The story was updated to include new promises by the NDP announced on Oct. 1, and the Liberals announced on Oct. 5.
All four major political parties have announced proposals to help tackle post-secondary education costs or provide students with jobs as part of their election platforms last week, according to multiple announcements from party leaders and representatives throughout the campaign.
Green Party
The Green Party candidates are promising to eliminate university and college tuition by 2020, beginning with lower- and middle-class students. It would also forgive any existing or future debt more than $10,000, abolish interest on student loans, and boost bursary funding. They noted projected annual surpluses are expected to increase to $13.1 billion by 2019.
Tom Milroy, the Green Party candidate in Ottawa-Centre, said the new initiative gives young people and their parents incentive to vote.
“It’s very difficult to be a student in this day and age with the minimal amount of help that has been seen over the years,” Milroy said. He went on to say he believes this plan is affordable, despite critics scoffing at the plan’s financial viability.
Milroy said it is “infinitely doable,” and pointed to decreased military spending as a way to save money.
Conservative Party
The Conservatives pledged to double the federal grants to lower- and middle-class families to fund their registered education savings plans (RESP).
Currently, the government contributes 10 cents for each dollar put into an RESP by middle-income families and 20 cents for every dollar put in by low-income families. The Conservatives have said they aim to double that amount at an estimated cost of $45 million a year.
According to Chriss Waddell, a journalism professor at Carleton University, the Conservatives may be appealing to working-class parents rather than young voters.
“Parents are putting aside the money for the RESP, so this would resonate with them more,” he said.
New Democratic Party (NDP)
The NDP promised to get rid of interest on student loans over the next seven years, if elected. The party said the plan would begin immediately and save the average student $4,000.
The NDP also proposed to spend $250 million, over four years, to create around 74,000 new student grants.
The proposal was announced on Oct. 1.
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The NDP announced its plan to crack down on unpaid internships at an announcement Sept. 10.
The NDP put out a plan to provide up to $200 million over four years to the private sector and non-government organizations to generate up to 40,000 jobs, paid internships, and co-op placements for young people hoping to eventually find long-term jobs.
NDP leader Thomas Mulcair said his party will eliminate unpaid internships by creating paid internships that would make unpaid ones less attractive. Mulcair said he will enact greater law and health regulations for unpaid work.
“I want to build a Canada where every young person gets the opportunities they need for a good start to their career,” he said at the Sept. 10 announcement.
Liberal Party
The Liberals promised to increase the maximum Canada Student Grants that low-income full-time students can receive to $3,000, if election. The increase would be by 50 per cent, while part-time students can receive a maximum grant of $1,800.
The party also promised to require students to pay off their student debt to the federal government only after they have received a job paying more than $25,000 after graduation. It also planned to add an extra $50 million to support Indigenous post-secondary students.
The Liberals announced these promises along with the full 88-page party platform on Oct. 5.
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The Liberals partially unveiled its strategy for youth on Sept. 11, pledging to commit the most money among the three leading parties.
The Liberals pledged $1.5 billion dollars to programs aimed at job creation for Canadian youth. For three years, $300 million per year will go towards a youth employment strategy that will attempt to create 40,000 jobs annually, while hiring 40,000 youth under the federal government.
An additional $65 million per year will be spent on co-op and work placements. The Liberals have said they will not pledge to balance the budget next year, if elected.
Election day is Oct. 19
Mobilizing the youth vote is key for some political parties, according to Waddell. He said these announcements show that the parties are looking to attract young people.
“It’s shown that young people don’t vote as much as others,” Waddell said. “So [all the parties] are looking for strategies to attract younger voters to some degree or another.”
