Gould promises to open ‘path’ to a basic personal income

OTTAWA — Liberal MP Karina Gould said she would work toward establishing a basic personal income if she wins the party’s leadership race next month.

Gould spoke about the policy at Fredericton’s food bank Thursday morning.

The Liberal grassroots have backed at least four resolutions for basic income programs at policy conventions including by a vote of 77 per cent at a virtual convention held in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, it has never appeared in a campaign platform.

In a policy document provided by a campaign official to The Canadian Press, Gould said within one year of being elected she would begin the process of establishing a basic income.

She would also establish a system within one year to modernize social safety programs like employment insurance to make them easier to access and faster to deliver.

Basic income programs provide a set amount of money to individuals but can either be universal, where every citizen receives the money no matter their other sources of income, or scaled based on existing income to cover gaps for those at the lower end of the spectrum.

The idea of a basic personal income in Canada gained traction after the pandemic when the government provided an emergency income benefit to millions of Canadians who lost their jobs because of COVID-19 restrictions.

NDP MP Leah Gazan introduced a private member’s bill in 2021 to create a national framework for a universal basic income.

An NDP spokeswoman said Gould voted against that bill when it came to a vote on second reading last September. There were 28 Liberal backbenchers who voted in favour of the bill.

A similar bill introduced in the Senate by Sen. Kim Pate was in the midst of being studied by a committee when Parliament was prorogued last month.

In 2021, the parliamentary budget officer published an analysis suggesting it would cost $85 billion to provide $17,000 to low-income Canadian families and would cut poverty rates in half.

There are about three and a half weeks left before the Liberals elect their new leader on March 9.

Gould, the MP for Burlington who stepped down as Liberal House leader to join the race last month, is one of five candidates in the running.

She is joined by former central banker Mark Carney, former finance minister Chrystia Freeland, and former MPs Frank Baylis and Ruby Dhalla.

A Leger poll published this week showed Carney with a wide lead with the support of 68 per cent of Liberal supporters, followed by Freeland with 14 per cent and Gould at three per cent.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 13, 2025.

The Canadian Press