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Highlights
- Justin Trudeau has publicly favored a vaccine mandate over the personal choice of Canadians.
- Erin O'Toole wants vaccines to remain a matter of personal choice.
- The COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a severe blow to the macroeconomic landscape of Canada.
The COVID-19 pandemic is at the heart of the upcoming snap election. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau seeks to win more seats to bring his government out of the minority in the House of Commons.
Has vaccination become a poll issue? The two heavyweight parties of Canada – Liberal and Conservative – are not on the same page on vaccine mandates. Will this impact how Canadians will vote? Let’s find out where the two parties stand.
Image source: Pixabay
Liberals on vaccine mandate
Justin Trudeau has said that his party is in favor of mandating vaccines for bureaucrats and workers in the Canadian transportation sector. People availing air and rail transportation services will also be covered.
Trudeau was in favor of enforcing vaccination even before he called a snap election. In his campaign pitch a few days ago, he even warned of consequences for people who choose not to get vaccinated. It can be recalled that Trudeau had earlier termed mandates as a challenging task.
Also read: Canada snap election 2021: How a Liberal win could impact stock markets
Conservatives favor personal choice
Erin O'Toole of the Conservative party has opposed mandates. The party favors testing over mandates. It has said that air and rail travelers would need to provide a negative Covid report. O’Toole has also talked about the “personal health decisions” of Canadians as the best approach.
Another key opposition leader, Jagmeet Singh of the New Democratic Party (NDP), has leaned behind the Liberals on vaccine enforcement. Singh is also in support of disciplinary action against defaulters.
It is notable that both the NDP and Liberal Party have mandated their respective candidates to get jabs.
Also read: Canada snap election 2021: How a Tory win could impact stock markets
Vaccination in Canada
Over 80 per cent of eligible Canadians have received at least one dose of the Covid vaccine. However, a disparity lies among provinces. For example, Alberta and Saskatchewan are behind other provinces with respect to the number of people vaccinated.
Vaccination mandates may become a significant poll issue. Most Canadians are aware that the economic downturn is a direct outcome of the pandemic. A late resurgence in Australia, the US and other countries is also becoming a cause of concern. Employment in Canada has yet to reach pre-pandemic levels. Price rise and subdued wage growth are also hurting the country.
The debate is between personal health choice and the greater good of the society. How Canadians react to the contrasting stances of Liberals and Conservatives on the vaccine mandate should be evident once the snap poll results are out.
Bottomline
The Liberal Party has long been in favor of vaccine mandates. The conservatives on the other hand want it to remain a matter of personal choice.
Justin Trudeau seeks a majority for the Liberals after the snap poll. Erin O'Toole seeks to replace him as the Prime Minister.
Aware of how vaccine enforcement can shape the outcome of a snap election, NDP’s Jagmeet Singh has thrown his weight behind the mandate.
