Ottawa: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government on Tuesday unveiled a federal budget that will challenge young voters by asking the wealthy to pay more in taxes.
Outpacing his main rival, conservative leader Pierre Poilieu, by more than 10 points, Trudeau needs to build on the support of millennials and Gen Z voters who propelled him to power in 2015 to win the election expected next year.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has vowed not to inflate the country’s budget deficit by paying tens of billions of dollars in additional social spending to ease concerns about the rising cost of living.
Much of the new spending is focused on education, housing and jobs – all pressure points for young voters.
“They don’t agree with parents and grandparents,” he said, adding, “We need to restore a level playing field for Millennials and Gen Z.”
In particular, millennials and so-called “Zoomers” can take advantage of grants and student loans, rent subsidies, job placement and summer job programs, new youth mental health funding, and always improve their coding skills.
The Liberal government also promised to build 3.87 million new homes by 2031, “on a scale and scale not seen since World War II.”
To do so, Ottawa will open up public land for housing, convert federal offices into apartments, tax vacant lots and expand modular housing.
New home prices fell slightly in March, but not enough to offset high mortgage interest costs that are deterring many first-time buyers.
Inflation has eased to 2.9 per cent in the last month, but the interest rate set by the Bank of Canada is still too high.
However, Canada expects a “soft spot” this year and will avoid recession thanks to slightly improved growth even as interest rates weigh on the economy.
