Cuts, Cuts, and More Cuts: Andrew Scheer is an Economic Risk to the Middle Class

May 16, 2019

TORONTO, ON – Following last week’s news that Canadians have created more than one million new jobs since 2015, Liberal M.P. Marco Mendicino highlighted the risk that Andrew Scheer’s reckless cuts would pose to the economy and our middle class.

“Andrew Scheer wants to make reckless cuts that would cripple our economy and put middle class jobs at risk. To fulfill his promises, Andrew Scheer would make drastic and reckless cuts to programs and services that millions of middle class Canadians rely on – while at the same time promising tax cuts for the wealthiest Canadians,” says Liberal M.P. Marco Mendicino. “We know that this is what Conservative politicians do. Making cuts to programs and services that middle class Canadian families rely on is all too familiar to the people of Ontario who have watched Doug Ford make cuts to schools, libraries, public health agencies, and francophone services. This would cost jobs and hurt the economy.”

Today, Canada’s economy is strong and growing, with record-low unemployment and poverty levels and more than a million new jobs created since late 2015. That record of economic success, and Canada’s solid reputation as a good place to invest and do business, would be at risk under Andrew Scheer’s short-sighted economic “vision,” including a tax break for wealthy Canadians who send their children to private schools (anticipated cost: $1.7 billion) and putting U.S. missiles on Canadian soil (anticipated cost: $10.8 billion over five years on military spending.)

And let’s not forget that Andrew Scheer’s signature foreign policy idea is supporting Britain’s exit from Europe, which has seen an economic catastrophe.

Andrew Scheer won’t let the Parliamentary Budget Officer do an independent costing of his platform. But we know that his spending promises come with a hefty price tag, which means that Andrew Scheer would have to make $55 billion in cuts to fulfill his promises. To keep his promise, Andrew Scheer would have to make reckless cuts to programs and services that help middle class Canadians like:

  • Investments to assist low income seniors
  • Lowering interest rates on student loans
  • The Canada Workers Benefit
  • The Housing Affordability Plan
  • The plan to move forward on Pharmacare
  • Access to high-speed internet for all Canadians

“Andrew Scheer has no credible plan to grow the economy and help the middle class,” said Marco Mendicino. “He can’t balance the budget without making cuts, and austerity through cuts doesn’t help Canadians. Ontarians know what it’s like to be told that there will be no cuts only to find out after the election that that promise wasn’t true. Canadians deserve better.”