441-02210 (Social affairs and equality)

The Government of Canada is taking crucial steps to help make life more affordable for more Canadians, while investing to grow the economy and create jobs. 

It is important to acknowledge that income security is a shared responsibility across different levels of government. As such, the federal Government recognizes the importance of working with provinces and territories to find solutions to common challenges.

This petition calls for the Government of Canada to negotiate with the Government of Prince Edward Island to develop and implement a Basic Income Guarantee demonstration program for Prince Edward Island. If the province of Prince Edward Island decides to proceed with a basic income pilot, the Government of Canada would be pleased to collaborate and could potentially share federal-level administrative, survey, and tax data that could support program design and evaluation.

The Government of Canada already has ongoing programs with features of a partial basic income, such as the Canada Child Benefit for families with children, as well as the Old Age Security (OAS) pension and the Guaranteed Income Supplement for seniors. In addition, existing programs such as the Canada Workers Benefit (CWB) and Employment Insurance (EI) provide support to low-income individuals with labour market attachment or with insurable employment. These and other initiatives have contributed to lifting Canadians out of poverty. These programs exist alongside provincial and territorial programs, including those that deliver social assistance.

In addition, recent budgets introduced several measures that will help to reduce poverty and inequality. For example, Budget 2023 made significant investments to build a healthier Canada and deliver affordable dental care. This includes $13 billion over five years, and $4.4 billion ongoing, to implement the Canada Dental Care Plan. The Plan’s rollout started in 2023 and provides dental coverage for uninsured Canadians with an annual family income of less than $90,000.  

The Government is also working with provincial, territorial and Indigenous partners to build a Canada-wide, community-based early learning child care system. The federal government is providing provinces and territories with significant funding to support substantial reductions to families for the cost of regulated child care spaces.

The Government of Canada also undertakes research and analysis on potential basic income programs and other approaches that could positively impact Canada’s economy and society, as part of its efforts to tackle poverty and to ensure that all Canadians have a real and fair opportunity to succeed.