Where the parties stand on key questions 

Compiled by Brian Burchell

Every election, at the municipal, provincial, and federal level, the Gleaner asks a common set of questions of each major candidate seeking your vote, and we publish their replies. The Conservative party did not reply to repeated attempts by the Gleaner to reach out; in fact, they refused to even confirm the identity of their candidate. This is one of three federal by-elections taking place in Canada. The results will determine whether the governing Liberal party attains majority party status. The by-election is scheduled for April 13. The Gleaner does not endorse candidates, but we do encourage readers to be informed and to vote.

Question 1: The province of Ontario is forcing its will on Toronto in a myriad of ways: trying to take out bike lanes; eliminating speed cameras in school zones; banning the requirement for green roofing on new commercial buildings; and expropriating Billy Bishop Airport to allow jets to land. As the MP for University-Rosedale, how will you advocate for Toronto’s basic agency? 

Green Party candidate Andrew Massey (Massey): No federal MP can stop Doug Ford from bullying municipalities, but they can absolutely stand up for Toronto. As the Green MP for University-Rosedale, I will always prioritize Toronto’s basic agency.

I will force parliamentary scrutiny on any federal co-operation with Ontario’s municipal interference. Using the parliamentary platform, I will publicly organize MPs, MPPs, councillors, and residents around the basic principle of Toronto’s self-determination. 

On Billy Bishop specifically, I would demand that the federal government refuse any change to the airport’s governance without Toronto’s consent. The current Tripartite Agreement legally prevents Ontario from imposing jets on Billy Bishop without federal co-operation. Ottawa is not a bystander here, but a gatekeeper and an accomplice 

As MP, I will pressure the Minister of Transport to refuse any amendments without Toronto’s consent, and I will directly oppose using federal approval, leases, or agencies to bypass the city. 

In the end, this is not just about the bike lanes, green roofs, or Billy Bishop. This is more fundamental. It’s about how legacy parties exploit our broken electoral system and use false power to impose their will on non-consenting citizens. In my view, it’s unacceptable. Toronto can, and will, make its own choices going forward.

Liberal Party candidate Danielle Martin (Martin): University-Rosedale reflects the very best of Canada—people from around the world, from every walk of life, building a community defined by diversity, compassion, and opportunity. But the challenges people are feeling across the country are also felt acutely by people in our city, from the rising cost of living and the threats to our economy, to increasing demands on our public services and lack of affordable housing.

Together, alongside Mark Carney, and the other strong Liberal MPs across Toronto, I will leverage my experience as a family physician and university leader, to support real action through measures that make life more affordable and lean into our values in a time of great uncertainty.

I will also work to ensure people are able to engage on policies that matter to them at every level of government. Having lived and worked in downtown Toronto my whole life, I understand the need for our city to have agency and for our residents to be able to influence decisions that affect us. 

We must protect and grow opportunities for residents to have a say at every level and work collaboratively across all levels of government to support residents and advance good public policy. 

NDP candidate Serna Purdy (Purdy): We must protect our democracy. Right now, our governments are ramming through major decisions that change the face of the city of Toronto and the daily lives of the people who live here without involving us. They call it “cutting red tape.” Our voices are not red tape, and our rights aren’t a bureaucratic inconvenience. 

The V-Dem Institute’s Democracy Report 2026 indicates that Canada’s democracy has been slowly sliding backwards over the past decade. As a community leader, health policy scholar, and resident of University-Rosedale, I’ve seen how our voices are being muted, and I know the consequences for our communities when that happens.

As MP, I will protect our democracy by collaborating across governments and advocating for cities to have direct access to funding to build for themselves. I will work with provincial, municipal, and community leaders, organizations, and residents to defend evidence-based policies and democratic processes that protect local autonomy.

Toronto is a global city whose residents deserve to shape their own future and to have a meaningful role in shaping infrastructure, housing, and climate programs. As MP, I will stand against government overreach that undermines local decision-making, public safety, and climate action.

Question 2: While the economic threats from the United States are existential, the long-term impacts of climate change beg larger questions. What measures will you personally advocate for to tackle climate change and combat its catastrophic impacts? 

Purdy: Climate change isn’t tomorrow’s problem; today it affects our health, infrastructure, and economy. As MP, I will advocate for bold, science-based action that matches the scale of the crisis.

I will push for accelerated federal investments in clean energy, intercity and regional transit, and a nationwide building retrofit strategy to cut emissions and create good jobs. I will support stronger national standards to phase out fossil fuels responsibly, end oil and gas subsidies, and ensure a just transition for workers and communities.

I will oppose a shift from a healthcare economy to a military economy. Expanding dependence on arms exports deepens economic reliance on the U.S. Beyond the human toll, war devastates ecosystems and pollutes land and water for generations. I will support foreign and defence policies that prioritize sovereignty, diplomacy, conflict prevention, and international co-operation.

As extreme weather events such as heat waves, dangerously low temperature, wildfires, floods, and storms intensify, I will champion investment in disaster mitigation and climate adaptation.

Finally, I will advocate for enforceable, transparent emissions targets aligned with evidence, innovation, and our international commitments.

Massey: Climate is an “everything” issue. It impacts affordability, public health, infrastructure, even democracy itself. And let’s be clear on what “existential” means. Tariffs and economic posturing can be negotiated and mitigated. But there’s only one Earth, and its immune system is presently trying to kill us. You cannot “trade deal” your way out of that.

Addressing heat waves, flooding, wildfire smoke, and infrastructure failure will only get harder and more expensive with time. These are not choices. They are consequences that we must face collectively, one way or another.

We must adopt a “war footing” mindset and be “elbows up” about our very survival. As an MP, I will advocate for ending all fossil fuel subsidies and stopping all new pipeline and LNG expansion. I will also fight for better flood and smoke protections, heat-resilient housing, and adaptive infrastructure like green roofs and increasing the urban tree canopy. I will advocate for enforcing “polluter pays” laws that are already in place.

I will also advocate for electoral reform, which is absolutely a climate issue. For too long, our strategic voting has rewarded the broken climate promises of legacy parties with false majorities. Let’s get proportional representation and hold politicians accountable.

Martin: Climate action is a moral responsibility, economic necessity, and healthcare imperative. The World Health Organization has recognized climate change as the number one threat to health in our time, and as a family physician, I understand we must take action to fight climate change, drive down emissions, and invest in building the sustainable economy of the future.

As your MP, I would be an advocate for the public policies necessary to ensure our city can withstand the effects of climate change. That includes mitigating the health threats of forest fires, extreme heat, floods, and more. 

Our new Liberal government is strengthening Canada’s industrial pricing system to reduce emissions while spurring investment in clean technologies. At the same time, we are modernizing our energy grid to sustainably support key economic sectors, ensuring they have what they need to sustainably grow our economy.

Locally, partnerships with both municipal representatives and leaders in the housing, healthcare, and other key sectors will be needed to ensure our city is resilient in the face of current and future climate threats.

Question 3: The lack of affordable housing is a national problem that it is acutely felt in University-Rosedale. The province is threatening to eliminate inclusionary zoning requirements for new builds. What federal measures would your party take to address this crisis? 

Martin: Canada is facing a generational housing crisis which requires generational investment. Rents are unaffordable, home ownership is out of reach, and for decades Canada has not been building enough new housing to meet the needs of our population. I also know housing is not just an affordability issue—it is a health issue. When families are worried about paying rent, or worse—sleeping on the streets—their mental and physical health suffers.

I’m proud to be part of a team that has put forward the most ambitious housing plan in a generation. This includes establishing Build Canada Homes which will leverage public and private sector investment to build affordable housing at scale. 

This will help tackle homelessness by expanding transitional and supportive housing in partnership with provinces, territories, municipalities, and Indigenous communities. It will also build deeply affordable community and co-op housing for low-income households, while working with private and non-profit builders to increase the supply of affordable homes.

This focus of Mark Carney’s platform is a key reason why I’m proud to join this team, and alongside other Liberal MPs, I hope to be an advocate for ensuring appropriate investments are made to address the housing crisis in Toronto.

Purdy: We can end the housing crisis in our lifetime.

As a community leader and chair of Friends of Kensington Market, I have advocated for years to regulate short-term rentals, to support tenants facing eviction, and to advance inclusionary zoning to protect affordability and community stability.

As MP, I will continue that fight. New builds too often lack sufficient purpose-built, family-sized and accessible homes, while unchecked financialization by private equity has made housing volatile and out of reach. We need solutions equal to the problem.

I will advocate for building truly affordable homes at scale through federal investment in non-profit, co-op, and community land trust housing. In line with the report Out of Reach, issued by the senate committee on banking, commerce and the economy, I will support co-ordinated action across all levels of government, increased productivity through modular and factory-built housing, and targeted supports for small and medium-scale builds. I will fight for stronger measures to curb financialization and to hold the government accountable to the promises it is already falling far short on.

Homes are for people, not profit.

We have lost too many neighbours. People should be able to afford to live and stay in the communities they call home.

Massey: Legacy parties created this crisis by treating housing as a commodity instead of a basic human right. If we want affordable communities, we need a federal government that stops subsidizing speculation, starts building non-market housing, and respects Toronto’s right to shape its own neighbourhoods.

First, the Green Party would declare housing affordability a national emergency and massively expand non-market options like co-ops, public housing, and deeply affordable rental housing. We will restore the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC) mandate to directly finance and develop these housing options, as it did from the 1940s to the 1990s, with long-term, low-interest loans to non-profits, collectives, and public housing agencies.

Second, we will crack down on runaway speculation and financialization. Homes are not financial assets first, and the Green Party will enact stronger incentives against flipping, vacancy, and corporate rental monopolies. We will also ban foreign ownership of residential property and end corporate ownership of single-family homes. 

Third, the Green Party will attach federal funding to real affordability conditions. If Ontario eliminates inclusionary zoning, federal Greens will work directly with cities and tie housing and infrastructure dollars to actual affordable units, not just total unit counts.

Question 4: Though inflation has been curtailed, prices remain high, making the cost of living overwhelming for many. How will your party deal with the high cost of goods and services? 

Purdy: The goal is simple: shop local, grow local, and support Canadians. By building a more self-reliant and co-ordinated national economy, we can stabilize prices, protect jobs, and reduce the cost pressures families are facing today.

During the previous federal election, I spoke about the need for non-tariff responses to the American trade war and revisited wartime responses that helped Canadians make it through some of the toughest times that we’ve faced. 

As MP, I will commit to strengthening our sovereignty, not deepening our dependence on the U.S. I will advocate for breaking down interprovincial trade barriers so Canadian goods, services, and workers can move more freely across the country. I will support measures to expand national production capacity, shorten supply chains, and strengthen local manufacturing and food systems so we are less exposed to global shocks.

I stand firmly with workers and small business owners who are bearing the brunt of high costs and uncertain markets. That means investing in Canadian industry, procurement strategies that prioritize domestic suppliers, and policies that keep value in our communities.

Massey: This is not just about inflation and the high cost of living. Those are symptoms of a deeper problem. This is about economic justice for all Canadians. 

The Green Party will lower the cost of essentials, confront corporate power, and restore tax fairness. Our fully costed platform goes beyond tackling high prices and directly addresses the root causes of our cost-of-living crisis.

First, the tens of billions in continued subsidies to already profitable fossil fuel companies are unjustifiable and unjust to Canadians. The Green Party will use those funds to directly subsidize Canadians with a basic income (a.k.a., a guaranteed liveable income.)

Second, we will lower the cost of essentials through non-market housing, affordable public transit expansion, free tuition, universal pharmacare, and increased energy efficiency. We will also take on concentrated corporate power by regulating grocery and telecom prices.

Third, we will restore tax fairness by eliminating all federal income tax on earnings under $40,000 so working people can keep more of what they’ve earned. At the same time, we will close corporate tax loopholes and make sure profitable corporations pay their fair share.

In a place like Canada, poverty is a policy choice. Let’s choose a better way.

Martin: I have been hearing affordability concerns loud and clear as I have knocked on doors across University-Rosedale during this campaign. This government is, and must be, focused on what we can control by building a stronger economy at home to make life more affordable.

Through new partnerships, and by leaning into our economic strengths, Mark Carney and our Liberal team are working to create good career opportunities with higher wages. But we also understand that some of these payoffs will take time to be felt—and Canadians need support right now.

Important Liberal measures like the PSW tax credit, Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit, the Canada Child Benefit, and the Canada Dental Plan are helping keep costs down for tens of thousands of people in University-Rosedale and putting millions of dollars back into their pockets.

Question 5: The dual pandemics of mental health crises and opioid addiction, compounded in many cases by homelessness, are evident everyday on Bloor Street. Clearly an all-hands response is required. How will you advocate for a response from the federal government? 

Martin: All Canadians deserve to be treated with dignity and have access to lifesaving care. The crisis of unsafe drugs on our streets, compounded by a lack of affordable housing and an uncoordinated set of mental health services, is leaving vulnerable people of all ages in an untenable situation in our city. 

The response requires participation from all levels of government; the problem is multifaceted and won’t be solved with one single policy change or investment. 

 In addition to the very significant investments underway on affordable housing, I was encouraged by recent Liberal measures like the Youth Mental Health Fund, the Canada Suicide Crisis Helpline (9-8-8), and support for projects like Dunn House which provides stable housing and wraparound supports for those with the most complex needs. 

 There is of course a lot more to do to ensure we have adequate support for people living with mental illness and substance use disorders. This includes a health workforce strategy, prevention among young people, and solutions to deal with the toxic drug supply. I will be a strong advocate for the many-layered interventions required to address this crisis.

Massey: This is a convergence of crises in public health, housing, and human dignity. It is an acute manifestation of the economic injustice faced by far too many Canadians. The Green Party’s platform is designed to address the root causes of these and deliver economic justice, but I acknowledge that this crisis is unfolding daily before our very eyes. Immediate action is needed.

As MP, I would call on the government to release emergency federal funding for frontline mental health and addiction services in University-Rosedale. We need to hire widely and have people on the ground to provide help and compassionate support when and where it is needed the most. This must be tackled before it spirals into a policing issue. 

Furthermore, I would use the Office of the MP to convene frontline providers, local hospitals, city agencies, residents, and community advocates to identify urgent gaps in care and push Ottawa to address them in real time. We cannot wait for more lengthy and expensive studies to delay action and find new people to blame. The crisis will not wait, and people’s lives are at risk every day. With political will, we can do this right away. No more waiting.

Purdy: The overlapping crises of mental health, opioid addiction, and homelessness clearly fall into the federal responsibility for public health. We need sustained, co-ordinated federal leadership, not short-sighted austerity and denial of responsibility. Harm reduction not only saves lives, but it also protects our limited emergency services, guards against increased disease, and reduces the burden on frontline workers and community organizations.

During the pandemic, as chair of two community non-profits, I worked with federal, provincial, and municipal agencies and organizations to coordinate low- and no-barrier vaccine clinics that reached thousands of residents in University–Rosedale, including many who would otherwise have been missed. I also helped organize rallies with MPP Jessica Bell in support of the Kensington Market Overdose Prevention Site.

As MP, I will continue to advocate for stable federal funding for harm reduction services, housing-first approaches, and community-based mental health care. I will also push to fully integrate mental health into the Canada Health Act, aligning Canada with countries like Australia, the U.K., and Sweden, where mental health is treated as essential care within universal health systems.

We need to reconnect federal policymaking with community realities. Our neighbours’ lives depend on it.

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