General Discussion

governments have tried hard to emulate Reagan policies here in Canada by privatizing and selling off Canadian assets. We came too close for comfort in voting in a Trump acolyte in the last election and made a quick 90 degree turn to save our country. Here are just some of the deals done by past conservative governments in Canada, which is not much different to the US republican party.

1️⃣ Air Canada (1988) – Privatized by Brian Mulroney
Used to be a public airline, meaning affordable flights for Canadians.
After privatization, fares skyrocketed, routes were cut, and service declined.
Now, Canada has some of the highest airline prices in the world.

2️⃣ Connaught Labs (1989) – Sold by Mulroney for Pennies
Canada’s public vaccine lab that produced affordable, lifesaving medicine.
Sold to a private company.
Fast-forward to COVID: we had to buy expensive vaccines from foreign companies instead of making them ourselves.

3️⃣ Petro-Canada (1991) – Sold by Mulroney
Used to be Canada’s national oil company.
Selling it killed competition and let oil giants gouge Canadians.
Now, gas prices are set by private oil corporations, and we pay through the nose.

4️⃣ Canadian National Railway (1995) – Privatized by Conservatives
Used to be publicly owned, keeping transport costs stable.
After privatization, shipping costs soared, which means higher grocery prices.

5️⃣ Harper Sold Off Canada’s Wheat Board (2012)
Used to be farmers’ best protection against price manipulation.
After Harper sold it to a Saudi company, farmers lost control over their own grain, and food costs went up.
Harper’s Conservatives Cut, Slashed, and Sold – Hurting Canadians

6️⃣ Slashed Affordable Housing (2012)
Harper cut federal funding for low-income housing, making the current crisis worse.
Now, Poilievre pretends he wants to fix housing while ignoring his party’s role in creating the problem.

7️⃣ Gutted Public Transit Funding
Harper cut billions from transit infrastructure, forcing cities to raise fares.

8️⃣ Closed Coast Guard Stations
Harper shut down marine search and rescue stations, putting lives at risk.

9️⃣ Destroyed Postal Banking
Canada Post used to offer banking services in rural areas.
Harper blocked the expansion, so now big banks can charge higher fees.

🔟 Killed the Kelowna Accord for Indigenous Communities
Harper scrapped a historic agreement to invest in Indigenous infrastructure, healthcare, and education.
Indigenous communities are still suffering the consequences today.
Harper’s Economic Mismanagement – More Debt, More Costs for You

1️⃣1️⃣ Doubled Canada’s National Debt
Conservatives love to scream about Liberal spending, but Harper doubled the national debt from $450B to $800B—before Trudeau even took office.

1️⃣2️⃣ Gave Billionaires Massive Tax Cuts
Harper slashed corporate taxes from 22% to 15%, costing Canada billions in lost revenue—money that could have gone to schools, hospitals, and infrastructure.
Did your wages go up? Nope. But CEO bonuses sure did.

1️⃣3️⃣ Let Foreign Companies Buy Canadian Resources
Harper sold off major Canadian companies to foreign investors, including:
Nexen (a major oil company) → Sold to China.
Canada’s steel industry → Sold to foreign companies, resulting in job losses.
Now, foreign corporations own more of Canada’s resources than we do.
Harper’s Conservative Government Made Life Harder for Workers

1️⃣4️⃣ Froze Minimum Wage for Federal Workers
Under Harper, federal workers' wages stayed frozen while the cost of living soared.

1️⃣5️⃣ Weakened Unions & Worker Protections
Harper made it harder for workers to unionize, leading to lower wages and less job security.

1️⃣6️⃣ Raised Retirement Age to 67
Harper tried to make seniors wait until 67 to collect Old Age Security.
The Liberals reversed this after he lost.

The Conservative Legacy: Sell Everything, Cut Services, Help the Rich
Pierre Poilievre pretends to be for the working class, but let’s be real—every time Conservatives take office, they sell off our assets, weaken public services, and make us pay more for basic things.
And now Pierre wants to take power and do it all over again.
History shows it’s working-class Canadians who always pay the price for Conservative governments.