Election Day is Monday, April 28, and as people who haven’t voted in the Parry Sound—Muskoka Riding prepare to vote, we asked the candidates our last round of questions:
1. Where do you stand on immigration policy? Should immigration levels be decreased, increased or frozen, and why?
2. Pierre Poilievre has vowed to end the [ban] use of single-use plastics. What is your view on reversing the ban and why?
3. Why do you think that your Party and your Leader, would be the most effective in dealing with Donald Trump?
Below are their answers:
Conservative Party of Canada: Scott Aitchison (incumbent)
1. Canada used to have an immigration system that was the envy of the world. Then the Liberals brought in millions of temporary workers and foreign students with no plan. As a result, housing costs got out of control, health care facilities and workers are overrun, and social services are pushed to the brink.
We need to restore the once well-managed immigration system in Canada. Conservatives will keep the rate of population growth below the rate of housing growth, job growth, and health care accessibility to ensure sustainable immigration levels that are fair for Canadians and newcomers alike.
Conservatives will also launch a Blue Seal Program to help Canadians and newcomers get to work as doctors and nurses faster by removing the red tape that blocks these qualified individuals from moving to Parry Sound-Muskoka. We need more doctors and nurses in our communities, and our Blue Seal Program will attract these heroes to Parry Sound-Muskoka.
2. There is an error in the question. Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives have promised to scrap the Liberal plastics ban, including the ban on straws, grocery bags, food containers, cutlery, and other single-use plastics, letting consumers and businesses choose what works for them.
The Liberal plan of targeting plastic straws has not helped Canada hit a single environmental target, and is just another example of Liberal policy that makes life more inconvenient and less free.
3. President Trump is a bully and I want a fighter like Pierre Poilievre to stand up to him and defend Canada.
I will also always fight for you and your family. The fact is, Trump’s insane policies have only made the pressures we are facing even worse. Housing was out of control before Trump. Groceries were more expensive before Trump. Home heating was more expensive before Trump.
President Trump’s attack on our economy and sovereignty is a wake-up call. We need to elect a strong leader who will fight for you and your family against these attacks, while also solving the serious problems we face here at home that existed long before President Trump began his second term.
Liberal Party of Canada: Geordie Sabbagh
1. Canada’s future depends on getting immigration right. I support Mark Carney’s approach – growing our country with a smart, well-planned system that attracts the best and brightest, while returning immigration to sustainable levels that align with our capacity in housing, healthcare and infrastructure.
Immigration is part of our economic plan to address labour shortages, support rural communities and fuel long-term growth, and new Canadians, like my wife, bring energy and skills we need. However, we must also ensure services are in place so that communities aren’t overwhelmed, the integrity of our system and our border are strengthened, and everyone has the chance to succeed. It’s about planning, fairness and building a stronger future – together.
2. I don’t think we should be importing Donald Trump’s ideas. I’m proud to support the Liberal government’s ban on harmful single-use plastics. Here in Parry Sound–Muskoka, we treasure our lakes, forests, and clean environment. Reversing the ban would be a step backward, economically and environmentally.
The Liberal plan invests in clean tech, supports Canadian businesses in making sustainable alternatives, and leads the world in fighting plastic pollution. It’s about protecting what we love, future-proofing our economy, and leaving our kids a cleaner planet.
3. Canada needs steady, experienced leadership that will stand up for our economy, our values, and our sovereignty. The new Liberal team has proven that they can navigate tough global relationships while protecting Canadians jobs and trade.
Mark Carney brings unmatched economic credibility – he’s respected globally and has built relationships at the highest levels. Unlike Pierre Poilievre, who hasn’t held a serious economic file, Carney understands global power dynamics and will defend Canadian interests with strength and credibility. We can stand up against Trump and those like him by standing together – by catalyzing investment and growth in Canada, and by supporting Canadians affected by the tariffs directly. As Mark Carney said, ‘If the United States no longer wants to lead, Canada will.
I hold a Masters in Int. Business and Management, international work experience and own a small business that trades and works all over the world, and I know this experience is vital to navigating this crisis on behalf of Parry Sound-Muskoka.
With challenges on the horizon, we can’t afford to be on the sidelines. We need to be at the table with Mark Carney to make sure our voice is heard, and we get priority programs and development into our riding.
People’s Party of Canada: Isabel Pereira
1. I am an immigrant and believe in a sustainable immigration policy. Canada’s current immigration policy is not sustainable. It has had negative impacts on our housing market and has strained our healthcare system.
A People’s Party government will:
- Implement a moratorium on immigration until the housing crisis and healthcare issues are addressed.
- Substantially lower the total number of immigrants and refugees Canada accepts every year, from 500,000 planned for 2025, to between 100,000 and 150,000, depending on economic and other circumstances.
- Take Canada out of the UN’s Global Compact for Migration.
Mass immigration increases pressure on our infrastructures, health care system, and social programs. It also inflates housing prices. The primary aim of Canada’s immigration policy should be to economically benefit Canadians and Canada as a whole.
2. I think reversing the ban to end the use of single-use plastics is irresponsible. Plastic (petroleum-based plastic) products are not biodegradable; they do not decompose into natural substances. Plastic pollutes water, soil and our bodies, threatening human, environmental, and climate health including the marine ecosystem as plastic breaks down into micro and nanoplastics contaminating the environment, ecosystems and human health.
Recycling alone cannot solve the plastic pollution made by corporations whether it is plastic water bottles, plastic shopping bags, plastic straws, or plastic packaging. We need less plastic not more!
I support the use of reusable shopping bags (made of cotton for example), reusable drinking straws, food wraps made of natural products such as beeswax and using glass and stainless steel containers to store food in order to reduce the use of plastic.
The People’s Party of Canada will prioritize implementing practical solutions to make Canada’s air, water and soil cleaner, including bringing clean drinking water to remote First Nations communities.
Innovative technologies that offer some hope include mushroom packaging and recycling plastic back into oil.
Source: https://eartheclipse.com/environment/pollution/solutions-plastic-pollution.html
Mushroom Packaging – introducing the world to biodegradable packaging. Mushroom packaging can be molded to any shape. It is made of thread-like roots called mycelium.
Recycling Plastic into Oil – plastic is converted back to the crude oil and can be used as an alternative fuel.
3. Maxime Bernier is committed to having open dialogue with President Trump in order to secure a mutually beneficial free-trade agreement. He is the only federal leader that has committed to not impose counter tariffs.
Tariffs are taxes imposed by a government on goods and services imported from other countries. This means that goods and services will cost more and will have an increase on the already very high cost of living for the people of the country that imposed the tariff. The tariffs imposed by the U.S. on Canadian goods makes those goods more expensive for Americans. If Canada retaliates by imposing tariffs on U.S. goods this “tax” costs Canadian consumers increasing the cost of that good, making life more expensive for Canadians. While we may not have control on tariffs imposed on us by other countries we have control on imposing retaliatory tariffs that will result in higher costs for Canadians.
In addition to having open discussions with the U.S. to improve our trade relations, Canada should strengthen ties with our existing trading partners: European Union countries, China, Mexico, Japan, Brazil, South Korea, Australia, and India. By diversifying our trade relations with as many other countries as possible we are less dependent on US markets.
Mr. Bernier will also work with the provincial governments to remove inter-provincial trade barriers that may in some cases be equivalent to a 7% tariff on “imports” of goods and services from other provinces. Removing these barriers will increase competition, raise productivity, and unite our country, while reducing our dependence on the American market.
New Democratic Party: Heather Hay
We did not receive a response from NDP candidate Heather Hay.
For more election information, click Here.
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