Tory’s to Consider Allowing Voluntary Increases in CPP

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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PM Harper’s government has made an abrupt U-turn on their stance about a voluntary increase in CPP contributions as Trudeau mentioned on Wednesday that the federal Liberals want a mandatory expansion of the Canada Pension Plan. Although the Conservatives long opposed expansion of the plan, they vowed on Tuesday to explore allowing people to funnel more earnings into the program to expand their nest eggs.

Pundits claim that the change in the party’s position is aimed to weaken the government’s rivals as parties battle for position on retirement income, i.e. already shaping up to be a central ballot-box issue in the October election. Back in 2011, the Liberals campaigned on introducing both mandatory and voluntary CPP increases. In an announcement on Wednesday, Trudeau stressed that a Liberal government in 2015 would introduce a compulsory CPP expansion similar to one proposed in Ontario. He stated that “in conversations with the provinces and on reflection, we’ve realized that we actually need a full, proper expansion of the CPP.’

Trudeau alleged that “we’re looking at an expansion and a mandatory expansion of the CPP of the type that (Premier) Kathleen Wynne put forward in Ontario. She had said a number of times that she was desperately hoping that the federal government would show leadership on this.” He was referring to Ontario’s recently passed legislation that creates its own mandatory plan for those who don’t have a workplace pension.