- Party Website
- Election Platform
- Leader – PM Stephen Harper
- Minister of State for Social Development - Candice Bergen
- Minister of Employment and Social Development - Jason Kenney
- As the incumbent government, we are able to conduct an analysis using both announcements from the election trail and also existing government policies and funding (in particular those that are projected to continue for a few years after the election).
Responses to Communication:
The Conservative Party, through MP Candice Bergen (who had oversight on homelessness issues during the last term), replied to the petition signed by COH staff from the Canadian Association of Community Health Centres. With the exception of one tweet reply from MP Bergen, the Conservative Party has not responded to phone calls, emails, contact forms, Facebook posts and Twitter requests for more information.
Party Announcements:
Only one housing-related announcement has been made by the Conservative Party, and is related to home ownership. The Conservatives have pledged to introduce a “Home Renovation Tax Credit”, a permanent program modelled after the temporary program it introduced in 2009. This tax credit will fund “substantial home renovation expenses” between $1,000 and $5,000 annually. Depending upon the criteria for the program it might be useful for the development of basements and in-home rental suites, but that has yet to be determined.
This is similar to the “Home Accessibility Tax Credit” introduced in the 2015 Economic Action Plan which provides a 15% non-refundable income tax credit on home renovations aimed at helping a senior or person with disabilities to stay in their home. Both of these initiatives apply to homeowners only, so may help prevent homelessness but will not address the needs of people who are currently homeless.
This will be updated as more information becomes available.