What Does A Liberal Government Mean For Canadian Families?

Last night, Justin Trudeau pledged real change for Canadians, as he took the mantle from Steven Harper, and became the nation’s new prime minister. But, in spite of leading the Liberal Party to a majority win on election night, he claimed: “I didn’t make history tonight. You did.”

Despite being a distant third in the polls a month before election, he will return to his childhood home, 24 Sussex Drive, where he will become the second Trudeau to take up residence as prime minister.

But acceptance speeches aside, and once all the dust has settled, the question remains: What does this new government mean for Canadian families? Here’s a little recap on some of the changes and policies we can expect to see from Canada’s first dynasty…

• Trudeau and co. have promised to scrap the Universal Child Care Benefit, to lower the federal income tax rates for the middle class, and to increase taxes on the wealthiest one percent.

• The Liberal Party plans to cancel income splitting for families. In its place they have pledged to commit to creating a new income-tested, tax-free monthly Canada Child Benefit that will increase payments to all families with children and annual family income below $150,000. These changes were sworn to occur within his first 100 days of being elected.

• The Liberals plan to run three years of deficits to pay for a multibillion-dollar infrastructure plan. Advertised as a policy that will help to create jobs and stimulate economic growth, the pressure will be on for Trudeau to ensure long-term expansion

• There were also promises to look at changing the Conservative’s contentious anti-terrorism legislation. The exact amendments to the C-51 are not yet clear, so watch this space.

• The party pledged to rebuild relationships with the indigenous population of Canada, by launching an inquiry into over 1,000 missing and murdered Aboriginal women.

• Lastly, Trudeau vowed Canadians that this would be the last plurality-based election, aiming to adopt proportional representation in the future. The question is, will he be swayed given how neatly the voting system worked out for him this time around.

Here’s how our new Prime Minister spent his first day… We love it!