The NDP leader came out to connect with young Toronto voters ahead of the Oct. 21 federal election
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh came to Ryerson University’s campus Tuesday on an unannounced walk-through to meet with young voters.
He was accompanied by Toronto Centre NDP candidate Brian Chang and spent time chatting with students, taking selfies and answering questions. Singh’s platform has promised to make students’ lives easier by removing all interest from federal student loans and, eventually, capping and reducing tuition fees.
“What I want to do is make sure students have a bright future,” Singh said. The NDP is also promising universal drug and dental coverage, as well as access to affordable housing.
When asked where the money might come from to achieve these changes, Singh said it comes down to “choices.”
“(Prime Minister Justin) Trudeau forgave $6 billion in corporate loans,” he said. “They’re choosing to let the rich get richer and making it harder for everyone else. I’m going to stop that.”
In 2018, the Trudeau government announced it would be writing off $6.3 billion in loans to companies, including Chrysler. The same year, Canadian students collectively owed over $28 billion in student loans to all levels of government, approximately $19 billion of which was owed to the federal government.
When asked how he would work with Ontario Premier Doug Ford on matters like tuition and health care, Singh said that there are “a lot of tools we have at the federal level; we can’t back down to someone who’s making life hard for people.”
Singh added that if Ford was set on backing out of programs like universal drug coverage or affordable tuition, the premier would have “a hard time explaining that to the people of Ontario.”