Poilievre vows not to impose a home equity tax as Liberals, NDP talk health care

OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is claiming the Liberals will impose a tax on Canadians’ home equity if they’re re-elected as the federal election campaign enters its final week.

The last day of advance voting in the general election saw federal leaders scattered across the country, pitching plans on homebuilding and health care.

Poilievre was in Toronto Monday afternoon speaking to an audience with CARP, the Canadian Association of Retired Persons. He was asked whether he would put any taxes on equity saved in Canadians’ homes.

“We will never allow a tax on home equity. Period. Full stop. Not going to happen,” he said.

Currently, Canadians are exempt from paying capital gains tax on the sales of their primary residences, allowing those who own their homes to keep all the proceeds. For many older Canadians planning to downsize, that sale can represent a significant portion of their retirement plan.

Poilievre went on to claim — without offering evidence — that the incumbent Liberals would not let the status quo stand.

Pointing to the spending projections in Liberal Leader Mark Carney’s platform, released Saturday, Poilievre claimed the Liberals would need to tap into Canadians’ home equity to fund those plans.

“What happens when the finance officials tap them on the shoulder and says, ‘You’re out of money, you need to go find more?’ Well, they’re going to go out and they’re going to tax your home equity. They’re going to go after your house,” he said, adding that hypothetical tax would be “crippling” for seniors.

“Bottom line is, Liberals will tax your home equity if you give them the chance in this election. We will never let that happen. Your home belongs to you, and when you sell, you should keep every single penny for yourself and your kids.”

A proposal to tax capital gains from home sales is not part of the Liberal platform. The Liberal campaign said in a media statement Monday that the party has no plans to turn home equity into tax revenue.

“This is entirely false. This is another desperate attack from the Conservatives. They do this every election,” said Liberal spokesperson Mohammad Hussain.

Former Conservative leaders Erin O’Toole and Andrew Scheer also claimed in the previous two federal elections that Canadians’ home equity would be vulnerable under a Liberal government.

Earlier in the day, Poilievre told a campaign event in Scarborough, Ont., that his party would release its costed platform on Tuesday, a day after advance voting closes.

“Tomorrow, we will have a platform for all eyes to see which will bring change to Canada,” he said.

The Liberals and NDP both unveiled their costed platforms on Saturday.

Poilievre was in the Greater Toronto Area on Monday promising to build 2.3 million homes over the next five years.

The Conservative platform would tie municipalities’ federal infrastructure funding to their pace of home construction approvals — cities that approve 15 per cent more housing each year would get full funding, while cities that approve fewer homes would collect less.

The party is also proposing to free up federal land for more homebuilding, cut the GST on new homes worth up to $1.3 million and encourage cities to cut development charges.

Carney was in Charlottetown Monday talking about his health-care plan and efforts to address Canada’s shortage of primary care providers.

“To the Canadian health-care professionals practising in the U.S., let me say this. If you’ve been thinking about coming back to Canada, there’s never been a better time,” Carney said.

“It’s time to come home.”

Carney said a Liberal government would commit $4 billion to provinces to build more hospitals and clinics. The Liberals also say they would work to train more family doctors and nurse practitioners in Canada and recognize foreign health-care credentials so physicians from outside of the country can practise here.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh started his day in Nanaimo, B.C., where he promised to cover “essential medicines” by the end of the year in an expansion of pharmacare.

He took shots at Poilievre for voting against pharmacare and dental care legislation in the House of Commons, and at Carney for not committing to expanding pharmacare beyond the early stage covering diabetes medications and birth control.

Poilievre has said during the campaign that no one currently with access to dental and pharmacare coverage through government programs would lose those benefits under a Conservative government. Carney has committed to protecting the existing programs but has not said if he would expand coverage.

Singh also accused his rivals of not stating they would defend the public health-care system against pushes towards privatization at the provincial level.

“We want to fight back and defend a public and universal health care for all,” he said.

Officials with the federal government’s election interference task force, SITE, said Monday they had detected a transnational repression operation targeting Joe Tay, a Conservative candidate opposed to Chinese government policies.

The operation features a mock “wanted” poster and disparaging headlines and comments about Tay, the federal Conservative candidate for Don Valley North.

Officials said the operation is taking place on social media platforms where Chinese-speaking users in Canada are active, including Facebook, WeChat, TikTok, RedNote and Douyin, a sister-app of TikTok for the Chinese market.

Previously in the campaign, SITE warned of an online information operation linked to the Chinese government focusing on Carney.

Each of the leaders took time Monday to mark the passing of Pope Francis.

Carney spoke of the pope’s call to “reintegrate human values into our economic lives.”

“He reminded us that markets don’t have values, people do,” Carney said.

“I join all Catholics in reflecting on his passing and commit myself to fulfilling his challenge.”

In Nanaimo, Singh recalled being present for the Pope’s 2022 apology in Alberta, which he called a “step forward” for healing.

Poilievre began his announcement Monday noting that Francis had inspired “millions of Catholics and non-Catholics” with his leadership and faith.

“Our prayers are with all Catholics as they lay to rest the head of the Catholic Church and we are in solidarity in remembering him and honouring his contributions,” he said.

Monday is the fourth and final day for advance polls, which are open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Until 6 p.m. local time on Tuesday, Canadians can also either cast their ballot at an Elections Canada office in their riding or apply to vote by mail. Election day is April 28.

— With files from Kyle Duggan and Jim Bronskill in Ottawa, Anja Karadeglija in Charlottetown and Nick Murray in Scarborough, Ont.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 21, 2025.

Craig Lord, The Canadian Press