With the 2025 federal election just around the corner on Monday, April 28, you might be wondering who to vote for.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is hoping to win over voters with a series of big campaign promises.
The federal Conservative Party has laid out several clear priorities during the election campaign so far. From cutting taxes to cracking down on crime, Poilievre says his plan will make life more affordable and put Canada on stronger footing.
If you’re still weighing your options, here’s a look at six of the main promises the Conservative Party is making in the 2025 election — including where they stand on energy, housing, border security and more. For the Liberals, Bloc Québécois, NDP, PPC and Greens, check out MTL Blog’s election hub here.
Cutting taxes for all Canadians
The Conservative Party says it will lower taxes across the board if elected in 2025.
Poilievre is promising to reduce the federal income tax rate on the lowest bracket from 15% to 12.75%. According to the party, that would save the average worker earning $57,000 (or more) about $900 per year, meaning savings of up to $1,800 for two-income households.
The Conservatives have also pledged to repeal the federal carbon tax in full. That includes the industrial backstop that currently applies to sectors like steel, aluminum, cement, natural gas and food production. Provinces could choose whether to keep or eliminate their own carbon pricing systems.
Poilievre’s plan also includes targeted changes for seniors — raising the tax-free earnings threshold to $34,000 and allowing RRSPs to grow tax-free until age 73, up from 71. The age for accessing federal retirement benefits like OAS, GIS, and CPP would stay at 65.
Other proposed tax changes include increasing the annual TFSA limit by $5,000 for investments in Canadian companies, removing capital gains tax on reinvestments in Canada and cancelling automatic federal tax increases on alcohol.
Unleashing Canada’s natural resources
The Conservative Party says it will speed up the approval process for major natural resource projects and expand infrastructure to help sell more Canadian energy and minerals to international markets and reduce Canada’s reliance on the U.S.
Leader Pierre Poilievre has promised to approve all federal permits for the Ring of Fire in Northern Ontario within six months. That region contains significant deposits of critical minerals like chromite, nickel and cobalt. A Conservative government would also commit $1 billion to build a road connecting the area to Ontario’s highway system and allow companies investing there to share part of their federal taxes with local First Nations.
The party plans to establish a “National Energy Corridor” — a designated route for pipelines, railways and transmission lines — to move resources more easily across Canada without passing through the United States. They also want to repeal laws like Bill C-69 and C-48, which they say make it harder to build projects like pipelines and LNG terminals.
Other proposals include a “One-and-Done” approval system, limiting the review process to a single application and one-year maximum, plus “Shovel Ready Zones” with pre-approved permits in designated areas.
The Conservatives say they will fast-track at least 10 stalled resource projects, including Phase II of LNG Canada, and provide Indigenous communities with access to federal loan guarantees for resource development projects.
Cracking down on crime
The Conservative Party is proposing several new laws and sentencing rules aimed at reducing violent crime, repeat offences and organized criminal activity in Canada.
If elected, Poilievre says he would introduce a “Three-Strikes-and-You’re-Out” law. Under this rule, people convicted of three serious offences would no longer be eligible for bail, probation, parole or house arrest. They would instead face a minimum 10-year prison sentence and be designated as “Dangerous Offenders,” which would require them to prove they’re no longer a threat before release.
The party also plans to introduce new mandatory minimums. These include life sentences for people convicted of five or more counts of human trafficking, importing or exporting 10 or more illegal firearms, or trafficking large amounts of fentanyl. Other penalties include 15 years for certain drug trafficking cases and up to three years for repeat motor vehicle theft.
Conservatives say they will repeal Bill C-5 and Bill C-75, which they argue have made it easier for repeat offenders to get bail or serve time at home. They also want to use the notwithstanding clause to give judges the ability to impose consecutive parole ineligibility periods for multiple-murderers — a power removed by a 2022 Supreme Court decision.
New measures would also target intimate partner violence. Conservatives plan to create a new criminal offence specifically for assaulting a partner, apply stricter bail conditions like GPS monitoring, and require first-degree murder charges in cases where a partner or child is killed.
Finally, the party says it will crack down on financial scams, especially those targeting seniors. Banks and telecom companies would be required to flag suspicious activity in real time and delay certain high-risk transactions to prevent fraud. Penalties for fraud would be increased, including mandatory jail time and new fines for companies that fail to act.
Restoring the promise of homeownership
The Conservative Party says it will make homeownership more affordable by lowering taxes, cutting red tape and boosting the supply of new housing across Canada.
Poilievre promises to remove the GST from new homes costing up to $1.3 million, which he says would save homebuyers up to $65,000 per home and about $3,000 annually in mortgage payments. The party also estimates this change would help spur the construction of 36,000 additional homes each year.
Another part of the plan involves reimbursing municipalities that lower development charges. For every dollar a city reduces in fees, the federal government would match 50% — up to $50,000 in total savings — to encourage local governments to cut costs for builders. The Conservatives say the combined impact of these two measures could reduce the cost of a new home in large urban centres by around $100,000.
Poilievre also wants cities to approve more housing around public transit, and would withhold federal transit funding from municipalities that fail to meet annual construction targets. Cities that exceed those targets would be eligible for bonuses.
To further increase housing supply, the Conservatives say they would convert federal office buildings into housing by selling off 6,000 government properties. They also plan to streamline housing approvals at the federal level, including by setting a 60-day deadline for decisions from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
Other proposals include reintroducing a $4,000 apprenticeship grant and training 350,000 new tradespeople to help with construction, along with changes to capital gains taxes to encourage private investment in home building.
Protecting Canada’s borders & sovereignty
The Conservative Party says it will strengthen Canada’s national security by expanding Arctic defence and tightening control over the country’s borders.
In the North, Poilievre has proposed a multi-phase Canada First Arctic Defence Plan. It includes doubling the number of Canadian Rangers to 4,000, acquiring four polar icebreakers and building Canada’s first permanent Arctic military base since the Cold War in Iqaluit.
Additional measures include new and upgraded equipment, turning Inuvik into a full base, creating an Arctic naval base in Churchill, and constructing a 600-kilometre Arctic Security Corridor road from Yellowknife to Grays Bay. Conservatives say they would pay for the expansion by cutting foreign aid and speeding up procurement by reducing red tape.
For border security, the Poilievre says he will take immediate action to stop the flow of illegal drugs, firearms and organized crime across the Canada-U.S. border. His six-point plan includes deploying Canadian Armed Forces troops and helicopters to support border enforcement, adding 2,000 new Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers and expanding CBSA jurisdiction beyond official crossings.
The Conservatives also propose installing surveillance towers and truck-mounted drone systems to monitor remote areas, deploying high-powered scanners at major land crossings and ports to inspect cargo, and tracking departures to identify people living in Canada illegally. The party says the plan will be funded by ending the federal gun buyback program and reducing federal consulting and back-office spending.
Responding to Trump’s tariffs
The Conservative Party has outlined a series of policies to respond to U.S. tariffs recently introduced by President Donald Trump, particularly those affecting Canada’s steel, aluminum and auto sectors.
Poilievre says his government would retaliate with dollar-for-dollar tariffs on American imports, with all proceeds going to directly support impacted Canadian businesses and workers. He promises none of the money collected through tariffs would be used for general government spending.
The Conservative leader also says he would temporarily remove the federal GST from all new Canadian-made vehicles while U.S. auto tariffs are in place. For a $50,000 vehicle, this would save consumers about $2,500. He’s also called on provinces to suspend their own sales taxes on Canadian-made cars to provide additional relief.
To help employers in sectors hit by tariffs, the party plans to create a temporary “Keep Canadians Working Fund.” This $3 billion program would offer short-term credit and low-interest loans through existing federal agencies like the Business Development Bank of Canada and Export Development Canada.
More broadly, the Conservatives say they want to reduce Canada’s economic dependence on the U.S. by expanding trade with other countries, speeding up resource project approvals and removing interprovincial trade barriers. The plan also includes the above-mentioned “Canada First” investment tax cuts, reducing paperwork for small businesses and bringing in tax reforms to encourage more domestic investment and manufacturing.
Looking for more election information? Here’s why federal party leaders want you to vote Liberal, Bloc Québécois, PPC, NDP and Green.
This article was originally published on Narcity.
