Add National Care Strategy
Petitioners ask the Minister to add a National Care Strategy to Schedule 1 of the Building Canada Act, designate the care economy as nation‑building infrastructure, and require federal coordination and long‑term funding for care services.
Why we would sign this petition
- Recognizes care as nation‑building infrastructure, which could boost labour‑force participation, public health and economic resilience as the petition asserts.
- Federal coordination and long‑term funding could standardize services, improve access and support integrated planning across childcare, home care and long‑term care.
- Investments may create jobs, strengthen the care workforce and help address gender inequities by supporting paid and unpaid caregivers.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- Designating a major national project and committing long‑term federal funds may be costly and require trade‑offs with other budget priorities.
- Health and care delivery are largely provincial responsibilities; federal designation and central coordination could raise jurisdictional and implementation challenges.
- A broad national strategy might be less effective than targeted reforms or investments focused on proven gaps and measurable outcomes.
The summary and both sets of reasons are AI-generated from the petition and given equal weight. Claims are the petitioners’ own; consult the official record for the full text.
Official petition
Petition to the Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade, Intergovernmental Affairs and One Canadian Economy Canada’s care systems are an essential economic infrastructure that enable labour-force participation, productivity, public health, and economic resilience; Women disproportionately perform both paid and unpaid care work, and inadequate care infrastructure contributes to gender inequity, reduced workforce participation, lost earnings, and economic insecurity; Canada’s care economy satisfies the nation-building criteria set out in the Building Canada Act by strengthening labour force participation, supporting healthy aging, improving public health outcomes, reducing poverty and financial insecurity, and increasing economic resilience; and Investments in care infrastructure generate significant economic and social returns, including job creation, increased workforce participation, improved child and senior outcomes, higher productivity, greater gender equity, and reduced long-term healthcare costs. We, the undersigned, citizens of Canada, call upon the Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade, Intergovernmental Affairs and One Canadian Economy to: 1. Recognize the care economy as essential nation-building infrastructure under the Building Canada Act; 2. Recommend to the Governor in Council add a Canadian National Care Economy Strategy to Schedule 1 of the Building Canada Act as a designated major project; 3. Direct the Major Projects Office to coordinate the development and implementation of a comprehensive national care economy strategy in collaboration with provinces, territories, Indigenous governments, care workers, caregivers, and relevant stakeholders; and 4. Allocate and commit long-term federal investment and coordination toward strengthening Canada’s childcare, home care, long-term care, disability supports, mental health services, caregiving income supports, and care workforce infrastructure.
Government response
No government response is available yet.