of "advancement of religion" as a charitable purpose? Will your government repeal the clergy residence deduction?
Conservative
The Conservative platform is silent on these issues. Several prominent Conservative candidates have spoken out against the Committee’s recommendation.
The Conservatives are also promising to
- Protect places of worship and stop antisemitic riots with tougher sentences for religious property mischief.
- Create an Anti-Hate Crime Task Force to protect all threatened religious and cultural communities, including Canada’s Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Hindu, and other religious communities.
- Streamline access to the Security Infrastructure Program for places of worship, community, and cultural centres.
Green
The Green Party does not support the House of Commons Finance Committee’s recommendation to remove “advancement of religion” as a charitable purpose under the Income Tax Act.
We believe that churches and religious organizations should continue to qualify for charitable status when their activities are truly charitable and not political.
We also do not currently support repealing the clergy residence deduction.
We are committed to fairness in the tax system, but this particular deduction is not a priority for repeal. Our focus remains on ensuring that all tax benefits serve the public good and do not privilege political advocacy.
The Green platform is silent on these issues.
Liberal
The Liberal platform is silent on these issues. When asked about the Finance Committee’s recommendation, Liberal candidate (and Finance Minister) Dominic Leblanc told an all-candidates forum: “When I was finance minister, I had nothing to do with the idea of removing charitable donations for religious organizations. That is completely false. It’s not true. We haven’t done that. We’re not going to do that. We support those charitable donations, and will continue to do so.”
The Liberals also promise to:
- Introduce legislation to make it a criminal offence to intentionally and willfully obstruct access to any place of worship, schools, and community centres.
- Make it a criminal offence to intentionally and willfully intimidate or threaten those attending services at these locations.
- Significantly increase the annual budget of the Canada Community Security Program in order to help protect vulnerable communities and places of worship.
NDP
The NDP platform is silent on these issues.
God in Government
Do you support ending the daily prayer in the House of Commons and removing references to god from O Canada and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms?
Conservative
The Conservative platform is silent on these issues. When MPs debated ending the House of Commons’ daily prayer, every Conservative MP present voted against the motion.
Green
We do support:
- Keeping church and state separate.
- Respecting both freedom of religion and freedom from religion.
- Making sure the government includes and respects everyone, no matter their beliefs or non-beliefs.
The Green platform is silent on these issues. When MPs debated ending the House of Commons’ daily prayer, both Green MPs voted in favour of the motion.
Liberal
The Liberal platform is silent on these issues. When MPs debated ending the House of Commons’ daily prayer, every Liberal MP except Nathaniel Erskine-Smith present voted against the motion.
NDP
The NDP platform is silent on these issues. When MPs debated ending the House of Commons’ daily prayer, all but four NDP MPs present voted against the motion. The four who voted against removing the prayer were Charlie Angus, Daniel Blaikie, Rachel Blaney and Lori Idlout, none of whom are running in this election.