Singh promises more doctors, Carney supports the trades, Poilievre vows to cut red tape
CBC
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has unveiled his party's plan to improve Canadians' access to primary health care with a strategy designed to retain and hire more doctors, nurses and other health-care workers.
"We're proud of our values as Canadians, and one of those values that we hold so dearly is the idea we believe in taking care of each other," Singh said in St. John's on Saturday morning.
"And what represents that value is our universal health-care system."
The NDP plan would train more doctors from underserved areas, including rural and remote communities, by investing in regional medical schools. The party is also promising to streamline support for U.S. doctors looking to move to and practise in Canada.
Singh said the NDP will also create 1,000 more family medicine residency placements annually for international medical graduates. Provinces and territories that sign on to the NDP's plan would receive an additional one per cent in Canada Health Transfers.
The NDP also promised that all Canadians would get access to primary care and a family doctor within five years, by 2030.
"I believe that everyone in our country should be able to have a family doctor. I think that is a fundamental thing we need in our health care system," Singh said.
If all the provinces and territories signed on, it would cost the federal government $10 billion over four years, the party said.
Liberal Leader Mark Carney said his party would build up Canada's skilled trades workforce by providing a new apprenticeship grant of up to $8,000 and would work with Indigenous communities to raise awareness of the new grant.
The Liberals also promised to double funding of the Union Training and Innovation Program from $25 million to $50 million and expand a labour mobility tax deduction so workers who travel more than 120 kilometres from their home to a job site can deduct more expenses.
"For those in the skilled trades in Canada, we are not just going to create hundreds of thousands of jobs in the skilled trades. We are creating hundreds of thousands of careers," Carney said in Oakville, Ont.
"Crane operators, brick layers, welders and those in the specialized trades that are essential to the future of Canada — we have to invest in their futures too," he added.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is expected to hold a press conference in Osoyoos, B.C., at 10:30 a.m. PT.
Earlier on Saturday morning, the Conservatives announced Poilievre would cut 25 per cent of all red tape within his first two years as prime minister — a move the party says would "significantly ease the administrative burden" on taxpayers and businesses.
Run 3 Space | Play Space Running Game
Traffic Jam 3D | Online Racing Game
Duck Hunt | Play Old Classic Game
The final roadblock to Ontario's takeover of the Gardiner Expressway Parkway could be cleared this year as the province and city finalize a deal Toronto's mayor says will free up the city's finances to better maintain everything from its transit system to its parks.
Two federal party leaders took aim Saturday at Mark Carney, whom polls suggest is the front-runner in the April 28 election, for once again skipping the campaign trail.
On April 12, 1980, Terry Fox wrote in his diary, "Today is the day it all begins," after starting his Marathon of Hope in St. John's.
Winnipeg police officers opened fire on a stolen pickup truck they say was driven toward them as the driver tried to flee, before the truck crashed into a house and caused an explosion Friday night.
The streets of South Vancouver transformed into a lively, colourful celebration on Saturday as hundreds of thousands of people gathered for the city's annual Vaisakhi parade, which organizers say is one of the largest of its kind in Canada.
Alberta's auditor general is contradicting the provincial government's assertion that it is normal to have lawyers involved in its investigations.
Some Toronto cycling advocates say they're hopeful the province will walk back its plans to remove three key bike lanes after Ontario's transportation minister indicated there may be room to compromise with the city.
Some residents in Whitehorse's Takhini neighbourhood are not convinced the new École Whitehorse Elementary School won't seriously affect traffic in the area, despite proposed mitigations laid out in a recent traffic impact assessment.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is accusing the Liberals of mixed messaging over the war in Gaza as video emerged of one candidate calling the crisis a "genocide" just days after leader Mark Carney clarified his own remarks.
Until last month, Lindsay Luhnau had rejected requests to run as a federal Liberal in Alberta's energy capital.
Police say they've found the mother of a newborn boy left on a doorstep in London, Ont., earlier this week.
The Trump administration late Friday said it would exclude electronics like smartphones and laptops from reciprocal tariffs, a move that could help keep the prices down for popular consumer electronics that aren't usually made in the U.S.
After a year of budget cuts, restricted hiring, and a scathing auditor general's report finding millions of dollars in deferred maintenance, Memorial University is welcoming a funding boost from the provincial government.