About Erin

49 years old

Hometown: Montreal, Quebec

Erin O’Toole was born in Montreal, Québec, and grew up the eldest of five children in Bowmanville, Ontario where his father worked for General Motors. At age 18, Erin enrolled in the Royal Military College of Canada, becoming an officer for the Royal Canadian Air Force at 22. In 2000, he completed his active military service and began a law degree at Dalhousie University. Erin practiced law for nearly a decade before deciding to run as the Conservative candidate in a federal by-election for the riding of Durham. In 2020 he became leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. Erin is a founding member of the Board of Directors for the True Patriot Love Foundation, a charity to support veterans.

If elected, a Conservative government would turn the Child Care Expense deduction into a refundable tax credit, and make it cover up to 75% of childcare for lower income families. It would also be updated to pay out over the course of the year.^[6][10]

A Conservative government would provide loans of up to $200,000 to small and medium-sized businesses in the retail, tourism, and hospitality industries. Up to 25% of those loans would not have to be paid back.^[6][10]

If elected, a Conservative government would support employers hiring staff by paying up to 50% of the salary for new staff who have been unemployed and relying on the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS). This support would be available to businesses for a period of six months.^[6][10]

If elected, a Conservative government would double the amount available for the Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit for the next three years to help cover costs for employers hiring apprentices.^[6][10]

A Conservative government would invest $250 million over two years in grants for organizations helping workers get job training, and would provide low interest loans up to $10,000 to people who want to upgrade or improve their skills.^[6][10]

If elected, a Conservative government would remove the federal price on carbon for individuals and replace it with a new Personal Low Carbon Savings Account. This would mean that every time someone purchases fuel, they would pay an additional cost into a personal savings account. That cost would begin at $20/tonne, and would increase to $50/tonne at a later date. The money in the savings account could only be used to help pay for things to reduce their carbon footprint, like public transit passes, electric vehicles, or green home renovations.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Under a Conservative government, businesses would still pay a price on carbon. This price would be set to match carbon prices in the European Union and United States. If, after two years, enough progress towards a greener economy has not been made, a Conservative government would raise this industrial price to $170/tonne by 2030. A Conservative government would also look at adding taxes to goods brought into Canada from countries that don’t have similar carbon prices or plans to reduce their emissions.^[1][5]

A Conservative government would ban the export of plastic waste to foreign countries.^[7][8][9]

If elected, a Conservative government would invest an additional $3 billion towards developing natural climate solutions like forest management; crop and grazing lands; and the restoration of grasslands, wetlands, and forests between now and 2030.^[1][5]

If elected, a Conservative government would prioritize signing contracts for COVID booster shots with pharmaceutical companies, and support the provinces in delivering them.^[6][10]

A Conservative government would screen all people arriving at border entry points and airports for COVID symptoms, regardless of their vaccination status, and would make at-home rapid tests available.^[6][10]

If elected, a Conservative government would release at least 15% of the federal government’s real estate properties (which includes over 37,000 buildings) for use as housing.^[6][10]

A Conservative government would create an incentive for landowners to donate property to Land Trusts for affordable housing and create a “for Indigenous, by Indigenous” strategy for building housing.^[6][10]

If elected, a Conservative government would allow those waiting for their immigration applications to be reviewed to pay a fee for faster processing. Revenue collected from those fees would go to hiring more staff to process applications.^[6][10]

A Conservative government would end the lottery system for family reunification, replacing it with a first-come-first-served system, which would prioritize applicants with criteria such as being needed to provide childcare or family support, and ability to speak English or French.^[6][10]

If elected, a Conservative government would develop a plan to implement calls 71 through 76 of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action. A Conservative government would also build a monument in Ottawa to honour residential school survivors, and develop a set of resources for Canadians of all ages to learn about residential schools.^[10][6]

A Conservative government would encourage Indigenous communities to become partners on natural resource projects, such as pipelines and mines, by providing $5 billion in guaranteed loans to Indigenous groups, for them to invest in energy projects.^[6][10]

If elected, a Conservative government would update legislation to avoid importing products made with slave labour.^[6][10]

A Conservative government would also update the Sergei Magnitsky Law, allowing Parliament and groups of private citizens to ask the Minister to add officials to a list of those who face penalties. The Minister would be required to respond in writing to petitions that achieve a set amount of support.^[6][10]

If elected, a Conservative government would implement the ban on conversion therapy.^[6][10]

A Conservative government would not support legislation to control or make rules about abortion.^{[6][11][10][12]}

No specific policy has been suggested in the party's current platform.

If elected, a Conservative government would make it a punishable criminal offence for protestors to block key infrastructure facilities or public transportation systems, like railways.^[6][10]

A Conservative government would require 30% of all light-duty vehicles (passenger cars, vans and light trucks) sold to be zero-emission by 2030, and would invest $1 billion into electric vehicle manufacturing in Canada. A Conservative government would also work with the provinces to make electric vehicle charging spaces more available country-wide.^[6][10]

If elected, a Conservative government would hire 200 RCMP officers based in the Greater Toronto Area and the Lower Mainland (in B.C.) to combat gangs and the smuggling of guns and drugs. A Conservative government would also expand the Firearms Tracing and Enforcement database nationally.^[6][10]

A Conservative government would provide $100 million for police training related to sexual exploitation, cyber-security, online offences, and investigating of sexual offences.^[6][10]