Newfoundland and Labrador Election 2025

Read. Pray. Vote! Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Election 2025

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The October 14 election will offer Newfoundland and Labrador voters an opportunity to ensure that the province is guided by leaders who will provide practical and efficient leadership with the good of all in mind – including the unborn, the elderly, the young, families, and those who are too often forgotten by society – as well as workers, farmers, business owners, veterans, public servants, and all future generations.

Catholics are called to participate, in accordance with the full measure of talents entrusted to us by God, each of us in accordance with our own well-formed conscience. At a minimum, this means voting prayerfully and wisely after having considered all relevant issues, the positions of each of the candidates and parties, and relevant Church teachings. Many of us are called to even deeper involvement: volunteering at polling stations and other efforts to get out the vote; engaging personally with candidates and party officials; helping to spread good ideas and encourage others to vote properly; or in some cases volunteering to assist candidates or parties – or even putting ourselves forward as candidates.

The materials below are current as of June 30, 2025. We will endeavour to keep them current. Please watch as election day approaches, and check the parties’ official pages (links provided under Step 1, in “Additional election resources”).

A Catholic Voting Process

What our Church teaches

Since at least 1891 the Catholic Church has offered detailed guidance on a full range of social issues, from the dignity of life and of our life’s work to the environment and proper roles of government, the economy, and educational institutions.

Specifically, we are called to consider each of the following principles, values, and virtues in deciding our votes:

The life and dignity of the human person, which includes both the sanctity of life and the dignity of work. Catholics care about the sanctity of life because the entire purpose of this life is for each soul God puts into it to find its way back to God. Terminating a life voluntarily at any time after its conception necessarily frustrates that purpose. We care about work because it is through our life’s work that we apply the time, talent, and treasure that God has entrusted to us assist in His continuing act of creation, seeking truth and working to ensure that all those around us are enabled to apply their gifts as well.

The Church defines the common good as the sum total of social conditions which allow people, as both groups and individuals, to reach their own true human fulfilment more fully and more easily, including commitment to peace, the organization of the State’s powers, a sound juridical system, the protection of the environment, and the provision of essential services to all. Everyone deserves access to a dignified home, sufficient and nutritious food, and an opportunity to put the talents God entrusted to them to work.

Subsidiarity is the principle that all institutions of society – the government, businesses, schools, community organizations, and above all individuals and the family – help each other to serve their proper purpose. It includes the general rule that things should be done, and decided, by individuals, or at the lowest responsibly possible social level. Only by empowering individuals and smaller groups to make their own decisions can their freedom to seek God in their own ways be ensured. Each of us must be allowed to make our own way as best we can, under our own power, charting our own course toward truth in true freedom.

Solidarity, or the principle that what affects one of us affects us all, whether we are in the same town, province, or country, speak the same language, or have the same interests. As St. Paul explained, we are all different parts of the same One Body of Christ. If others suffer, we share in their distress.

A very common challenge is to balance the principle of solidarity – which should suggest to all of us that “we’re all in this together” – with subsidiarity, which implies among other things that individuals and organizations should strive to do what they can to take care of themselves first, before burdening others.

The fundamental values of truth, freedom, justice, and love should guide consideration of all proposals. We should always ask ourselves, how does any proposal relate to the truth, to freedom, to justice, and to love for all?

The virtues of wisdom and humility are also of fundamental importance, though sometimes in our modern culture they can seem to seldom be considered.

Want more information?

Our summary of the principles, values, virtues, and sins of Catholic social thinking, based on the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, the Catechism, and other Church teachings, is available here.

The official and encyclopedic Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church can be found here.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, which also offers guidance, can be found here.

Curious as to which level(s) of government are responsible for an issue? A listing of federal, provincial, and municipal responsibilities in Canada can be found here:
Download
Canada – Local, Provincial, Federal Responsibilities

Thoughts on the Catholic duty of civic participation can be found here:

Papal teachings, including encyclicals, exhortations, and other documents, are available at www.vatican.va.

Additional election resources

Download ↓
Voting Like a Catholic (NL 2025)

A handy single-sheet introduction to our platform comparisons and Catholic voting processes. As a double-sided .pdf, it is good for distribution by groups and parishes, as well as quick reference by those reviewing our detailed issue comparison documents below.

Download ↓
Voter comme une catholique (2025 NL fr)

Une introduction pratique sur une seule page à nos comparaisons de plateformes et aux processus de vote catholiques. En format PDF recto verso, il est idéal pour la distribution par groupes et paroisses, ainsi que pour une référence rapide par ceux qui examinent nos documents comparatifs détaillés ci-dessous.

3 Policy and Platform Comparisons

The comparisons below are based on official publications of the registered parties, and any communications provided by the parties directly to Catholic Conscience, as of June 30, 2025. We will update these materials as best we can as the elections approach. Please note, however, that many of our parties decline to publish comprehensive platform statements until a few days before the election. Please encourage your local candidates to urge their parties to release their platforms in timely fashion, for the benefit of voters.

Parties having questions or suggestions for the improvement of these comparisons are invited to contact us at info@CatholicConscience.org.

Downloadable format:

Church Teaching

Catholic Teaching

Catholics care about the sanctity of life because the entire purpose of each soul God endows with life is to find its way back to God by loving God and caring for all the souls God has placed around it. Voluntary termination of life any time between conception and natural death necessarily frustrates that purpose.

The source of human dignity is the likeness to God that is bestowed on each of us at the moment we are conceived. We respond appropriately to this gift by using all the time, talent, and treasure that God has entrusted to us to seek and grow closer to God, by sharing in His continuing act of creation and caring for those around us. Our first purpose is to seek God, especially in one another. If we do that, everything else will be given to us. Anything that interferes with that is contrary to the Word of God. Genesis chapter 1; Matthew chapters 6, 22 & 25

Abortion & Euthanasia

“You shall not kill.”
– the 5th Commandment

The right to life from conception to natural death is the foundation of all Catholic Social Teaching, and in particular, implies the illicitness of every form of procured abortion and of euthanasia. – 155, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

“This is not something subject to alleged reforms or ‘modernizations.’ It is not ‘progressive’ to try to resolve problems by eliminating a human life. Who can remain unmoved before such painful situations?”
– Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium 214

Human Engineering

Cloning and Cell Manipulation
An issue of particular social and cultural significance today, because of its many and serious moral implications, is human cloning… the simple replication of normal cells or of a portion of DNA presents no particular ethical problem. Very different, however, is cloning understood in the proper sense. Such cloning is contrary to the dignity of human procreation because it takes place in total absence of an act of personal love between spouses, being agamic and asexual reproduction. In the second place, this type of reproduction represents a form of total domination over the reproduced individual on the part of the one reproducing it…

Cloning for therapeutic use does not attenuate its moral gravity, because in order that such cells may be removed the embryo must first be created and then destroyed. 236, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

Gender Election
Everyone, man and woman, should acknowledge and accept his sexual identity. Physical, moral and spiritual difference and complementarities are oriented towards the goods of marriage and the flourishing of family life. -224 Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

Men and women with homosexual tendencies must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. – 358 Catechism of the Catholic Church

Population Growth; Birth Control; Family Planning

Judgment concerning the interval of time between births, and that regarding the number of children, belongs to the spouses alone. This is one of their inalienable rights, to be exercised before God… The intervention of public authorities must be made in a way that fully respects the freedom of the couple. All programmes of economic assistance aimed at financing campaigns of sterilization and contraception are to be morally condemned as affronts to the dignity of the person and the family.

The answer to questions connected with population growth must instead by sought in simultaneous respect both of sexual morals and of social ethics, promoting greater justice and authentic solidarity so that dignity is given to life in all circumstances.

All reproductive techniques — such as the donation of sperm or ova, surrogate motherhood, heterologous artificial fertilization — that make use of the uterus of another woman or of gametes of persons other than the married couple, injuring the right of the child to be born of one father and one mother who are father and mother are ethically unacceptable both from a biological and from a legal point of view. – 234-235, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador

New Democratic Party of Newfoundland and Labrador

Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador

Points to Ponder

Points to Ponder: The Sanctity of Human Life

Points to Ponder: Life & Human Dignity

The Catholic understanding of the meaning of life is the historic foundation of all Canadian social values. Even in a secular age that in many ways has rejected the Church, it remains impossible to understand Canada, its constitution, or its Charter of Rights and Freedoms, along with documents such as the UN Declaration of Human Rights, without reference to the Catholic-Christian values from which they were woven. How does that understanding inform your thinking about the following issues?

Abortion and Euthanasia

Many of our parties, along with many of our voters, have stopped talking about or even acknowledging the evils of abortion, Socially-Assisted Death (SAD), and other sins against the sanctity of the body and the dignity of life. How can this be? Is it because we as a society have been distracted by the comforts and worries of modern life, and lost touch with the purpose of life? Or are we simply hiding, like the timid steward of Matthew 25:18? Abortion, SAD and other sins are a significant issue in Canada: medical homicide (abortion and SAD) is the leading cause of death in Canada. (https://ccpodcast.ca/@CatholicConscience/episodes/election-2025-the-sanctity-of-life)

Aside from looking to our Catholic values (https://catholicconscience.org/catholiccivics/) in discerning our votes, what can we, as individuals, families, groups, and parishes do to keep this issue alive in the hearts and minds of Canadians?
Is it possible for us to keep this issue alive in ways that will serve to gather society, rather than to promote scattering and division?
Aside from appropriate legislation, what forms of response can or should we promote? How can we help all of those affected by the social sins (https://catholicconscience.org/social-sin/) of euthanasia and abortion, or tempted by them?

Government Policy Values

For years many of our political parties have been fond of asserting, in dozens of ways, that various groups of Canadians “deserve” or are “entitled to” a very wide variety of benefits in order to enable them (us) to live lives of dignity. They are much more reluctant to offer any indication of what they mean by a “dignified” life, or any way of measuring the effect of the benefits they propose on improving it. Indeed, the only indexes used by most governments to gauge wellness of any kind are gross domestic production levels (GDP) – the aggregate worth of the material objects our society produces. This is believed by many observers to have contributed to what they view a loss of the common conception of the proper meaning of the dignity or purpose of life, replacing that common conception and its accompanying sense of community, shared culture, and a sense of the common good with an obsessive consumerism and pursuit of comfort and material wealth. The result has been a postmodern individualism that leaves human beings feeling isolated and on their own.

In his encyclical Fratelli tutti, Pope Francis observed that:

Today, in many countries, hyperbole, extremism and polarization have become political tools. Employing a strategy of ridicule, suspicion and relentless criticism, in a variety of ways one denies the right of others to exist or to have an opinion. Their share of the truth and their values are rejected and, as a result, the life of society is impoverished and subjected to the hubris of the powerful. Political life no longer has to do with healthy debates about long-term plans to improve people’s lives and to advance the common good, but only with slick marketing techniques primarily aimed at discrediting others. In this craven exchange of charges and counter-charges, debate degenerates into a permanent state of disagreement and confrontation.

Recently some parties have begun to propose various “wellness” indicators as an alternative to reliance on GDP in gauging social wellbeing. Such indicators are based on factors said to represent the health, happiness, and well-being of society and its individual members. And in 2019 the current Canadian Federal government quietly introduced a new “Quality of Life” measure in its instructions to new cabinet ministers, and caused the creation of a “Quality of Life Hub”. The Hub introduces the index, a draft method for measuring it, and solicits public feedback. (See https://www160.statcan.gc.ca/index-eng.htm)

1) Bearing in mind that it is citizen voters who are ultimately responsible for the behaviour of democratic governments, how should Catholics respond to the government’s call for comment, with properly and prayerfully-formed consciences? Should they involve their provincial and municipal governments in the discussion? If so, how?

How do the following questions, and their answers, factor into the government’s proposed framework? How do they relate to life and politics in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador?

2) What limits should be placed on voluntary termination of human life, either prior to birth or at any time before death? What can or should be done at the federal level, and what should be left to the provinces, or to private, religious, or other non-profit organizations?

3) What options is our society able to offer to fearful, reluctant or unwilling mothers, as alternatives to abortion and to support unwanted children?

4) Is it appropriate to allow minors, or those suffering mental or emotional illness, to consider suicide as a health care option without consulting their parents or families? What options can be offered by provincial or federal governments to families of persons who are being encouraged to consider medically-assisted suicide?

6) Is it appropriate to require unwilling healthcare personnel to participate in SAD, abortion, or other actions that are contrary to Catholic belief, or to their individual well-formed consciences? Should such persons be legally protected from performing tasks that go against their conscience? If so, how and to what extent?

7) To what extent should voluntary, elective services that are morally questionable to large numbers of individuals, such as the voluntary termination of life or the voluntary “modification” of gender, be financed publicly through mandatory taxation? If such services are to be offered, should they be financed by the individuals who elect to access them, or by sympathetic charities, or by dissenting taxpayers?

8) All national political parties have called for continued commitment to the fight against the evil of human trafficking. What more, if anything, could be done to fight this evil, at the personal, local, civic, municipal, and provincial levels to protect vulnerable people? Are you able to recognize the signs of trafficking? If activity that you felt included human trafficking came to your attention, what could or should you do about it?

9) Are federal restrictions and controls on cloning and the use of human cells, fetuses, and body parts properly crafted? What, if anything, should be done differently? Should there be more discussion of this serious moral issue in our society?

Church Teaching

Catholic Teaching

God gave humans dominion over the earth, thereby making us stewards of creation as we work with Him in His continuing act of creation.

We must constantly consider how our actions glorify or harm this wonderous gift God has entrusted to us. This is a multi-faceted question, which must not be over-simplified.

With a vocation to glorify all life which includes respect for the inviolability and integrity of life, humans find themselves in the presence of all God’s other creatures. We can and are obliged to put them at our own service and to enjoy them, but our dominion over the world requires the exercise of responsibility. It is not a freedom of arbitrary and selfish exploitation. All of creation has value and is “good” in the sight of God. This is a marvelous challenge to human intellect. – 112, 113, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.

Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork
is essential to a life of virtue: it is not an optional or
secondary aspect of our Christian experience.
-23, 217, Laudato Si’

The Book of Genesis provides us with certain foundations of Christian anthropology, including the meaning of human activity in the world, which is linked to the discovery and respect of the laws of nature that God has inscribed in the created universe, so that humanity may live in it and care for it in accordance with God’s will. – 37, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.

Climate Change

There is urgency to this issue. Every Pope since at least Paul VI has written of our need to shift to a more responsible use of the earth and its abundant resources. The Church accepts that that need is now urgent.

A very solid scientific consensus indicates that we are presently witnessing a disturbing warming of the climatic system… Humanity is called to recognize the need for changes of lifestyle, production and consumption, in order to combat… at least the human causes which produce or aggravate it. It is true that there are other factors, yet a number of scientific studies indicate that most global warming in recent decades is due to the great concentration of greenhouse gases released mainly as a result of human activity. – Pope Francis, Laudato si’, –23

Energy & Resources

The good steward neither allows the resources entrusted to him to lie fallow or to fail to produce their proper fruit, nor does he waste or destroy them (Matthew 25:14-30). Rather, he uses them responsibly, for the Lord’s purposes, to realize their increase so that he may enjoy his livelihood and provide for the good of his family, his descendants, and his neighbors.

Humanity’s relationship with creation and the creatures of the earth “requires the exercise of responsibility, it is not a freedom of arbitrary and selfish exploitation.” – 115, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

One of the higher priority issues in economics is the utilization of resources, that is, of all those goods and services to which economic subjects — producers and consumers in the private and public spheres — attribute value because of their inherent usefulness in the areas of production and consumption… Resources in nature are quantitatively scarce, which means that each individual economic subject, as well as each individual society, must necessarily come up with a plan for their utilization in the most rational way possible, following the logic dictated by the “principle of economizing.” – 346, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

Because of the powerful means of transformation offered by technological civilization, it seems that the balance between man and the environment has reached a critical point… A reductionistic conception quickly spread, starting from the presupposition — which was seen to be erroneous — that an infinite quantity of energy and resources are available, that it is possible to renew them quickly, and that the negative effects of the exploitation of the natural order can be easily absorbed… – 461, 462, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

Conservation & Sustainable Development

Care for the environment represents a challenge for all of humanity. It is a matter of a common and universal duty, that of respecting a common good, destined for all, by preventing anyone from using “with impunity the different categories of beings, whether living or inanimate — animals, plants, the natural elements — simply as one wishes, according to one’s own economic needs.”

Responsibility for the environment, the common heritage of mankind, extends not only to present needs but also to those of the future… This is a responsibility that present generations have towards those of the future… A correct understanding of the environment… at the same time…must not absolutize nature and place it above the dignity of the human person himself. In this latter case, one can go so far as to divinize nature or the earth, as can readily be seen in certain ecological movements that seek to gain an internationally guaranteed institutional status for their beliefs. – 346, 461-463, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

Species Diversity & Wildlife

Man and woman find themselves also in the presence of all the other creatures. They can and are obliged to put them at their own service and to enjoy them, but their dominion over the world requires the exercise of responsibility, it is not a freedom of arbitrary and selfish exploitation. All of creation has value and is “good” in the sight of God, who is its author. Man must discover and respect its value. This is a marvellous challenge to his intellect, which should lift him up as on wings towards the contemplation of the truth of all God’s creatures, that is, the contemplation of what God sees as good in them. Man must recognize all of God’s creatures for what they are and establish with each of them a relationship of responsibility. – 113, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

“Each of the various creatures, willed in its own being, reflects in its own way a ray of God’s infinite wisdom and goodness. Man must respect the particular goodness of every creature, to avoid any disordered use of things which would be in contempt of the Creator and would bring disastrous consequences for human beings and their environment.” – 339, Catechism of the Catholic Church

It is a responsibility that must mature on the basis of the global dimension of the present ecological crisis… This perspective takes on a particular importance when one considers, in the context of the close relationships that bind the various parts of the ecosystem, the environmental value of biodiversity, which must be handled with a sense of responsibility and adequately protected… -466, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador

Climate Change

The party’s 2025 Budget speech states that its commitment to safeguarding the provincial environment and provincial residents remains resolute. Its goal is to be net zero by 2050. To achieve that goal, it advocates:
-helping homeowners become more energy efficient and transition from oil to electric heat; and Increasing access to electric vehicles and chargers.
-to assist businesses, organizations, Indigenous groups, and post-secondary institutions meet this goal, Budget 2025 includes:
*$14.3 million for the Green Transition Fund;
*a 20 per cent Green Technology Tax Credit; and,
*$12 million for the Climate Change Challenge Fund.
-issues of waste management and wastewater are critical issues for municipalities as they work to create safer environments in their communities. For 2025, it has allocated $2 million for a provincial waste management strategy and $100,000 for wastewater monitoring.

Energy & Resources

In its most recent platform statement (dated 2019), the party states that:
-it got $320 million from the federal government for an Oil & Gas recovery fund.
-it secured $844 million in Federal relief for Muskrat Falls hyrdo project costs.

Clean energy “Centre of Excellence”
In its most recent platform statement (dated 2019), the party states that:
-it undertakes to address climate change with a dual sense of responsibility and opportunity. In order to reduce the province’s environmental footprint, it committed to achieve net zero by 2050. “Net zero” refers to striking a balance within a jurisdiction between greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) produced and GHGs eliminated or taken out of the atmosphere.
-demand for renewable energy solutions is growing around the world, and companies are ramping up investment in green industries. Newfoundland and Labrador can be a global leader in the green transition.
-it advocates working with the private sector to identify key clean growth industries and building on existing competencies in these sectors; and engaging with investors from around the world to promote Newfoundland and Labrador as the global destination for green investment.

Species, Diversity & Wildlife, Resources, Conservation & Sustainable Development

Agriculture
The party’s most recent platform statement (dated 2019) states that:
-it will continue to support the growth of the agricultural sector and meet the goal of increasing provincial food security to 20 percent by 2022, continuing to identify opportunities to grow, buy, and export healthy food from Newfoundland and Labrador, including exploring investments to assist local food producers to increase productivity and scale up.
-to encourage healthy eating and improve food self-sufficiency, it advocates increased support for Community Gardens, which invests up to $100,000 annually to establish new and enhance existing community gardens and has implemented 124 projects with upwards of 5,900 gardeners and students participating.

Aquaculture
The party’s most recent platform statement (dated 2019) states that:
-aquaculture is a promising industry with large, growing demand from export markets around the world. Newfoundland and Labrador is well positioned to establish itself internationally and capitalize on the growing global aquaculture market.
-it advocates strategic investment in aquaculture to promote competitive advantage, including development of a multi-species strategy for resilience and job growth.
-it seeks to ensure that growth of the aquaculture industry is inclusive and creates economic and business opportunities for all gender and Indigenous entrepreneurs, and serves as a platform for entrepreneurial and technology sector growth.

Secondary processing
The party’s most recent platform statement (dated 2019) states that:
-it advocates investment to grow the value and volume of provincial exports by exploring secondary processing and manufacturing opportunities, including working with industry to research and identify opportunities, including new uses for materials currently considered to be waste or low-value byproducts.

Wild-caught fishery & aquaculture
The party’s most recent platform statement (dated 2019) states that:
-it is committed to supporting and growing the province’s wild caught fishing industry, guided by knowledge from DFO science, from fish harvesters and from other industry stakeholders. This industry is the backbone of many rural communities, and a pillar of the provincial economy as a whole.
-it advocates integrating the fishery as a key industry in the future provincial economy, in an inclusive and growth-minded way, creating synergies with the technology sector while creating new economic opportunities for Indigenous peoples, women and young people in the industry.
-it advocates managing transition to greater groundfish activity, and investigating threats and opportunities in the shellfish and seal industries, as well as working with the province’s Fisheries Advisory Council both to navigate the immediate future and chart the path forward for a modern, world class fishery.

The party’s 2025 Budget speech states that:
-fisheries remain a large part of the provincial culture, economy, and identity. Local seafood products are exported to 38 countries with exports totalling approximately $1 billion annually. It employes more than 16,000 workers in 400 communities.
-to help modernize and position the industry for long-term success, during its term in office the party has promoted enhanced seafood quality; enabled fish harvesters to bring their product to new markets; lifted caps on snow crab processing licenses; and launched a new Harvester Enterprise Loan Program.
-it has also recently introduced a $5.75 million Seafood Marketing Support Program to help identify and develop new markets for local seafood products.
-to maintain the Atlantic Fisheries Fund as a cornerstone of its strategy, driving innovation and transformation in the fish and seafood sector, the party proposes allocation of $4 million to support infrastructure, innovation, and science partnership initiatives.
-there is also $500,000 available in the Multi-Species Research and Development Fund which will support investment in the research and development of aquaculture species that are not currently commercialized in the province.

Clean energy “Centre of Excellence”
The party’s most recent platform statement (dated 2019) states that:
-it undertakes to address climate change with a dual sense of responsibility and opportunity. In order to reduce the province’s environmental footprint, it committed to achieve net zero by 2050. “Net zero” refers to striking a balance within a jurisdiction between greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) produced and GHGs eliminated or taken out of the atmosphere.
-demand for renewable energy solutions is growing around the world, and companies are ramping up investment in green industries. Newfoundland and Labrador can be a global leader in the green transition.
-it advocates working with the private sector to identify key clean growth industries and building on existing competencies in these sectors; and engaging with investors from around the world to promote Newfoundland and Labrador as the global destination for green investment.

Oil & gas
The party’s most recent platform statement (dated 2019) states that:
-it will continue to support the hard-working women and men in the oil and gas industry. During its prior term in office it secured a $320 million investment from Ottawa, and established the Oil and Gas Industry Recovery Task Force to help distribute the funding to maximize value and employment.
-$32 million of that fund was dedicated to support the provincial service and supply sector, another $16.6 million to keep the Come by Chance refinery in warm idle and ensure employment while the owner continues towards securing a buyer or investor.
-it also established an accelerated exploration initiative to provide companies with the incentive to drill more wells in the best prospects. This is a policy measure that will allow all future bid deposit forfeitures to be reinvested, resulting in an injection of hundreds of millions of dollars into the provincial offshore.
-undertakes to ensure Newfoundland and Labrador is a globally-preferred location for investment in oil and gas, by emphasizing exploration in an environmentally sustainable manner to drive discovery and production.

The party’s 2025 budget speech states that:
-it expects $1.59 billion in oil royalties for 2025-2026.
-the party considers the oil and gas industry to be a major contributor to the provincial economy, directly employing more than 3,000 Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. The future is positive with West White Rose expected to produce first oil next year. Over its 14-year life span, it is expected to generate nearly $20 billion in gross domestic product, and over $7 billion in labour income. Equinor continues to work to advance the Bay du Nord project. We will continue to work with the company to maximize benefits for our province.
-with over 650 leads and 20 basins mapped there is much opportunity in offshore as well, especially with its low carbon per barrel.
-to increase exploration and encourage discovery, beginning in 2026, it proposes allocation of $90 million over three years to advance an offshore exploration fund. This measure will provide incentive for drilling activity, employment opportunities, enhance global competitiveness at a critical time, and position the province to realize its significant resource potential.
-$20 million is allocated through the Innovation and Business Development Fund to grow the province’s energy supply and service capabilities and position the province as a preferred location for energy development.
-almost $1 million is also allocated for phase two of a natural gas resource assessment to build an inventory of proven and prospective gas resources in the Jeanne d’Arc Basin.

Mining
The party’s most recent platform statement (dated 2019) states that:
-Newfoundland and Labrador has rich deposits of the minerals the world requires, including materials required for electric cars and other areas of growing demand. This presents opportunities for well-paying jobs and economic activity in our rural regions.
-during its prior term in office it allocated $1.7 million to support the mineral exploration industry through the Prospector Assistance Program and Junior Exploration Assistance Program. It will continue to support exploration and innovation in order to realize the potential of our mining sector in a productive, sustainable manner, including identifying high-potential opportunities for extraction and secondary processing, and reviewing the provincial regulatory regime to ensure timely and responsible development.

Forestry
The party’s 2025 Budget speech states that:
-the provincial forestry sector has a market value of approximately $340 million, with total direct employment of close to 2,000 people. Managing our forest habitat supports provincial wildlife and game populations.
-the province has taken the lead to deliver effective wildfire management and emergency responses for the long-term protection of Atlantic Canada’s forests, communities, and residents, including by allocation of $4.2 million for 2025, to establish an Atlantic Wildfire Centre, building on the province’s air services, procuring firefighting equipment, and providing extensive training for department wildfire-fighting staff.
-$4 million is allocated for the Spruce Budworm Early Intervention Strategy, which is a proactive approach to preventing outbreaks of forest pests that threaten our forests. The Provincial Silviculture Program supports reforestation efforts by producing approximately five to seven million high-quality tree seedlings annually at the Centre for Agriculture and Forestry Development.

New Democratic Party of Newfoundland and Labrador

Climate Change

Green New Deal
The party’s latest published policy statement (dated 2021) states that it advocates a provincial Green New Deal aimed at social, economic, and environmental betterment throughout the province, including:
-consultation with community groups and stakeholders to explore the most effective approach to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, provide a just transition for workers in affected industries, strengthen environmental protections, update the provinces labour laws, and other actions with the goal of building a more just and equitable society while working to protect the environment.

The party further declares climate change to be a global emergency, and that fighting climate change is a top priority.
-it commits to reducing net carbon emissions to at least 50% of 2005 levels by 2030, and will support programs to achieve net-zero carbon emissions within the province by 2050.
-it advocates achieving net zero by reviewing financial legislation to ensure provincial financial levers and Crown corporations are aligned with the goal of net zero.
-it supports a just transition for workers as the economy transitions away from fossil fuels, ensuring they will thrive while leveraging skills and experience to achieve climate targets.
-it advocates working with municipalities on the Avon Peninsula having significant commuting populations to organize appropriate public transit options in the St John’s Metro Area to decrease reliance on individual vehicles.

Species, Diversity, & Wildlife

The party’s latest published policy statement (dated 2021) states that it supports:
-allowing surrogate hunters, with no distance limit, to hunt game on behalf of hunters with mobility issues and other disabilities, and undertakes to push government to fill vacant wildlife officer positions in Labrador to ensure that regulations are followed and provincial wildlife populations are preserved.
-recognition of a trapper’s base camp and its associated tilts as one enterprise and subsequently billed as a single Permit to Occupy, including establishment of a working group between the Lands and Wildlife Divisions to review outstanding trapper issues and to engage in meaningful collaboration with the Newfoundland and Labrador Trappers Association.

Energy & Resources

The party’s latest published policy statement (dated 2021) states that it advocates:
-increasing royalty payments for natural resource extractors by an additional 3% per annum, and increasing their corporate tax rates to 20% immediately.

Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador

The party has published no current statement concerning its policies relating to:

• Climate Change
• Species, Diversity, & Wildlife

Conservation & Sustainable Development

As one of its three policy pillars, the party’s most recent platform publication (dated 2019), identifies providing jobs and hope to restore confidence in the future and assist in keeping young people in the province, including by:
-implementing a cod and seal plan, based on science, to recover cod and seal populations grow rural NL.
-banning single-use plastic bags.
-promoting provincial forestry, to bring more employment and value-added spinoffs benefits to local communities.
-implementing an Agriculture Action Plan to promote collaboration with farmers to grow provincial potential.
-implementing a farm loan guarantee program, proving real help so the province can produce much more of its own food.
-to promote the mining industry, applying the lessons of oil and gas by driving geoscience and exploration.

Ocean economy
The party’s most recent platform publication (dated 2019) states that:
-the vast majority of the resource and economic activity that underpins the province’s economy – fisheries, marine aquaculture, offshore oil and gas, shipping, ports, maritime and coastal tourism – occurs in the waters and the seabed of the Continental Shelf.
-the province’s contiguous waters and seabed were under the province’s contraol when Newfoundland and Labrador joined the Confederation in 1949, and they are now in federal jurisdiction.
-the ocean economy provides livelihoods for a significant share of the provincial population and is worth billions of dollars, and it is expected to double by 2030.
-the Atlantic Accord, negotiated between the province and the federal government, made the province and the federal government co-managers of the province’s Offshore Oil and Gas industry, and the “principal beneficiary”of it. Bill C-69 resulted in more costly and time-consuming regulations that threaten the province’s resource economy, and diminishes the principles of joint management set out in the Atlantic Accord by transferring key management decisions to federal agencies and the federal cabinet, denying the province its full entitlement to benefits from offshore oil and gas resources. The party advocates fighting for the province’s rights.
-the Atlantic Accord, negotiated between the province and the federal government, made the province and the federal government co-managers of the province’s Offshore Oil and Gas industry, and the “principal beneficiary”of it. Bill C-69 resulted in more costly and time-consuming regulations that threaten the province’s resource economy, and diminishes the principles of joint management set out in the Atlantic Accord by transferring key management decisions to federal agencies and the federal cabinet, denying the province its full entitlement to benefits from offshore oil and gas resources. The party advocates fighting for the province’s rights.
-it advocates application of principles of joint management and economic benefits operating in the Atlantic Accord to the provincial fishery, including a Federal-Provincial Agreement to co-manage all fish, shellfish, fish habitat, and marine mammals including harvestable quotas for all marine species on and over the seabed that is a contiguous part of Newfoundland and Labrador.

New Ocean Industries
The party’s most recent platform publication (dated 2019) states that:
-in addition to the provinces traditional ocean industries, which continue to grow and innovate, a technology revolution is reshaping and diversifying ocean economies here and around the world. These include gas-to-wire technologies for generating electricity from offshore natural gas, offshore wind energy, tidal and wave energy, seabed mining, and marine biotechnology (the creation of product from marine organisms). The long-term potential for innovation, investment, jobs and economic growth offered by new industries and the expansion of existing industries in our Ocean economy is impressive.
-the province’s undersea electricity transmission link to North American markets enables the province to meet demand for cleaner energy in North America, and entice heavy consumers of electricity to locate their industries here, near to an industrial scale source of clean energy. It advocates seeking advice from industry leaders on developing this potential.

Mining
The party’s most recent platform publication (dated 2019) states that:
-mining is a multi-billion-dollar economic activity in Newfoundland and Labrador, which has a mineral-rich landmass bigger than many countries, that remains relatively unexplored.
-it is one of the most attractive jurisdictions in the world for investment in mineral exploration and mine development. Abundant sources of clean energy make Newfoundland an attractive location for processing minerals into value added products.
-it is concerned that regulatory overreach by the federal government in Bill C-69 will discourage investment in mineral exploration and mine development, and advocates addressing the issue with the federal government.
-it undertakes to make Newfoundland and Labrador a globally attractive jurisdiction for exploration and development as the world’s need for natural resources increases.

Forestry
The party’s most recent platform publication (dated 2019) states that:
-Newfoundland and Labrador’s forestry sector employs over 5,000 men and women directly and indirectly, and contributes more than $250 million a year to the provincial economy.
-it provincial forestry industry is a leader in sustainable forestry practices and in managing forests for future generations.
-it advocates protecting, promoting, and partnering with forestry workers and companies to expand economic opportunities in provincial forest industries.

Agriculture and Agrifoods
The party’s most recent platform publication (dated 2019) states that:
-the agriculture and agrifoods industry provides direct and indirect employment for 6,500 people and has sales valued at $500 million annually, led by the expansion of farms and value-added production in the dairy industry. Energy and feed costs are limiting factors on production and must be addressed.
-it advocates immediate launch of comprehensive consultations with farmers, and with processing and marketing companies to find the best way to ease the unique economic pressures on farming and food production in Newfoundland and Labrador, and identify the best ways for government to promote the expansion of fresh and processed food production.

Points to Ponder

Points to Ponder: Stewardship of Creation

Many voices, including scientists, the Vatican, and the United Nations, agree that in order to avoid catastrophic global heating, with resulting unpredictable increases in the number and severity of extreme weather events, loss of agricultural land, particularly in the poorest countries, and collapse of ecosystems, the global average temperature increase must be limited to 1.5 degrees Centigrade; and that to achieve such a limit, emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide (collectively, “greenhouse gasses”, or GHG) must be cut in half by 2030 and brought to zero net increase by 2050. Canada is currently committed to a 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, but according to the federal Auditor General may not meet that goal. Others wonder whether Canada’s commitment is big enough to be fair to other countries.

The charts below show different aspects of GHG emissions in Canada, using the most recent comprehensive data available. They provide rich ground for reflection on the application of Catholic Social Teaching. The first chart, labeled “Figure 9“, shows emissions per person in each province, by province. The second, labeled “Table 2”, shows the levels of emissions for various industries as of 2005 (the “benchmark” year by which most international GHG comparisons are measured), 2019, and 2022. The third, “Chart 20”, shows the federal government’s understanding of past emissions levels, and predictions for getting to its agreed level by 2030.

Emissions in Newfoundland and Labrador: Figure 9, the per-capita provincial comparisons, suggests that on a per-person basis Newfoundland and Labrador to a middle group (along with BC, Manitoba, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia) whose emissions are just below the current Canadian national average of 18.2 tonnes per person, between higher emitters Alberta and Saskatchewan and lowest emitters Quebec and PEI. It would appear, however, that work remains to be done if Newfoundland and Labrador wants to catch up with the current global average of 5.9 tonnes per person per year (the gold line in Figure 9), and even more if it wishes to reach the global target for 2030, of 2.1 tones per person per year (the green line).
- What, if anything, can or should fairly be done by the people of Newfoundland and Labrador to join a global drive to reduce emissions levels? What choices are available to a province that seeks to act prudently?
- What, if anything, can or should fairly be done by the other provinces, and/or the federal government?
Industrial Emissions: Table 2 suggests both encouraging and concerning trends in various industries. For example, it suggests that Canada-wide emissions caused by the generation of electricity have been reduced by more than half, while significant progress has been made in other heavy industries. On the other hand, emissions in the oil and gas, agricultural, and buildings sectors have continued to rise. What can or should be done about that, bearing the principles of subsidiarity, solidarity, the common good, and the sanctity of life in mind?
Canada’s Fair Share: Chart 20 seems to present a challenge for all Canadians, wherever we live.
- For example, it is disappointing to see that emissions levels for the first 20 years shown in the chart have remained relatively constant, with the bulk of the reductions being predicted for the last 10 years, at points now in the future. It seems disappointingly common for curves on social phenomena to show the bulk of the progress in the future, while little improvement has been made in the years since commitments were made. Must that always be so? Assuming that it is true in this case, can or should we do better?
- The chart also seems to suggest that even if we meet the 2030 goal as a nation, we all have much work to do beyond that: our nation has committed only to reduce emissions to a point at which we are producing about six times as many emissions as the rest of the world. If that is true, can or should we do better?

Church Teaching

The demands of the common good… are strictly connected to respect for and the integral promotion of the person and his fundamental rights. These demands concern above all the commitment to peace, the organization of the State’s powers, a sound juridical system, the protection of the environment, and the provision of essential services to all, some of which are at the same time human rights: food, housing, work, education and access to culture, transportation… -166, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

The Role & Development of the Family

“Honour your father and mother.”
– the 4th Commandment

The family is the primary unit in society. It is where education begins and the Word of God is first nurtured. The priority of the family over society and the State must be affirmed. – 209-214, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

The Church teaches that the proper role of government and other human institutions is to foster human life and dignity by maintaining social conditions that enable and encourage us to serve God in one another, and thereby to promote that which is truly in the common interest. This begins with nurturing and enabling families, as well as supporting the elderly and other marginalized members of society.

Healthcare

Among the causes that greatly contribute to underdevelopment and poverty, mention must be made of illiteracy, lack of food security, the absence of structures and services, inadequate measures for guaranteeing basic healthcare, and the lack of safe drinking water and sanitation. -166, 447 Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

Support for the Elderly

If the elderly are in situations where they experience suffering and dependence, not only do they need health care services and appropriate assistance, but and above all they need to be treated with love. – 222, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

Education

“May Nazareth remind us what the family is, what the communion of love is,
its stark and simple beauty, its sacred and inviolable character; may it help us to see how sweet
and irreplaceable education in the family is; may it teach us its natural function
in the social order. May we finally learn the lesson of work.”
– 210 Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, citing St Paul VI, Address at Nazareth (5 January 1964)

Maintaining employment depends more and more on one’s professional capabilities. Instructional and educational systems must not neglect human or technological formation, which are necessary for gainfully fulfilling one’s responsibilities.

Young people should be taught to act upon their own initiative, to accept the responsibility of facing with adequate competencies the risks connected with a fluid economic context that is often unpredictable in the way it evolves. – 289, 290 Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

Culture, Arts & Tourism

Faced with rapid technological and economic progress, and with the equally rapid transformation of the processes of production and consumption, a great deal of educational and cultural work is urgently needed. Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 376, 401

Certain economically prosperous countries tend to be proposed as cultural models for less developed countries; instead, each of those countries should be helped to grow in its own distinct way and to develop its capacity for innovation while respecting the values of its proper culture. A shallow and pathetic desire to imitate others leads to copying and consuming in place of creating, and fosters low national self-esteem.

We forget that “there is no worse form of alienation than to feel uprooted, belonging to no one. A land will be fruitful, and its people bear fruit and give birth to the future, only to the extent that it can foster a sense of belonging among its members, create bonds of integration between generations and different communities, and avoid all that makes us insensitive to others and leads to further alienation.” – Fratelli tutti, –51-53

Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador

Role of and Support for the Family

Child Care
The party’s latest platform statement (dated 2019) states that:
-during its prior term in office it delivered quickly on its commitment to $25 per day child care, allowing more parents into the workplace, helping to grow the economy and ensuring that more children receive quality early learning and care.
-in order to address identified issues with competing wages in other sectors in Labrador, it also implemented a rate escalator for child care services operating in the region to support the recruitment and retention of Early Childhood Educators (ECEs), and initiated the Casual Caregiver Pilot Program.
-it advocates continuing to work with the early learning and child care sector to expand on affordability for families and continue to increase the number of regulated spaces, and undertaking a review of regulations to shape the future of early learning throughout the Province.

The party’s 2025 budget states that the party remains firm in its commitment to advance early learning and child care, and proposes:
-allocation of $110 million to support the operating grant program and $10-day child care.
-$3.9 million for projects to increase the number of child care and early learning spaces.
-$1.7 million for bursaries and grants for students to become an early childhood educator.

The party’s 2025 budget further states that:
-to help promote the well-being of children and families, the Summer Camp Inclusion Grant provides funding toward the cost of hiring a support person to help accommodate children with disabilities to attend summer camp. Since 2023, 27 families and 20 organizations have received funding to facilitate the participation of dozens of children with disabilities in summer camp programs.

Health Care & Elder Care

Primary Care
The party’s latest platform statement (dated 2019) advocates a bold path to make the province, which was then experiencing the highest rates of mortality due to cancer, heart disease and stroke, respiratory diseases, and diabetes in Canada, one of the healthiest in Canada by 2031, by:
-culturally-sensitive, inclusive and progressive policy initiatives both at the community and provincial level, including development of a cost-neutral plan to improve the healthiness of provincial residents, and using resulting healthcare savings to invest in community health infrastructure and programs; and
-making healthier choices more accessible.
-appointing Dr. Patrick Parfrey and Sister Elizabeth Davis of the Sisters of Mercy to develop a 10-year plan for transformation of provincial health care, including implementation of initiatives to provide better health outcomes at lower cost, increase patient satisfaction rates and provide stronger control over costs and risk reduction.
-instead of cutting costs, re-investing savings from a value-based healthcare system into improving the social determinants of health and wellness of provincial residents.
– offsetting sedentary lifestyles and rising screen time by making healthy, physically active lifestyles easier for provincial residents through introduction of a Promoting Physical Activity (PPA) tax credit, applicable to costs associated with fitness classes and enrollment in in sports programs.
-offsetting low provincial population density by continuing to develop eHealth/telemedicine protocols.
-completing the Corner Brook acute care hospital project, which was on track to open in 2023 an begin serving Western Newfoundland and Southern Labrador with the same services as the Western Memorial Regional Hospital as well as an expanded cancer care centre. The project included allocation of $2 million for the Western Regional Hospital Foundation, toward a PET scanner.
-enhancing the Medical Transportation Assistance Program (MTAP) to help people who must travel for specialized insured medical services, including reducing the private vehicle deductible from 1,500 km to 500 km, allowing Income Support Clients to claim a $25 per night private accommodation rate, with meal allowance.
-enhancing primary health care by continuing to expand the number of primary health care teams throughout the Province, improving the scope of practice for healthcare providers, increasing the number of nurse practitioners, and filling vacant positions in the regional health authorities (RHAs), and continuing to support the Physician Bursary Program which has attracted new physicians to the Province.

The party’s 2025 budget speech states that record high investments have increased the health care budget by more than 40 per cent since 2020, positive results are being achieved.
– over 2,500 orthopedics surgeries were completed in 2024 – a 12 per cent increase from 2023, and non-urgent wait times for MRI have decreased by 13 per cent in the Eastern-Urban Zone of NL Health Services.
-use of agency nurse has decreased by 42 per cent from its highest point.
-124,000 accounts have been created on MyHealthNL.
-more than 200 patients have benefited from the innovative fly-in/fly-out program for cardiac catheterization, allowing them to return home the same day freeing up hospital beds.
-travelling orthopaedic teams have performed close to 500 joint replacement surgeries, drastically improving patient outcomes and quality of life.

Family Care Teams
The party’s 2025 budget speech states that:
-Family Care Teams were introduced just four years ago in 2021. Today, they are an essential aspect in the delivery of primary care with 75,000 people connected to the teams. There are 23 Family Care Teams active, with more in development. These teams allow health professionals, including family physicians, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, nursing professionals, and allied health care providers work collaboratively to meet individual health and social needs. For service providers, they are beneficial as they can help promote professional satisfaction and well-being, as well as shared learning opportunities.
-for 2025, $35 million is allocated to hire additional health care providers for existing teams, as well as the creation of new teams.

Health Infrastructure
The party’s 2025 Budget speech states that it continues work on improving access to care, including allocation of:
-$23 million to support the planning and development phase of the new acute care hospital campus in Kenmount Crossing.
-$7 million for the advancement of the new Downtown Health and Well-Being Centre.
-$3 million for the Redevelopment of the Janeway Children’s Hospital and to relocate women’s health services from the Health Sciences Centre to the Janeway to create additional inpatient bed capacity at the Health Sciences Centre.
-$1 million for the replacement of the Bay St. George long-term care facility.
-$1 million for the redevelopment of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
-$450,000 to modernize campground facilities in Pippy Park in advance of the summer tourism season and the 2025 Canada Games.
-$342,500 for continued planning for a new multiplex recreational facility

Drug Therapies
The party’s 2025 budget speech states that ensuring that eligible residents receive essential drug treatments is a priority, reflected in the more than $200 million allocated in the Prescription Drug Program. For 2025, approximately $17 million in new funding will be used to add 18 drugs to the formulary, targeting treatments for cancer, cardiovascular disease, tumors associated with tuberous sclerosis complex, and reducing the risk of HIV-1 infection.

In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF)
The party’s 2025 budget speech asserts that:
-infertility impacts one in six individuals and can impact their quality of life and well-being. Its commitment to expand fertility services in province and to include IVF confirms its commitment to ensure people who require fertility treatment can receive it within the province.
-it proposes allocation of $3.2 million, including an increased subsidy for IVF funding up to $20,000 and working with stakeholders to establish IVF services within the province.

Recruitment
The party’s 2025 budget speech states that in 2025 the province will have 84 seats dedicated for Newfoundland and Labrador students in the Faculty of Medicine, and that seats in Memorial University’s nursing program were increased by 25 per cent, and that the number of nurse practitioner seats were doubled to 40.
-more than 300 Faculty of Medicine undergrad students and more than 300 residency students are learning and working in Newfoundland and Labrador. At the Faculty of Nursing, there are approximately 340 future nurses enrolled.
-approximately 97 per cent of last year’s nursing graduates were recruited to work in Newfoundland and Labrador, the highest percentage in provincial history.
-more than 140 physicians and 1,100 nurses have been recruited since April 2023.
-recognizing the need to continue to invest in recruitment and retention, it has allocated $10 million for recruitment, in addition to the close to $7 million for the Faculty of Medicine and the required funding for more undergraduate seats for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, expansion of the Internal Medicine Canadian and International Program, creation of longitudinal integrated clerkships, and increased preceptor remuneration and learner supports.

Health Innovation
The party’s 2025 budget speech states that:
-it has allocated $140 in 2025 as part of a $620 million investment for a new health information system.
-as part of its plan to create a more effective and efficient system, it is building an ambulatory care clinic and two urgent care centres on the Northeast Avalon to provide improved services to 50 per cent of the province’s population. Supported by a $15 million investment, the new facilities will ease pressure on emergency rooms and larger acute care settings.
-an additional $1 million is allocated for medical transportation assistance to build on enhancements launched last year.
-an additional $4 million is allocated for preventative cancer treatment, such as human papillomavirus screening and expanding the lung cancer screening program. The eligibility age for breast cancer screening has been reduced to 40.

Paramedicine
The party’s 2025 budget allocates $26 million for development of an integrated road and air ambulance system that will improve the way patients are transported to health care facilities, including more than $8.5 million to expand helicopter emergency medevac services and $6.5 million to recruit and retain paramedicine professionals.

Mental Health and Addictions
The party’s 2025 budget allocates more than $22 million to expand mental health and addictions services, including opening of a new Mental Health and Addictions Centre and:
-more than $6 million to support addiction recovery, including a 10-bed unit in Labrador, and recovery homes.
-over $5 million to enable The Gathering Place to provide social support and services to vulnerable people.
-more than $3.6 million for stepped-down mental health facilities and wraparound community-based supports.
-$5.7 million to enable Choices for Youth to implement services for vulnerable youth.
-approximately $1.5 million to enable the Harm Reduction Team to continue providing care for vulnerable individuals.
-more than $600,000 to increase availability of naloxone kits to assist individuals at risk of overdose from opioids.

Long-Term Care
The party’s latest platform statement (dated 2019) states that the province has the oldest population in Canada and it continues to get older faster than any other jurisdiction in the country. With one in every five residents over the age of 65, the province has an opportunity to lead the way in seniors and long-term care. It is committed to work with the Federal Government to develop standards, including innovative approaches such as public long-term care insurance.

Period Poverty
The party’s latest platform statement (dated 2019) states that:
-period poverty occurs when those on low incomes can’t afford, or access, suitable period products. A 2018 report from Plan International Canada found that one in three Canadian women under the age of 25 struggle to afford period products, and the cost is often higher in rural areas.
-nearly one in seven Canadian young people have either left school early or missed school entirely because they did not have access to the sanitary products they needed to manage their periods. This results in missed opportunities, uncomfortable conversations, and unhygienic solutions.
-it undertakes to provide period products free of charge in schools to people who need them. People who menstruate should be able to access hygiene products without worry about cost or embarrassment.
-alleviating the issues surrounding access to period products for young people attending school is an important step toward addressing period poverty in the province.

Elder Care
The party’s latest platform statement (dated 2019) states that:
-it will continue establishment of the provincial Seniors’ Advocate, to make life easier for seniors.
-it will develop an intergenerational program guide to address the gap between young people and older adults, which can be attributed to various factors such as family mobility, single-family homes, and an increase in senior citizens living in assisted living and long-term care homes. Connecting generations benefits both children and seniors, improving physical and mental health and offering mutual learning opportunities.

The party’s 2025 budget speech states that:
-the Seniors’ Benefit and its eligibility threshold will be indexed, starting in 2025. This builds on the 15 per cent increase over the last three years and will support 50,000 seniors aged 65 or older to an estimated cost of $63 million in 2025-26. The Seniors’ Health and Well-Being Plan will improve provincial support for the aging population, ensuring they can live independently at home or in their communities with dignity and safety.
-the budget also includes an additional $15.7 million investment in vaccines to protect seniors, including a vaccine for shingles, a painful virus that affects the quality of life for people living with it, as well as pneumococcal and RSV.
-in the past two years before the budget more than 300 seniors’ groups and seniors-serving organizations received funding through the Seniors’ Social Inclusion Initiative. For 2025 $200,000 has been allocated to promote social inclusion and well-being of seniors.

Education & Young Workers

K-12
The party’s 2025 budget speech states that:
-it advocates increasing allocations K-12 teaching services by $20 million, rising to $44 million in 2026, resulting in the addition of more than 400 educators and learning assistants.
-to ensure students have access to healthy food during school, it proposes to continue its commitment to expand school food programming to all Pre-Kindergarten and K-9 schools.
-it has allocated $250,000 to enhance Indigenous education resources in the K-12 system.
-to transform provincial classrooms into dynamic, tech-savvy environments that foster creativity and innovation, it has allocated an additional $5 million for technology devices and
related infrastructure in schools, and proposes to increase that amount to $10 million annually next year.

In its 2021 mandate letter, the party instructed the Minister of Education to:
-continue development of childcare initiatives, including work on affordability and increasing the number of available spaces.
-develop a plan toward implementation of Junior Kindergarten.
-continue the implementation of the Education Action Plan, including reviewing bus routes and the service delivery model for deaf and hard of hearing students and supporting, through the Safe and Caring Schools Policy and guidelines for 2SLGBTQIA+, inclusive practices, professional learning, open dialog, resource development, and student-led activities.
-revise and update the current curriculum and devise new curricula on the culture, history, and traditions of the province’s Indigenous peoples.

School infrastructure
The party’s 2025 Budget speech states that more than $70 million will be invested in 2025 to advance school infrastructure projects, including:
-$55.95 million for new schools in Paradise, Kenmount Terrace, Cartwright, and Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s.
-$1.9 million for completion of the redevelopment of École Rocher-Du-Nord.
-$12.5 million for the ongoing extension and redevelopment of Dorset Collegiate in Pilley’s Island.
-$150,000 for planning for L’École Boréale in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Pasadena Elementary, and schools in St. John’s.
-continue implementing the province’s Adult Literacy Plan.

Apprenticeships
The party’s latest platform statement (dated 2019) states that as part of its goal to reverse youth out migration, it advocated development of a thriving local labour market for provincial infrastructure project, including:
-requiring contractors bidding on Government of Newfoundland and Labrador infrastructure projects to prioritize the hiring of qualified workers based in Newfoundland and Labrador, and to commit to hiring and mentoring apprentices.
-continued commitment to education and skills development, including opportunities for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to enter the tech industry and entrepreneurship ecosystem, thereby augmenting the qualifications of local workers to successfully bid for and work on Government infrastructure projects.
-procuring goods and services for infrastructure projects from local firms when possible and increasing the market for these same firms through InvestNL, a digital trade desk designed to better connect local companies and firms to national and international customers and investors.

The party’s 2025 budget speech states that:
-annual provincial investment of nearly $160 million empowers individuals to embrace in-demand careers. The province offers some of Canada’s most generous benefits, including tuition, books, living costs, and child care.
-it proposes reducing financial barriers to obtain journeyperson certification by eliminating fees for apprentices and trade qualifiers.
-in 2024, it launched Working Opportunities to break down barriers to education, and has already helped dozens of individuals, including single mothers and young adults, pursue careers in fields like nursing, automotive service, and carpentry.
-the Youth Summer Apprenticeship Program, in partnership with Skills Canada, provides high school students with a taste of these exciting careers and enables them to “learn while they earn,” gaining valuable apprenticeship hours toward certification. Employers benefit from a 75 per cent wage subsidy, making it easier to invest in the next generation of skilled tradespeople. The program’s growth is remarkable, from 12 participants in 2023 up to 80 in 2025.

The party’s latest platform statement (dated 2019) states that:
-the province’s technology sector is full of success stories. According to TechNL, the sector is a $1.6 billion industry, with each technology job providing approximately $400,000 of value to the provincial economy. Local companies like Verafin, Kraken Robotics, CoLab Software, and Mysa Smart Thermostats are positioning themselves as global leaders in their respective industries. But these companies often face challenges in accessing skilled labour.
-during its prior term in office it introduced a Technology Career Pathway program to some provincial high schools. It advocates continued improvement in educational opportunities for young Newfoundlanders and Labradorians seeking to enter the technology industry, including introducing comprehensive new computer science programming to allow K-12 students in NL to access leading technology education.

Restorative justice
The party’s latest platform statement (dated 2019) states that:
-it believes that the core of a caring, civil society is developing authentic relationships and empathy with others. The Government of Canada incorporates restorative justice options and practices as part of the criminal justice system, but restorative justice in education deals with developing foundational relationships as a way of being. Many educational institutions have begun implementing restorative justice practice as part of a holistic student and faculty approach to improving the school climate, developing meaningful relationships and enhancing the learning environment of the school.
-the Little Book of Restorative Justice in Education defines RJE as …facilitating learning communities that nurture the capacity of people to engage with one another and their environment in a manner that supports and respects the inherent dignity and worth of all (Evans & Vaandering, Restorative Justice in Education, 2016).
-it is committed to working further with the expertise established at Memorial University to enhance teacher training in restorative justice principles. It will work to further implement these principles into all our Province’s schools to nurture healthy relationships built on foundational respect for all members of the school community and support the development of policies and practices that reinforce inclusive behaviour.

Health curriculum
The party’s latest platform statement (dated 2019) states that:
-creating a healthy and health-conscious population starts with creating habits and acquiring knowledge from a young age. It advocates tasking the Department of Education to lead this work with educators, experts in the field and community organizations to rework the health curriculum and update it with the most recent findings on exercise, nutrition, substance use/abuse, relationship building, mental health and sexual health.

Post-secondary
The party’s 2025 budget speech states that:
-the provincial governments annual investment in Memorial University represents more than 70 per cent of the university’s operating budget – this is one of the largest provincial investments in a public university in Canada.
-as an autonomous organization, Memorial University is responsible for its operational decisions, including salaries, infrastructure, tuition, and academic programs.

For 2025, the party the party proposes allocation of more than $400 million in Memorial University, including:
-$312 million for its core operating grant, as well as the Doctor of Psychology Program and the Faculty of Nursing’s satellite sites.
-more than $78 million for the Faculty of Medicine, which includes its annual grant, as well as close to $7 million for more medical school seats, clerkships, and expansion of internal medicine.
-to assist Memorial in improving its infrastructure, a total of $91 million over eight years, including fee offsets intended to save a full-time undergraduate student $500 a year.

The budget further proposes:
-allocation of $82 million for College of the North Atlantic’s operating grant, reflecting an $11 million increase and underscores the value of the institution in training the workforce that bolsters our economy, and more than $3 million for an electric boiler at the college’s Prince Philip Drive Campus.
-beginning in the 2026-27 academic year, doubling the number of subsidized seats for Newfoundland and Labrador students at the Atlantic Veterinary College, including a $33.5 million investment, thereby enabling eligible students to have 100 per cent of their provincial loans forgiven.

Culture, Arts & Tourism

Communities
The party’s latest platform statement (dated 2019) states that:
-the community sector plays a vital role, delivering significant and lasting social and economic value to communities across the Province. It employs more than 16,000 Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, and delivers wide-ranging support to people and communities.
-it advocates working with high-potential organizations whose impact can be scaled, harnessing their economic and social benefits, including creation of an incubator and accelerator to spark, grow, and enhance the community sector and drive social innovation, complemented by holistic support of the community sector.

Libraries
The party’s 2025 budget speech states that it proposes allocation of $13.5 million to the Provincial Information and Library Resources Board, to continue its important work. This is a $500,000 increase in the budget, and marks the second year in a row that it has increased the investment in libraries.

Arts & Entertainment Industry
The party’s latest platform statement (dated 2019) states that Newfoundland and Labrador is globally renowned for its arts and culture community, including musicians, actors, comedians and painters who have consistently demonstrated the value of their creative products around the world. The party advocates:
– promotion of creative and cultural industries as a priority growth area in the evolving economy, through investment in and promotion of arts and cultural organizations actively working to export cultural products around the world, and to bring global artists and audiences to the Province.
-creation of an Advisory Council on Creative and Cultural Industries, bringing together leaders from across the provincial arts and culture community to develop a comprehensive plan for its collective future and to advise the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation on how best to grow this sector.
-to make investments, pursuing partnerships and strategic collaborations with entertainment industry players, and working with local arts advocacy organizations like Business & Arts NL to maximize the potential of our partnerships with the private sector.
-increasing promotion of opportunities in Newfoundland and Labrador’s creative and cultural industries through the development of a digital portal and production of tourism-style videos and other marketing materials targeting artists and creators across Canada and beyond.
-creating an incentivized immigration pathway for artists to choose Newfoundland and Labrador as their home and base for creative production.
– investing in modernized arts and cultural infrastructure across the Province to provide one of the most competitive spaces in order to capture more of the potential value in film and television production, including consulting with stakeholders in the film and television industry to create a competitive local labour and spend tax credit program to create jobs and economic opportunity across the Province by attracting large scale film and television productions.

The party’s 2025 Budget speech says that the province’s film and television industry includes more than $85 million in economic activity and supports more than 1,400 jobs. Picture NL is on track to exceed a cumulative production activity of $1 billion and approximately 450 productions by the end of fiscal 2025-26. To help sustain this growth, Budget 2025 includes:
-the All-Spend Film and Video Production Tax Credit – a refundable corporate income tax credit available to eligible corporations at the rate of 40 per cent of eligible production costs, to a maximum tax credit of $20 million annually per project.
-$10 million in continued support for the Film and Television Equity Investment program.

Tourism & Air Access
The party’s 2025 Budget speech:
-allocates $15 million for tourism marketing and air access, including an additional $2 million to support Vision 2026, in order to continue promoting the province and exploring new tourism markets, as well as working with industry partners and further expand air access to our province following the successful establishment of three direct routes to Europe within the last year.

Sport
The party’s 2025 Budget speech states that:
-it aims to increase resident participation in sport and recreation through $8.5 million in grants.
-as part of its commitment to increase provincial sporting and recreation capacity, it proposes allocation of an additional $350,000 annually to support the Newfoundland and Labrador Games and $1.6 million for the provincial Sport Centre to assume operational responsibility for the Fortis Canada Games Complex and the Sport and Well-Being Dome.

Arts and Culture
The party’s 2025 Budget speech states that:
-the province’s creative industry is its crowning glory; its colourful arts and cultural sector helps to tell the province’s story while contributing significantly to its economy.
-it advocates allocating more than $6 million for cultural economic development and arts infrastructure, including an additional $1 million for the Cultural Economic Development Program this year with a commitment of an additional $1 million in 2026-27.
-allocates $2 million for the continuation of the Arts Infrastructure and Programming Fund.
-$5 million in funding for ArtsNL to support professional artists and arts organizations.
-$1 million in additional funding to expand the Trail of the Caribou Commemoration Program, ensuring young Newfoundlanders and Labradorians remember the sacrifices of prior generations.

New Democratic Party of Newfoundland and Labrador

Role of and Support for the Family

The party’s latest published policy statement (dated 2021) states that it is committed to the introduction of a universal, accessible food school program, in order to provide all students in the province with nutritious food for breakfast, lunch, and recess breaks at no cost to students or their families.

Health Care & Elder Care

Homecare
The party’s latest published policy statement (dated 2021) states that it advocates the creation and implementation of a publicly-funded, publicly-administered Universal Home Care program, based on the model used in the province of Manitoba.

Care for the disabled
The party’s latest published policy statement (dated 2021) states that it advocates the Newfoundlanders and Labradorians with Disabilities Act and take every measure to see its implementation, including centralized, comprehensive and updated protections and considerations for those living with disabilities within the province, working in consultation with the public and representatives from stakeholders.

Ostomy supplies
The party’s latest published policy statement (dated 2021) states that it recognizes that ostomy-related products are essential medical supplies to which patients have a right to fair and affordable access. It advocates providing unrestricted access to a variety of ostomy products.

Long-term care
The party’s latest published policy statement (dated 2021) states that it supports implementation of uniform provincial standards for staffing, diet, medication supervision, number of residents per room, and financing for aged care facilities brought into the Medicare system.

Dental care and pharmacare
The party’s latest published policy statement (dated 2021) states that it endorses universal pharmacare and dental care, as proposed by the Federal NDP.

Education and Young Workers
The party has published no current statement concerning its policies relating to education & young workers.

Culture, Arts & Tourism

Hunting and trapping
The party’s latest published policy statement (dated 2021) states that it supports:
-allowing surrogate hunters, with no distance limit, to hunt game on behalf of hunters with mobility issues and other disabilities, and undertakes to push government to fill vacant wildlife officer positions in Labrador to ensure that regulations are followed and provincial wildlife populations are preserved.
-recognition of a trapper’s base camp and its associated tilts as one enterprise and subsequently billed as a single Permit to Occupy, including establishment of a working group between the Lands and Wildlife Divisions to review outstanding trapper issues and to engage in meaningful collaboration with the Newfoundland and Labrador Trappers Association.

Cannabis
The party’s latest published policy statement (dated 2021) states that it supports:
-banning use of urine or hair follicle tests in provincial workplaces, as they discriminate against medicinal and recreational users of cannabis; and exploring us of saliva testing, sobriety field testing, or future technologies to better determine workplace intoxication.
-allowing bars/lounges for the safe consumption of cannabis for adults of legal age.

Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador

Role of the Family

The party has published no current statement concerning the role of or its policies regarding support for the family.

Health Care & Elder Care

The party’s most recent platform publication (dated 2019) states that:
-the provincial health care system must work for patients, seniors and families. It is unacceptable that, with all the money spent on health care, some people still don’t have a family doctor, languish on waitlists between a GP referral and further treatment, suffer on stretchers in hospital hallways; and seniors incapable of caring for themselves languish in crowded acute care wards because there is nowhere else to go.
-it advocates innovative reforms, within the parameters of the Canada Health Act, while maintaining health care funding, to get the person-centred health care system that the province needs.

As one of its three policy pillars, the party’s most recent platform publication (dated 2019), identifies making life more affordable to assist in keeping young people in the province, including by:
-providing the right health care when residents need it.
-appointing Chief Wellness Officer to lead in keeping people healthier.
-providing first aid training in high school, to ensure that every student knows how to save a life.
-providing 100% coverage for medical transportation costs.
-providing innovative clinics and virtual care to improve patient access.
-recruiting physicians and health providers by addressing fee structures, scope of practice, and return of service.
-improved access Personal Care Homes by removing recently imposed restrictions.
-supporting community residential hospice/end of life care to meet families’ needs for palliative and hospice care.
–supporting development of a Cardiac Centre of Excellence as a major response to NL’s number one killer.
-providing coverage for insulin pumps, with no age cap, not even for those who lost coverage.
-supporting improvement of electronic records to give patients and providers easier access to improve care.
-increasing efficiency in the healthcare system to minimize waste and harm due to unnecessary procedures.
-implementing a Quality Health Council to ensure that the right treatments are available to the right patients at the right time.
-implementing a base staff level review of all nursing homes to improve long-term care.
-preventing cuts in mental health and addictions, and ensuring equal status, improved access for all.
-treating gambling addiction by addressing the addictive features of certain VLTs.
-developing an autism strategy, including real action to remove the IQ70 criterion.

Seniors care
As one of its three policy pillars, the party’s most recent platform publication (dated 2019), identifies making life more affordable to assist in keeping young people in the province, including by:
-appointing a Seniors’ Advocate to employ new investigative and reporting powers.

Education & Young Workers

The party’s most recent platform publication (dated 2019) states that:
-it undertakes to focus provincial schools on the foundational skills that are key to successful learning, and prepare students for life-long learning in an innovative society, with the goal of reducing achievement gaps between rich and poor, the learning advantaged and the learning disadvantaged, urban and rural, and provincial students compared to students in the rest of Canada.
-it undertakes, within one year, to induce the Education Department and provincial school boards to develop performance targets that will:
*based on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which is the leading global benchmark for assessment of the foundational skills and knowledge of students, close the gap between Newfoundland and Labrador and the average for Canada by 2030.
*reduce the PISA performance gap between rural and urban schools; and
*reduce the PISA performance gap between the learning advantaged and learning disadvantaged students.

As one of its three policy pillars, the party’s most recent platform publication (dated 2019), identifies providing jobs and hope to restore confidence in the future and assist in keeping young people in the province, including by:
-establishing and meeting world-leading performance targets in education, to prepare provincial youth to compete and win.
-implementing a new school busing policy for children living within 1.6km of school.

Post-Secondary Education
As one of its three policy pillars, the party’s most recent platform publication (dated 2019), identifies providing jobs and hope to restore confidence in the future and assist in keeping young people in the province, including by:
-implementing a Graduate Retention Program, including a tax credit for grads who choose to work in NL.
-making post-secondary tuition and student aid the most competitive in the country.

Culture, Arts & Tourism

As one of its three policy pillars, the party’s most recent platform publication (dated 2019), identifies providing jobs and hope to restore confidence in the future and assist in keeping young people in the province, including by:
-developing a tourism strategy to bring people to rural communities to drive sustainable jobs.
-developing an Air Access Strategy to promote more flights, lower costs, and promote more growth, more jobs.
-supporting ArtsNL sustain jobs for artists, promote tourism, educate and inspire.
-implement a New Northern Strategic Plan for Labrador – seizing the potential for growth.

Points to Ponder

Points to Ponder: Family, Community & the Common Good

A conscience well formed by the social teachings of the Church will seriously consider the following questions:

Families & Child Well-Being

1) In what circumstances, if any, is it appropriate for governments to place limits on the right of parents to make decisions pertaining to the care or education of their children?

2) To what extent is child poverty a problem in Canada? To the extent that it is a problem, what should be done about it, and by whom?

3) Some political parties have suggested that in order to maximize return from national and/or provincial economies, full participation by all eligible workforce members, including all parents – whether members of single- or two-parent families – is critical, so that economic well-being can be optimized. Moreover, they say, to achieve full economic participation it is critical to ensure that affordable child care is accessible by all families. Let us consider the following question: Which is more important for children: a stable and dignified home with loving parents, one of whom might be available to stay home part or full time, or maximized economic returns? To the extent that being home with a parent is best for a child, how can that be encouraged by society? Is it possible, for example, to ‘level the housing playing field’ for families having single parent providers?

Health Care

Given that the Church speaks of a right to adequate health care, consider the following questions that any informed Catholic should ponder before voting for a particular political party:

1) What should be done to ensure that adequate levels of quality health care are available to all who need it, without undue delays or waiting times?

2) While birth control and abortion pills are covered by provincial health care and at least one party has proposed coverage (including travel, if needed) for in-vitro fertilization, the costs of counseling for natural methods of family planning are not. Is it reasonable to provide drugs and expensive, invasive procedures to young couples free of charge while requiring those who seek natural, non-chemical methods, to pay? Or, should the federal and/or provincial governments consider providing coverage for and promoting proven natural family planning methods?

3) In a publicly-funded healthcare system, does there exist any obligation for an individual to take reasonable measures to avoid health issues (e.g., wearing a mask during a pandemic, or a helmet while riding a bicycle), so as to avoid becoming a publicly-funded health care burden when preventable illness or injury occurs? If so, what can or should be done to identify such measures, and encourage individuals to adopt them?

4) It is it wise for a country to ensure that it is self-dependent for important health care products, such as vaccines against serious illnesses? If so, what can or should the federal and provincial governments do to encourage and support such self-dependence?

Nursing Agencies
In June 2025, the provincial Auditor General of Newfoundland and Labrador released a report on the procurement and management of provincial nursing contracts, and whether agency nursing services are planned and delivered effectively (https://www.ag.gov.nl.ca/files/Health-Sector-Contracts-Performance-Audit-June-25-2025-1.pdf). The Auditor General reported having:

serious concerns about how agency nursing contracts are procured and managed by Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services. The authority has not followed proper process in the procurement of agency nursing services and has failed to ensure value for money. In managing services, it lacked the controls to verify that contractual terms were followed and that funds were not paid inappropriately… authorities did not perform formal assessments of agencies before signing contracts… there was no formal evaluation of vendor performance… a contract was signed with [an agency that] had under two years of experience in the agency nursing business…”

The following chart was provided in the report:

How do the Auditor General’s findings relate to the the principles of truth, the common good, and good stewardship?
How has the provincial government responded to the report? Have concerns been raised about other service-outsourcing contracts?
How do the report and the and the government’s response relate to policies promoted by the governing party?
How should voters respond to such reports and responses?

Care for the Elderly

Some parties are calling for increased space in publicly-funded facilities for the elderly and long-term care patients. Should any other solutions, such as nurturing a culture of life-long intergenerational family cohesiveness and support, including home caregivers, be considered also, in addition or as alternatives to long-term residential care? If so, what can be done to promote or encourage such solutions.
Who should be responsible for long-term support for the elderly? Themselves? Their families? The federal or provincial governments? Charitable institutions? Some combination of these? To what extent?
What, if anything, should be done to promote physical, spiritual, and emotional health among residents and staff in public and private homes and long-term care facilities? For example, are such facilities sometimes too large for proper inter-human connection, or sanitation? Is centralization of management of such facilities a concern? For example, can over-centralization affect the rates of infection or spread of viruses, etc.?

Education

It has been suggested that too many Canadians fail to understand basic democratic principles, such as the responsibilities of federal, provincial, and local governments, and the proper roles of non-governmental institutions such as charities, schools, businesses, news media, and moral and religious organizations. What, if anything, can or should the provincial government do in order to promote a more comprehensive understanding of civics and the proper roles of institutions in Newfoundland and Labrador?
Should a course of study of economics be mandatory in high school? If so, what topics should be included? Macro economics (the study of provincial, national, and international economics)? Micro economics (the study of personal budgeting and financing, etc.?) Both? To what extent?
Should natural family planning (NFP) techniques be taught in high school?
Should history courses be required in high school? If so, how many? What topics should be covered?

Culture, Arts & Tourism

Pope Francis has spoken of “ideological” or “cultural” colonization, in the process of which the popular and dominant values of the powerful are imposed on local populations. When decisions are made by governments regarding the purpose of investments injected into arts and culture, who is being consulted? Whose voices are being listened to?

Church Teaching

Catholic Teaching

Jesus said to the crowds, “Therefor I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? …[S]eek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides.” Matthew 6:25-33

“Some people are born into economically stable families, receive a fine education, grow up well nourished, or naturally possess great talent. They will certainly not need a proactive state; they need only claim their freedom. Yet the same rule clearly does not apply to a disabled person, to someone born in dire poverty, to those lacking a good education and with little access to adequate health care. If a society is governed primarily by the criteria of market freedom and efficiency, there is no place for such persons, and fraternity will remain just another vague ideal.” Pope Francis, Fratelli tutti, 109

The Dignity & Importance of Work

The use of one’s gifts to seek and serve God necessarily includes work, by which humans cooperate with God in God’s continuing act of creation. Work has a place of honour because it is a source of the conditions for a decent life, and is, in principle, an effective instrument against poverty. But one must not succumb to the temptation of making an idol of work, for the ultimate and definitive meaning of life is not to be found in work. Work is essential, but it is God — and not work — who is the origin of life and the final goal of man.

The underlying principle of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. The demand of justice, which stems from it, precedes concerns for profit: “Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble with it” (Prov. 15:16). “Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice” (Prov. 16:8). – 257, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.

Work is not only an essential part of life, but when we work in accordance with our inner passions – our individual vocations – it is a joy. And it is also an obligation to one’s family, neighbors, and nation. Man must work, both because the Creator has commanded it and in order to respond to the need to maintain and develop his own humanity. We are heirs of the work of generations and at the same time shapers of the future of all who will live after us. – 274, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

But work, and particularly dignified work, is not readily available for all who seek it. Those who are unemployed or underemployed suffer the profound negative consequences that such a situation creates in a personality and they run the risk of being marginalized within society, of becoming victims of social exclusion… –289, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

Poverty Reduction

The poor, the marginalized and in all cases those whose living conditions interfere with their proper growth should be the focus of particular concern. To this end, the preferential option for the poor should be reaffirmed in all its force… Today, this love of preference for the poor, and the decisions which it inspires in us, cannot but embrace the immense multitudes of the hungry, the needy, the homeless, those without health care and, above all, those without hope of a better future.” – 182, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

Catholics are called to remember Jesus’ own words: What we do to the least among us, we do to Him. – Matthew 25:31-46

“Helping the poor financially must always be a provisional solution in the face of pressing needs. The broader objective should always be to allow them a dignified life through work”. – Pope Francis, Laudato si’, 128

An Economy to Serve People

I encourage financial experts and political leaders to ponder the words of one of the sages of antiquity: ‘Not to share one’s wealth with the poor is to steal from them and to take away their livelihood. It is not our own goods which we hold, but theirs…’ Money must serve, not rule! –Pope Francis, Joy of the Gospel, 57-58

The development of economic activity and growth in production are meant to provide for the needs of human beings. Economic life is not meant solely to multiply goods produced and increase profit or power; it is ordered first of all to the service of persons, of the whole man, and of the entire human community. For many people, a living wage and dignified housing are beyond reach. – 2426, Catechism of the Catholic Church

The planning capacity of a society oriented towards the common good and looking to the future is measured… above all on the basis of the employment prospects that it is able to offer. Maintaining employment depends more and more on one’s professional capabilities. Instructional and educational systems must not neglect human or technological formation, which are necessary for gainfully fulfilling one’s responsibilities.

Young people should be taught to act upon their own initiative, to accept the responsibility of facing with adequate competencies the risks connected with a fluid economic context that is often unpredictable in the way it evolves. -271-290, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.

Small businesses, trades, and crafts
The decentralization of production, which assigns to smaller companies several tasks previously undertaken by larger production interests, gives vitality and new energy to the area of small and medium-sized businesses. In this way, alongside traditional artisans there emerge new businesses characterized by small production interests at work in modern production sectors or in decentralized activities of larger companies.

Work in small and medium-sized businesses, the work of artisans and independent work can represent an occasion to make the actual work experience more human, both in terms of the possibility of establishing positive personal relationships in smaller-sized communities and in terms of the opportunities for greater initiative and industriousness. In these sectors, however, there are more than just a few cases of unjust treatment, of poorly paid and, above all, uncertain work. – 315, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.

Innovation

Thanks to technological innovations, the world is being enriched with new professions while others are disappearing. In the present phase of transition there is a continuous movement of workers from the industrial sector to that of services… In particular, there is an increase in…part-time, temporary and “non-traditional” employment… – 313, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.

Unions & Workers’ Rights

The demands of competition, technological innovation and the complexities of financial fluxes must be brought into harmony with the defense of workers and their rights. – 313, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.

Any form of materialism or economic tenet that tries to reduce the worker to a mere instrument of production, a simple labour force with an exclusively material value, would hopelessly distort the essence of work and strip it of its most noble and basic human quality. 270-271, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

Among the rights of workers, the Church recognizes:

– the right to a just wage;
– the right to rest;
– the right “to a working environment and to manufacturing processes which are not harmful to the workers’ physical health or to their moral integrity”;
– the right that one’s personality in the workplace should be safeguarded “without suffering any affront to one’s conscience or personal dignity;
– the right to appropriate subsidies that are necessary for the subsistence of unemployed workers and their families;
– the right to a pension and to insurance for old age, sickness, and in case of work-related accidents;
– the right to social security connected with maternity;
– the right to assemble and form associations.

301, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

The Church recognizes the fundamental role played by labour unions… Such organizations, while pursuing their specific purpose with regard to the common good, are a positive influence for social order and solidarity, and are therefore an indispensable element of social life. Work, because of its subjective or personal character, is superior to every other factor connected with productivity; this principle applies, in particular, with regard to capital.

The Church’s social doctrine teaches that relations within the world of work must be marked by cooperation: hatred and attempts to eliminate the other are completely unacceptable. This is also the case because in every social system both “labour” and “capital” represent indispensable components of the process of production.

No Christian, in light of the fact that he belongs to a united and fraternal community, should feel that he has the right not to work and to live at the expense of others (cf. 2 Thes 3:6-12). Rather, all are charged… to make it a point of honour to work with their own hands, so as to be dependent on nobody (1 Thes 4:12), and to practise a solidarity which is also material by sharing the fruits of their labour with “those in need” (Eph 4:28). – 264, 305-307, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.

Corporations & Competition, and Consumers

You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.
– the 10th Commandment

The individual profit of an economic enterprise, although legitimate, must never become the sole objective. Social utility is an objective of even higher order. When the free market carries out the important functions mentioned above it becomes a service to the common good and to integral human development. When focused on profit alone, however, the market can degenerate into an inhuman and alienating institution, with uncontrollable repercussions.

Freedom in the economic sector… must be regulated by appropriate legal norms so that it will be placed at the service of integral human freedom… A great deal of educational and cultural work is urgently needed, including the education of consumers in the responsible use of their power of choice, the formation of a strong sense of responsibility among producers and among people in the mass media in particular, as well as necessary intervention by public authorities. In order to balance the principle of solidarity with the rights and obligations of the individual, the State’s intervention in the economic environment must be neither invasive nor absent, but commensurate with society’s real needs. “The State has a duty to sustain business activities by creating conditions which will ensure job opportunities, by stimulating those activities where they are lacking or by supporting them in moments of crisis. The State has the further right to intervene when particular monopolies create delays or obstacles to development. -305-307, 351, 376 Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.

There is a growing loss of the sense of history, which leads to even further breakup. A kind of “deconstructionism”, whereby human freedom claims to create everything starting from zero, is making headway in today’s culture. The one thing it leaves in its wake is the drive to limitless consumption and expressions of empty individualism. –12, Fratelli Tutti

Transportation & Infrastructure

The demands of the common good… are strictly connected to respect for and the integral promotion of the person and his fundamental rights. Among other things, these demands concern commitment to the provision of essential services to all, some of which are at the same time human rights: food, housing, work, education and access to culture, transportation… -166, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador

Economy for All

The party’s most recent platform statement (dated 2019) states that:
-in order to promote a sustainable future for the province, in its prior term in office it established an economic recovery team consisting of a talented, diverse group of individuals volunteering to generate big ideas for a sustainable future, as the province emerged from the COVID pandemic.
-the team was tasked with providing recommendations to address the Province’s immediate fiscal challenges and suggesting options to revitalize the economy and identify growth opportunities.
-on the basis of the team’s report, the government was to conduct broad consultations with stakeholders and the general public on the recommendations, which would be made public and tabled in the Assembly upon receipt, with meaningful steps to address the Province’s fiscal situation and ensure a prosperous future.
-it proposed creation of a new office of provincial Chief Economic Recovery Officer (CERO). a non-partisan civil servant to lead a coordinated approach across the whole of Government and identify opportunities to advance the Province’s economy.
-it further proposed to leverage its close working relationship with partners in the federal government. It had previously secured a $320 million investment from Ottawa to support workers in the struggling provincial oil and gas sector, including supports relating to the Muskrat Falls and Lower Churchill Projects, and progress on electrification priorities to advance the Atlantic Loop.

The party’s 2025 budget summarizes the current economic outlook. Noting that tariffs placed on Canadian goods entering the United States and China have been broadly captured in its economic forecast, the party states that it expects:
-Newfoundland and Labrador to lead real GDP growth among all Canadian provinces with a forecasted increase of 4.4 per cent, primarily due to increased oil and mineral production.
– capital investment to accelerate in the medium term, driven by construction activity associated with wind-hydrogen projects, the Bay du Nord deepwater oil project, and construction activity related to Churchill River hydroelectricity.
-a 2.0 per cent increase in retail sales for 2025.
-a provincial population rise of 0.2 per cent for 2025, with net natural losses being more than offset by international and interprovincial in-migration.
-employment to decline by 1.2 per cent in 2025, primarily due to the effects of United States tariffs on the Canadian and local economy; unemployment rate expected to be 10.8 per cent.
-consumer inflation to increase to 2.5 per cent, mainly due to Canadian counter-tariffs on the United States driving up consumer prices.

Housing and Poverty Reduction

Poverty Reduction
The party’s most recent platform statement (dated 2019) states that:
-review by the Department of Children, Seniors and Social Development of existing actions related to housing and food insecurity, poverty reduction and will lead development of a renewed strategy to reduce poverty in consultation with stakeholders, experts and community leaders. Of immediate concern were single parents and seniors in poverty were particularly negatively impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
-indexing the provincial minimum wage to inflation, so that future adjustments would keep pace with the cost of living, and considering harmonizing the provincial minimum wage with other Atlantic provinces.
-working with stakeholders to ensure that the annual provincial poverty-reduction budget of $286 million works best for those who need it most.

The party’s 2025 budget states that to ensure a consistent and reliable income and support improved well-being, the provincial Poverty Reduction Plan has introduced:
-the Newfoundland and Labrador Disability Benefit, including up to $400 per month to those who qualify and a $1,200 annual contribution to a person’s Registered Disability Savings Plan.|-a basic income for youth aged 16-21 receiving residential services from the Department of Children, Seniors and Social Development. This is an increase to existing financial supports to 1,080 per month, including rent, food, clothing and other supports.
-a targeted basic income pilot for people aged 60 to 64 who receive Income Support, as well as supportive services through the Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services’ Community Supports Program.
-the above are in addition to the increase to the Seniors’ and Child Benefits, expansion of the Prenatal-Early Childhood Nutrition Supplement up to age five, and enhanced funeral benefits.
-approximately $3 million in combined investments are allocated for accessible and affordable transportation, including provision of free Metrobus and Go Bus passes for Income Support recipients and seniors who receive the Guaranteed Income Supplement and Youth Services Program clients.

Housing
The party’s 2025 budget states that:
-it will continue to make meaningful investments this year totalling $113 million in public housing, creating housing that is affordable, and supporting people experiencing homelessness.
-construction is currently underway on 180 affordable homes, which will be ready for occupancy in late 2025. Construction is expected to begin this year on 50 new homes in Corner Brook, a 40-unit apartment building in St. John’s, and four homes in Labrador West; and a multi-unit housing project in Labrador City is in planning and development. New homes in Central Newfoundland are planned to be complete in 2027-28.
-extensive work is undertaken to maintain provincial housing that includes over 5,500 homes, ranging from routine maintenance, with over 14,000 work orders completed each year, to major repairs to vacated properties, with over 800 homes refurbished over the last two years. For 2025 $26 million is allocated to ensure public housing is repaired and made available for families that need affordable housing at the earliest opportunity, including an $8 million increase in last year’s budget.
-in partnership with End Homelessness St. John’s and an investment of $11.7 million, the Transitional Housing Initiative will continue to support people experiencing homelessness.
-$5 million is allocated to expand access to staffed emergency shelter beds, with 120 new beds added since 2020.
-the Five Point Housing Plan has helped over 240 low-to-moderate income families afford the down-payment and associated costs on their first home. The plan supports the construction of more than 450 rental homes within the next three years, and making Crown land available.
-the Five Point plan also makes it easier for homeowners who wish to add a secondary and/or basement suite for rental purposes. To date, over 40 homeowners have pursued this initiative.

The party’s 2025 Budget speech states that:
-during its term in office, significant amendments have been brought in to modernize and streamline Crown Lands with a focus on improved service.
-$500,000 is allocated to support our new tools and pathways for obtaining home property titles through the Primary Residence Property Title Program, to simplify the process of claiming adverse possession also known as squatters rights, to create certainty around longstanding legacy lands within communities and to simplify all steps and processes for these applications while creating a quasi-judicial administrative oversight body. This is anticipated to increase to $821,000 for 2026.

Period Poverty
The party’s most recent platform statement (dated 2019) states that:
-period poverty occurs when those on low incomes can’t afford, or access, suitable period products. A 2018 report from Plan International Canada found that one in three Canadian women under the age of 25 struggle to afford period products, and the cost is often higher in rural areas.
-nearly one in seven Canadian young people have either left school early or missed school entirely because they did not have access to the sanitary products they needed to manage their periods. This results in missed opportunities, uncomfortable conversations, and unhygienic solutions.
-creation of InvestNL, a one-stop trade desk for investors to access opportunities in the Province through an online portal providing companies and entrepreneurs with access to customers and investors on an international level.
-a meaningful and involved approach to growing our provincial economy, focusing on sustainable solutions to attracting new and growing businesses to NL by investing in provincial educational institutions, fostering diversity in provincial industries, building basic infrastructure, and prioritizing development of a thriving and prosperous startup ecosystem in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Business and economic development
The party’s 2025 Budget speech states that:
-the province must continue to champion business and industry development to ensure economic resilience and prosperity for our communities. By fostering local innovation and competitiveness, it hopes to secure a future that withstands external pressures and empowers Newfoundland and Labrador citizens.
-in addition to industry-centric initiatives, it remains committed to supporting commitment to support businesses and economic development with programming totaling $35 million. The budget includes $400,000 to continue the Business Navigator service to ensure businesses are connected with the correct resources to help streamline processes.
-to improve connectivity, $16.5 million is available to support provincial work with community and industry partners. The province is on track with its objective of providing high-speed Internet access to 400 communities by the end of 2027.
-in recent budgets, it improved commission discounts for provincial producers of craft beer, wine, spirit, and cider producers. Building on these initiatives and appreciating the pressures on the food and beverage industry, this year it proposes allocation of $1 million to increase wholesale discounts for restaurants, bars, and lounges; and, $800,000 to increase compensation on products purchased by brewers’ agents and liquor express retailers.
-up to $10 million is allocated for a restaurant loan guarantee program to assist locally-owned restaurants.
-the reduction in the Small Business Tax rate at 2.5 per cent set in the 2024 budget is maintained, as well as the increased exemption to HAPSET that was made in Budget 2023.

The party’s 2025 Budget speech states that:
-with an investment of more than $11 million, it continues to work with farmers on a wide range of initiatives such as subsidized crop insurance to protect root crops and fresh market vegetables, to projects that increase the environmental resiliency of farms and community gardens.
-an additional $618,000 is being provided to the Centre for Agriculture and Forestry Development in Wooddale, for research and programs that increase food self-sufficiency in Newfoundland and Labrador. The Centre’s Vegetable Transplant Program gives farmers a head-start on our short growing season by providing high quality, low-cost vegetable transplants – more than four million annually – to promote higher marketable yields, more crop variety, and earlier harvest and returns.

The party’s 2025 Budget speech states that:
-fisheries remain a large part of the provincial culture, economy, and identity. Local seafood products are exported to 38 countries with exports totalling approximately $1 billion annually. It employees more than 16,000 workers in 400 communities.
-to help modernize and position the industry for long-term success, during its term in office the party has promoted enhanced seafood quality; enabled fish harvesters to bring their product to new markets; lifted caps on snow crab processing licenses; and launched a new Harvester Enterprise Loan Program.
-it has also recently introduced a $5.75 million Seafood Marketing Support Program to help identify and develop new markets for local seafood products.
-to maintain the Atlantic Fisheries Fund as a cornerstone of its strategy, driving innovation and transformation in the fish and seafood sector, the party proposes allocation of $4 million to support infrastructure, innovation, and science partnership initiatives.
-there is also $500,000 available in the Multi-Species Research and Development Fund which will support investment in the research and development of aquaculture species that are not currently commercialized in the province.

The party’s 2025 Budget speech states that:
-the party considers the oil and gas industry to be a major contributor to the provincial economy, directly employing more than 3,000 Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. The future is positive with West White Rose expected to produce first oil next year. Over its 14-year life span, it is expected to generate nearly $20 billion in gross domestic product, and over $7 billion in labour income. Equinor continues to work to advance the Bay du Nord project. We will continue to work with the company to maximize benefits for our province.
-with over 650 leads and 20 basins mapped there is much opportunity in offshore as well, especially with its low carbon per barrel.
-to increase exploration and encourage discovery, beginning in 2026, it proposes allocation of $90 million over three years to advance an offshore exploration fund. This measure will provide incentive for drilling activity, employment opportunities, enhance global competitiveness at a critical time, and position the province to realize its significant resource potential.
-$20 million is allocated through the Innovation and Business Development Fund to grow the province’s energy supply and service capabilities and position the province as a preferred location for energy development.
-almost $1 million is also allocated for phase two of a natural gas resource assessment to build an inventory of proven and prospective gas resources in the Jeanne d’Arc Basin.

The party’s 2025 Budget speech states that:
-the mineral industry continues to be a key economic driver for the province and a focus for investment attraction efforts. The estimated activity in 2024 resulted in approximately $4.4 billion in mineral shipments, $244 million in exploration expenditures, and employment of approximately 8,000 person years.
-in 2025, it expects to see gold production from Calibre Mining Corporation’s Valentine Gold Project and Maritime Resources Corporation’s operation at Pine Cove.
-as demand for critical minerals used for renewable energy and clean technology application increases, the province’s mineral potential provides a major opportunity. The party is focused on developing this resource for the benefit of the province with close to $6 million available to support mining activity, including a Mineral Incentive, Junior Exploration Assistance, and Labrador-specific geoscience programs.

Forestry

The party’s 2025 Budget speech states that:
-the provincial forestry sector has a market value of approximately $340 million, with total direct employment of close to 2,000 people. Managing our forest habitat supports provincial wildlife and game populations.
-the province has taken the lead to deliver effective wildfire management and emergency responses for the long-term protection of Atlantic Canada’s forests, communities, and residents, including by allocation of $4.2 million for 2025, to establish an Atlantic Wildfire Centre, building on the province’s air services, procuring firefighting equipment, and providing extensive training for department wildfire-fighting staff.
-$4 million is allocated for the Spruce Budworm Early Intervention Strategy, which is a proactive approach to preventing outbreaks of forest pests that threaten our forests. The Provincial Silviculture Program supports reforestation efforts by producing approximately five to seven million high-quality tree seedlings annually at the Centre for Agriculture and Forestry Development.

Technology
The party’s most recent platform statement (dated 2019) states that:
-research and development activity is key to the development of emerging technologies. Researchers in Newfoundland and Labrador already lead the world in industries like fintech, health sciences, and marine technology.
-it advocates working with provincial innovation leaders to promote and grow research and development activity, including collaboration with academia, the private sector, and the NL Innovation Council in the creation of “NL 2030”, a roadmap for research and development activity in the Province.

Toward adoption of a clustered approach to growth in the technology industry, the party advocates:
-building upon the recent Request for Proposals (RFP) issued by TechNL for a new Innovation Centre for the tech sector, including earmarked funding and a commitment to collaboration with TechNL in support of diverse and useful technology hubs with focuses on key sectors such as oil and gas, fisheries and aquaculture, arts and culture, mining, and hospitality industries. This will include development of shared work space, networking initiatives, investment and incubation services, research and mentorship for the tech industry with a focus on key industries in the Province.
-using public challenges like hackathons to incentivize the creation of new businesses and products to create specific tech solutions for key industries.
-working with education stakeholders to expand the entrepreneurship ecosystem throughout MUN and CNA campuses across Newfoundland and in Labrador, leading to new businesses, new jobs, and increased investment in the province.

The party’s 2025 Budget speech states that:
-the technology sector continues to be a powerful economic force contributing $1.8 billion to provincial GDP in 2023 – an increase of 24 per cent since 2016. In 2024, there was more than $80 million in private investment in local technology companies.
-the provincial investment in the technology sector, especially through venture capital funds like VentureNL, has had a significant impact and leveraged funding from other investors. Its investment of $23 million in the VentureNL funds has helped companies supported by these funds to raise an additional $165 million from other investors.
-Budget 2025 includes a $10 million capital investment fund focused on local technology companies.

Infrastructure
The party’s 2025 Budget speech states that:
-it has allocated more than $1.1 billion for infrastructure, to help generate $690 million in economic activity and create thousands of new jobs for Newfoundland and Labrador tradespeople. These investments will positively impact communities and residents for generations to come, including:
-nearly 10,000 kilometres of provincial highways and roads. 1,300 bridges. 21 airstrips. 14 ferries. More than 270 municipalities.
-the 2023 announcement of nearly $1.4 billion to improve provincial highways and roads over five construction seasons is enabling the industry to better action projects. As part of this historic investment, $340 million will be invested in 2025 to support thousands of kilometres of new paving, brush clearing, as well as new culverts and bridges. These include:
*completion of the Team Gushue Highway, as well as enhancements to the Trans-Canada Highway twinning project.
*replacement of the Canning Bridge is well-underway and supporting residents on the Burin Peninsula.
*a new overpass will be required on the Outer Ring Road between Topsail Road and Thorburn Road, which will facilitate access to the new acute care hospital and Kenmount Road. *a new access road to Paradise, which will help alleviate traffic issues.
-planning on these projects has already started. Construction could begin as early as 2026. To date, the province has received 44 snowplows, with 20 more scheduled by the end of April, loaders, tractor trucks, and an asphalt patcher truck.
-it is allocating $37.7 million in 2025 to continue replacing older equipment.
-$90.6 million is allocated to support the operation of provincial ferries, plus an additional $13 million for repairs, maintenance and rehabilitation of the fleet.

New Democratic Party of Newfoundland and Labrador

Economy for All

The party’s latest published policy statement (dated 2021) states that it advocates a provincial Green New Deal aimed at social, economic, and environmental betterment throughout the province, including:
-consultation with community groups and stakeholders to explore the most effective approach to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, provide a just transition for workers in affected industries, strengthen environmental protections, update the provinces labour laws, and other actions with the goal of building a more just and equitable society while working to protect the environment.

Affordability
The party’s latest published policy statement (dated 2021) states that it advocates:
-creation of a public telecom crown corporation to provide low-cost telecom services such as internet and television, in order to provide high-quality, consistent and reliable coverage to the whole of the province.
-implementation of a public auto insurance program, designed to lower rates in a way that is affordable and protects consumers.
-support for the $15 and fairness campaign, and a minimum wage that is a fair wage.

Housing and Poverty Reduction
The party’s latest published policy statement (dated 2021) states that it advocates rent regulation policies that (i) strive to protect renters’ legitimate interest in remaining in their homes, (ii) advance the social interest in stable, mixed-income neighbourhoods; and (ii) curb the market power of landlords. Such policies must also protect tenants from threat of eviction or other pressure from landlords, and give them genuine security in their homes through an automatic right to renew their lease unless the landlord can demonstrate nonpayment of rent or other good cause.

Labour, Unions & Employment

The party’s latest published policy statement (dated 2021) states that it advocates:
-immediate action to protect pensions of all residents of the province, to include giving pensioners first priority in bankruptcy claims, establishing a requirement for trust accounts to hold pension funds for companies operating within the province but domiciled elsewhere; denying companies the right to withdraw funds from pension plans; and denying companies the opportunity to withhold payments to pension plans as required by the plan.
-adoption of the 90% income replacement rate for Worker’s Compensation, and ending the maximum compensable ceiling.
-raising the minimum wage to a living wage, to be adjusted annually to ensure that it remains so.
-supporting all workers, whether full-time, part-time, or gig, in efforts to unionize, including amendment of the NL Labour Relations Act (LRA) to support enforcement measures to force compliance of good faith bargaining, to balance the playing field and achieve fair collective agreement in the event of prolonged labour disputes, and to reinstate automatic certification of unions once 65% of workers have signed union cards.
-introduction of anti-scab legislation.
-banning use of urine or hair follicle tests in provincial workplaces, as they discriminate against medicinal and recreational users of cannabis; and exploring us of saliva testing, sobriety field testing, or future technologies to better determine workplace intoxication.
-complete review and improvement of the Labour Standards Act.

Corporations, Competition or Consumers

Aquaculture
The party’s latest published policy statement (dated 2021) states that it advocates:
-ending funding and expansion plans for net pen use in the province and for a responsible plan to transition to a land-based, zero-effluent, RAS-based provincial finfish aquaculture industry within 5 years.

Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador

Economy for All

The party’s most recent platform publication (dated 2019) states that:
-the lack of good jobs, or even make-do jobs, is a lived reality for almost every family in the province, and the real unsustainable drag on the provincial economy.
-job creation is the best economic policy for government and families, the best social policy in its own right and also to sustain public expenditure on health, education, and all other public services, and the only way to grow the population.
-attention to fairness and equity in employment is the best way to reduce economic and social disparities and build the more just society we all want.
-government cannot deliver jobs from the public purse, as the public purse has been drained. Government can no longer be the major job creator it once was or even the employer of last resort.
-it will not harm the livelihoods of working families.

As one of its three policy pillars, the party’s most recent platform publication (dated 2019), identifies making life more affordable to assist in keeping young people in the province, including by:
-rate mitigation – provincial residents will pay zero on their power bills for Muskrat Falls.
-child care, as part of a plan to cut the costs of care and improve access.
-full removal of removal of sales tax from insurance.
-providing the right health care when residents need it.
-appointing Chief Wellness Officer to lead in keeping people healthier.
-providing first aid training in high school, to ensure that every student knows how to save a life.
-providing 100% coverage for medical transportation costs.
-providing innovative clinics and virtual care to improve patient access.
-recruiting physicians and health providers by addressing fee structures, scope of practice, and return of service.
-improved access Personal Care Homes by removing recently imposed restrictions.
-supporting community residential hospice/end of life care to meet families’ needs for palliative and hospice care.
–supporting development of a Cardiac Centre of Excellence as a major response to NL’s number one killer.
-providing coverage for insulin pumps, with no age cap, not even for those who lost coverage.
-supporting improvement of electronic records to give patients and providers easier access to improve care.
-increasing efficiency in the healthcare system to minimize waste and harm due to unnecessary procedures.
-implementing a Quality Health Council to ensure that the right treatments are available to the right patients at the right time.
-implementing a base staff level review of all nursing homes to improve long-term care.
-preventing cuts in mental health and addictions, and ensuring equal status, improved access for all.
-treating gambling addiction by addressing the addictive features of certain VLTs.
-appointing a Seniors’ Advocate to employ new investigative and reporting powers.
-developing a poverty reduction strategy to build on the province’s nation-leading success.
-taking a closer look at housing issues to develop a housing strategy.
-preventing violence through a renewed strategy for safer communities and homes.
-ensuring inclusion of persons with disabilities through an updated strategy that respects rights.
-developing an autism strategy, including real action to remove the IQ70 criterion.
-providing more moose fencing every year to save lives on provincial highways.
-developing a municipal fiscal framework as a foundation for municipal growth.

The Dignity of Work

As one of its three policy pillars, the party’s most recent platform publication (dated 2019), identifies providing jobs and hope to restore confidence in the future and assist in keeping young people in the province, including by:
-collaborate with businesses to put people to work.
-tailoring Community Benefits Agreements to create opportunities for apprentices and local suppliers.
-growing the provincial population by bring people to the province and keeping them for work, including implementing an Immigration Action Plan to remove barriers to international students and others.
-implementing a Graduate Retention Program, including a tax credit for grads who choose to work in NL.
-creating a New Venture Capital Fund, to give technology enterprises a stronger foothold in NL.
-establishing and meeting world-leading performance targets in education, to prepare provincial youth to compete and win.
-implementing a new school busing policy for children living within 1.6km of school.
-making post-secondary tuition and student aid the most competitive in the country.
-partnering with new technology growth sectors to better serve people through innovation.
-establishing upskilling programs to give provincial residents a digital edge.
-naming a provincial Chief Technology Officer to serve as a leader responsible for the province’s digital transformation.
-implementing a new Energy Plan 2.0, to create new jobs at all stages of exploration and development.
-implementing a cod and seal plan, based on science, to recover cod and seal populations grow rural NL.
-developing aquaculture to drive rural jobs without compromising wild stocks.
-banning single-use plastic bags.
-promoting provincial forestry, to bring more employment and value-added spinoffs benefits to local communities.
-implementing an Agriculture Action Plan to promote collaboration with farmers to grow provincial potential.
-implementing a farm loan guarantee program, proving real help so the province can produce much more of its own food.
-to promote the mining industry, applying the lessons of oil and gas by driving geoscience and exploration.
-developing a tourism strategy to bring people to rural communities to drive sustainable jobs.
-developing an Air Access Strategy to promote more flights, lower costs, and promote more growth, more jobs.
-supporting ArtsNL sustain jobs for artists, promote tourism, educate and inspire.
-implement a New Northern Strategic Plan for Labrador – seizing the potential for growth.

Housing & Poverty Reduction

As one of its three policy pillars, the party’s most recent platform publication (dated 2019), identifies providing jobs and hope to restore confidence in the future and assist in keeping young people in the province, including by:
-rate mitigation – provincial residents will pay zero on their power bills for Muskrat Falls.
-child care, as part of a plan to cut the costs of care and improve access.
-full removal of removal of sales tax from insurance.

Corporations, Competition & Consumers

The party’s most recent platform publication (dated 2019) states that:
-it believes that the private sector can create the wealth the province needs for sustainable families, a sustainable provincial economy, and a sustainable democratic government.
-the province has the resource wealth its needs, private enterprise has the investment wealth the province needs, and the workers of the province have the skills the province needs.
-it advocates marshalling all the job creating and job sustaining powers at the province’s command in a focused and coordinated effort to protect jobs and create more and better jobs workers and families, including bringing together partners from industry, government and post-secondary into multiple Partnerships for Jobs (in fisheries, aquaculture, offshore oil and gas, minerals, hydroelectricity, marine services, tourism, creative industries, and other industries with proven success in the province), to identify potential growth sectors within the economy and to advise government on appropriate policies tailored to the needs of each industry in order to build capacity for jobs and growth.

Ocean economy
The party’s most recent platform publication (dated 2019) states that:
-the vast majority of the resource and economic activity that underpins the province’s economy – fisheries, marine aquaculture, offshore oil and gas, shipping, ports, maritime and coastal tourism – occurs in the waters and the seabed of the Continental Shelf.
-the province’s contiguous waters and seabed were under the province’s control when Newfoundland and Labrador joined the Confederation in 1949, and they are now in federal jurisdiction.
-the ocean economy provides livelihoods for a significant share of the provincial population and is worth billions of dollars, and it is expected to double by 2030.
-the Atlantic Accord, negotiated between the province and the federal government, made the province and the federal government co-managers of the province’s Offshore Oil and Gas industry, and the “principal beneficiary” of it. Bill C-69 resulted in more costly and time-consuming regulations that threaten the province’s resource economy, and diminishes the principles of joint management set out in the Atlantic Accord by transferring key management decisions to federal agencies and the federal cabinet, denying the province its full entitlement to benefits from offshore oil and gas resources. The party advocates fighting for the province’s rights.
-it advocates application of principles of joint management and economic benefits operating in the Atlantic Accord to the provincial fishery, including a Federal-Provincial Agreement to co-manage all fish, shellfish, fish habitat, and marine mammals including harvestable quotas for all marine species on and over the seabed that is a contiguous part of Newfoundland and Labrador.
-in addition to the province’s traditional ocean industries, which continue to grow and innovate, a technology revolution is reshaping and diversifying ocean economies here and around the world. These include gas-to-wire technologies for generating electricity from offshore natural gas, offshore wind energy, tidal and wave energy, seabed mining, and marine biotechnology (the creation of product from marine organisms). The long-term potential for innovation, investment, jobs and economic growth offered by new industries and the expansion of existing industries in our Ocean economy is impressive.
-the province’s undersea electricity transmission link to North American markets enables the province to meet demand for cleaner energy in North America, and entice heavy consumers of electricity to locate their industries here, near to an industrial scale source of clean energy. It advocates seeking advice from industry leaders on developing this potential.

Points to Ponder

Points to Ponder: An Economy to Serve People

A conscience well formed by the social teachings of the Church will seriously consider the following questions:

Poverty Reduction

“The poor you will always have with you,” Christ warned his disciples. Why would Christ say that? Is it possible that the poor will always be with us in order that we, who now form the living body of Christ on earth, will always have an opportunity to glorify God by examining the meaning and the causes of poverty, and working to eliminating it, without expecting that we will ever, on our own and without the assistance of God, be able to do that?
How can Newfoundland and Labrador best strike a balance between the principles of solidarity – ‘we’re all in this together’ – and subsidiarity – ‘everyone should do what he or she can to support themselves, before burdening others?’
What is an appropriate definition of poverty, particularly in a society overflowing with consumer objects and tokens of material wealth?
Should such definition include as a condition the ability of individuals to seek personal fulfillment in the pursuit of truth? In other words, the ability to enjoy and make use of leisure?
What, if anything, should be done to ensure that a dignified living wage, capable of providing a dignified home and opportunity to support a family, is available to workers and those willing to work?
Should a basic income policy be considered? If so, what form should it take?
What can or should be done by the provinces, and what should be left to the federal government, or to private or community organizations?
It has been observed that debt levels among the elderly are increasing, especially as the costs of long-term, dignified care increase. What can or should be done to alleviate poverty and debt among the elderly?

GDP & Well-Being

For decades, governments have focused exclusively on gross domestic product – a measure of an economy’s sheer productivity – as the best measure of national social health. More recently, some voices have begun to advocate for a broader index of national well-being, to include factors such as the physical and emotional health of the people, the health of the environment, equity in housing, income, and opportunity, and food security, in addition to raw production.

Which of these measures of national well-being is more amenable to promotion of Catholic values?
What else can or should be done to ensure that Newfoundland and Labrador’s economy serves everyone–rather than the other way around? Should spiritual well-being be considered? If so, how could it be assessed?
Is it reasonable to demand continuous economic growth, as business schools have taught for decades, or might it be preferable to seek sustainable contentment?

Businesses and Corporations

For decades, corporate lobby groups and business schools have taught that the only legitimate object of a business corporation is to make money for its shareholders. More recently, some business voices have begun to call for a broader role for corporations, one that includes service of its employees, its customers, and the community, and protection of the environment.

Which approach is more consistent with Catholic social teaching?
Should anything be done to encourage development of a corporate and business culture that aims to serve people, communities, and future generations, in addition to fair profits? If so, what, and by whom?

Church Teaching

Civil Rights & Liberties

Every member of society is imbued with a number of rights. With them come responsibilities.

In Catholic terms, a “right” has been defined as a subjective moral power, residing in the person posing it, “to do, hold, or extract something,” which functions through appeal to another’s will through the other’s intellect. It is to be distinguished from might, i.e. the physical force or power to take something away from another. – Fr John Hardon, SJ, Modern Catholic Dictionary

Man’s history of sin begins when he no longer acknowledges the Lord as his Creator and himself wishes to be the one who determines, with complete independence, what is good and what is evil. “You will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen 3:5): this was the first temptation, and it is echoed in all the other temptations to which man is more easily inclined to yield as a result of the original Fall. – Pope Saint John Paul II, Veritatis splendor

The demands of the common good… are strictly connected to respect for and the integral promotion of the person and his fundamental rights. These demands concern above all the commitment to peace, the organization of the State’s powers, a sound juridical system, the protection of the environment, and the provision of essential services to all, some of which are at the same time human rights: food, housing, work, education and access to culture, transportation, basic health care, the freedom of communication and expression, and the protection of religious freedom. Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 164-166

Racism & Discrimination
The unity of the human family is not yet becoming a reality. This is due to obstacles originating in materialistic and nationalistic ideologies that contradict the values of the person integrally considered in all his various dimensions, material and spiritual, individual and community. In particular, any theory or form whatsoever of racism and racial discrimination is morally unacceptable. -433, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

Conscience & Religion
The Catholic Church emphasizes, among other rights, the right to religious freedom. Emphasis is given to the paramount value of the right to religious freedom: “all men are to be immune from coercion on the part of individuals or of social groups and of any human power, in such wise that no one is to be forced to act in a manner contrary to his own beliefs, whether privately or publicly, whether alone or in association with others, within due limits”. The respect of this right is an indicative sign of “man’s authentic progress in any regime, in any society, system or milieu.” -320, 321 Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

With euthanasia and medically-assisted death and abortion legalized, it is critical that healthcare providers whose deepest moral convictions tell them that such procedures are wrong, not be forced to participate. Catholic teaching says workers should be safeguarded from suffering any affront to conscience or personal dignity.

It is a grave duty of conscience to avoid cooperating, even formally, with practices contrary to the Law of God.

Freedom of Speech: truth, the press & the media
Information is among the principal instruments of democratic participation. Participation without an understanding of the situation of the political community, the facts and the proposed solutions to problems is unthinkable.

It is necessary to guarantee a real pluralism in the dissemination of information, ensuring that there are many forms and instruments of information and communications. Special attention must be given to the phenomenon of the news media being controlled by just a few people or groups. This has dangerous effects for the entire democratic system… The media must be used to build up and sustain the human community in its different sectors: economic, political, cultural, educational and religious. Society has a right to information based on truth, freedom, justice and solidarity. The essential question is whether the current information system is contributing to the betterment of the human person; that is, does it make people more spiritually mature, more aware of the dignity of their humanity, more responsible or more open to others, in particular to the neediest and the weakest.

A further aspect of great importance is that new technologies must respect legitimate cultural differences. In the world of the media the intrinsic difficulties of communications are often exacerbated by ideology, the desire for profit and political control, rivalry and conflicts between groups, and other social evils. Moral values and principles apply also to the media…. 414-416, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

Gender Equity
The feminine genius is needed in all expressions in the life of society. The first indispensable step in this direction is the concrete possibility of access to professional formation. The persistence of many forms of discrimination offensive to the dignity and vocation of women is due to a long series of conditioning that penalizes women, who have seen themselves relegated to the margins of society and even reduced to servitude… An urgent need to recognize effectively the rights of women in the workplace is seen especially under the aspects of pay, insurance and social security. –295, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

Property
Private property and other forms of private control of goods “assure a person a highly necessary sphere for the exercise of his personal and family autonomy and ought to be considered as an extension of human freedom … stimulating exercise of responsibility, it constitutes one of the conditions for civil liberty.” -171, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

The Church’s social doctrine requires that ownership of goods be equally accessible to all, so that all may become, at least in some measure, owners. The world exists for everyone, because all of us were born with the same dignity. Diff1erences of colour, religion, talent, place of birth or residence, and so many others, cannot be used to justify the privileges of some over the rights of all. As a community, we have an obligation to ensure that every person lives with dignity and has sufficient opportunities for his or her integral development. -176, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

Not to share our wealth with the poor is to rob them and take away their livelihood. The riches we possess are not our own, but theirs as well… Other rights having to do with the goods necessary for the integral fulfilment of persons, including that of private property or any other type of property, should in no way hinder [this right], but should actively facilitate its implementation. Fratelli tutti, -188-120

Human Rights

The Church recognizes a number of Human Rights, including:
– the right to life, an integral part of which is the right of the child to develop in the mother’s womb from the moment of conception
– the right to live in a united family and in a moral environment conducive to the growth of the child’s personality
– the right to develop one’s intelligence and freedom in seeking and knowing the truth
– the right to share in the work which makes wise use of the earth’s material resources, and to derive from that work the means to support oneself and one’s dependents
– and the right freely to establish a family, to have and to rear children through the responsible exercise of one’s sexuality.

The Church also emphases rights to adequate housing; clean water, and secure, nutritious food; education and access to culture, transportation, basic health care.
– 151-166 Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

Individual Responsibilities

“In human society to one man’s right there corresponds a duty in all other persons: the duty, namely, of acknowledging and respecting the right in question.” “Those, therefore, who claim their own rights, yet altogether forget or neglect to carry out their respective duties, are people who build with one hand and destroy with the other. -156 Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

Subsidiarity
Subsidiarity is the principle that each element of society should serve its proper purpose, and support others in serving theirs, the over-arching goal being to encourage and enable the authentic human development of the individual.

One consequence of this principle is that each individual, and smaller groups of people, should be allowed and expected to make for themselves all the decisions that can responsibly be left to them, rather than to larger groups or greater authorities. A premise of this principle is that we are each responsible for our own salvation, within the limits of the gifts and the challenges with which God has endowed us. This is one of the fundamental social teachings of the Church, since it helps to ensure that each individual is empowered to find his or her own way to God.

Families, Individuals, and Civil Society
It is impossible to promote the dignity of the person without showing concern for the family, groups, associations, local territorial realities; in short, for that aggregate of economic, social, cultural, sports-oriented, recreational, professional and political expressions to which people spontaneously give life and which make it possible for them to achieve effective social growth. This is the realm of civil society… This network of relationships strengthens the social fabric and constitutes the basis of a true community of persons, making possible the recognition of higher forms of social activity.

The political community is established to be of service to civil society, from which it originates… This vision is challenged by political ideologies of an individualistic nature and those of a totalitarian character, which tend to absorb civil society into the sphere of the State. The political community and civil society are not equal in the hierarchy of ends. The political community is essentially at the service of civil society and, in the final analysis, the persons and groups of which civil society is composed.

The State must provide an adequate legal framework for social subjects to engage freely in their different activities and it must be ready to intervene, when necessary and with respect for the principle of subsidiarity, so that the interplay between free associations and democratic life may be directed to the common good. -185, 417, 418 Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

Subsidiary governments: provinces, municipalities, territories, & Aboriginals
The principle of subsidiarity is opposed to various forms of centralization, bureaucratization, and welfare assistance, and to the unjustified and excessive presence of the State in public mechanisms… Just as it is gravely wrong to take from individuals what they can accomplish by their own initiative and industry and give it to the community, so also it is an injustice and at the same time a grave evil and disturbance of right order to assign to a greater and higher association what lesser and subordinate organizations can do. -185, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador

New Democratic Party of Newfoundland and Labrador

Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador

Points to Ponder

Points to Ponder: Rights & Responsibilities; Subsidiarity

A conscience well formed by the social teachings of the Church will seriously consider the following questions:

Civic & Individual Rights & Responsibilities

It is clear that the nation and the provinces owe their citizens great respect for each of a broad range of human rights. But with rights come responsibilities. In fact, a right is nothing other than the flip side of an obligation (responsibility). And while individual citizens have rights, the civil community as a whole also has rights, which means that individual citizens have some fundamental obligations towards the civil community as a whole (the nation).

In that light, we can ask:

What responsibilities do individuals have toward their communities, provinces, the nation, and the world? For example:

1. To what extent are citizens called to live sustainable lifestyles, for example by conserving energy, avoiding waste, and ensuring that they minimize any adverse impact on future generations?

1. What should citizens look to their governments for, to encourage sustainable consumer lifestyles and ensure that such lifestyles are affordable?
2. To what extent are citizens called to:
  1. participate in society, for example through informed voting, continued engagement with candidates and elected representatives, and keeping up responsibly with the news?
  2. lend a hand to their neighbours, for example by volunteering at home or within the community, in addition to paying taxes?
Can our governments do anything to enable or encourage citizens to contribute by volunteer service? For example, by offering tax credits to volunteer firefighters, to those who work with the homeless or visit the sick, or to other civic volunteers?
Under what conditions, if any, is it morally right to require health care providers to participate in morally questionable practices such as abortion or assisted death, when it is contrary to their understanding of morality or their religious beliefs?

In addition to human and civil rights, many parties speak of things residents of Newfoundland and Labrador “deserve.”

How do the parties determine what citizens do or do not deserve? Do they apply predictable, objective criteria in making such determinations, or can such determinations sometimes seem arbitrary and unfair, or, in the context of elections, opportunistic? What criteria should be applied?
As the list of our defined political rights expand, how do we reconcile conflicts between them?

Inter-Government Relations & and Civil Society

Should the powers of the Federal government be expanded or reduced?
Should the powers of the Provincial government be expanded or reduced?
Is there too much government intervention in Canada or too little? Are Federal and Provincial governments fulfilling their obligations under the principle of subsidiarity to local governments and community groups by leaving to them all the decisions that responsibly can be left with them?
Or, should the powers of government be redistributed in order to ensure that individuals, public interest groups, and service organizations have opportunities to employ their lives and talents in the service of others, and the common good?

Church Teaching

Solidarity is found in a commitment to the good of one’s neighbour. The good of one is the good of all, and the other is as important as the self. Injustice done to another is an injustice that affects everyone. – 193, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

Support for the Marginalized and the Vulnerable

Some people are born into economically stable families, receive a fine education, grow up well nourished, or naturally possess great talent. They will certainly not need a proactive state; they need only claim their freedom. Yet the same rule clearly does not apply to a disabled person, to someone born in dire poverty, to those lacking a good education and with little access to adequate health care. If a society is governed primarily by the criteria of market freedom and efficiency, there is no place for such persons, and fraternity will remain just another vague ideal. Pope Francis – Fratelli tutti, 109

So many needy brothers and sisters are waiting for help, so many who are oppressed are waiting for justice, so many who are unemployed are waiting for a job, so many peoples are waiting for respect. How can it be that even today there are still people dying of hunger? Condemned to illiteracy? Lacking the most basic medical care? Without a roof over their head? The scenario of poverty can extend indefinitely, if in addition to its traditional forms we think of its newer patterns. These new patterns often affect financially affluent sectors and groups which are nevertheless threatened by despair at the lack of meaning in their lives, by drug addiction, by fear of abandonment in old age or sickness, by marginalization or social discrimination… –5 Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

Disabilities, Mental Health & Addictions

Persons with disabilities are fully human subjects, with rights and duties: “in spite of the limitations and sufferings affecting their bodies and faculties, they point up more clearly the dignity and greatness of man.” Persons with disabilities are to be helped to participate in every dimension of family and social life at every level accessible to them and according to their possibilities… They too need to love and to be loved, they need tenderness, closeness and intimacy according to their capacities. – 148, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

Indigenous Peoples & Reconciliation

The relationship of Indigenous peoples to their lands and resources deserves particular attention, since it is a fundamental expression of their identity. These peoples offer an example of a life lived in harmony with the environment that they have come to know well and to preserve. Their extraordinary experience, which is an irreplaceable resource for all humanity, runs the risk of being lost together with the environment from which they originate. – 471, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

The Canadian Catholic Church supports the work of the Truth and Reconciliation commission. We are called to support thriving Indigenous communities in Canada, rooted in their unique cultures and traditions.

Northern & Rural Communities

Looking after the common good means making use of the new opportunities for the redistribution of wealth to the benefit of the underprivileged that until now have been excluded or cast to the sidelines of social and economic progress. Too often, social services and infrastructure development suffer from neglect in rural areas. – 299, 300, 363, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.

Agricultural labour merits special attention… considering the many problems that need to be met in the context of an ever more globalized economy as well as its growing significance in safeguarding the natural environment. Radical and urgent changes are therefore needed in order to restore to agriculture — and to rural people — their just value as the basis for a healthy economy… – 363, 299 Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.

Refugees & Newcomers

Ideally, unnecessary migration ought to be avoided; this entails creating in countries of origin the conditions needed for a dignified life and integral development. Yet until substantial progress is made in achieving this goal, we are obliged to respect the right of all individuals to find a place that meets their basic needs and those of their families, and where they can find personal fulfilment. Our response to the arrival of migrating persons can be summarized by four words: welcome, protect, promote and integrate. – Pope Francis, Fratelli tutti, 129

In the modern world, where there are still grave inequalities between rich countries and poor countries, and where advances in communications quickly reduce distances, the immigration of people looking for a better life is on the increase. These people come from less privileged areas of the earth and their arrival in developed countries is often perceived as a threat to the high levels of well-being achieved thanks to decades of economic growth. In most cases, however, immigrants fill a labour need which would otherwise remain unfilled… Institutions in host countries must keep careful watch to prevent the spread of the temptation to exploit foreign labourers, denying them the same rights enjoyed by nationals, rights that are to be guaranteed to all without discrimination. – 297, 298, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

We are called to welcome immigrants and refugees with generosity and good will, as if they were Jesus Christ himself. Matthew, Chapter 25

“When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. The stranger who sojourns with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.” 23 Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, Lev. 19:33-34)

Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador

Solidarity with the Marginalized

Persons with disabilities
The party’s most recent platform statement (dated 2019) states that:
-all people have the right to access services and participate fully in their communities without barriers. It affirms an ongoing commitment and partnership with the Provincial Advisory Council for the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities and the Coalition of Persons with Disabilities NL. It undertakes to continue to work with all stakeholders to ensure equitable access to services and opportunities for people with disabilities.
-during its prior term in office it put forward the Accessible Taxi Grant Program to address transportation barriers by assisting taxi companies to add accessible taxis to their fleet. It commits to continue collaborations to find such concrete and creative solutions to ensure an accessible and inclusive Newfoundland and Labrador.

Indigenous Peoples & Relations

The party’s most recent platform statement (dated 2019) states that:
-in consultation with Indigenous leaders, during its prior term in office it initiated a process to create and install a statue commemorating historical Beothuk people. It advocates prioritizing the effort.
-it is committed to establishing an inquiry into the experiences and treatment of children in the child protection system in the Province. Agreement has been reached with Innu Nation on the selection of commissioners, and the inquiry was to commence as soon as possible.
-building on commitments to strengthen relationships and work toward reconciliation, it undertook to collaborate with Indigenous groups to ensure all elected representatives, their staff members and public servants receive training on Indigenous perspectives to help foster deeper understanding and cultural awareness of the unique perspectives of each community; and to establish respectful, principle-based relationships with Indigenous people as a foundation for sound Government policies and programs, and ensuring vibrant and prosperous Indigenous communities.
-recognizing that the written description of the provincial Coat of Arms was archaic and reflective of a colonial era long past, it undertook, in consultation with Indigenous leaders and groups, to rewrite it to more accurately represent the peoples and cultures of our modern day Province.

In its 2021 mandate letter, the party instructed the Minister of Justice and Public Safety to:
-advance necessary work in response to the final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
-participate in the forthcoming inquiry into the treatment, experiences and outcomes of Innu in the child protection system.
-continue to allocate two articling positions within the Department of Justice and Public Safety for Indigenous law students graduating from the University of Saskatchewan Law program, further to the partnership established with the University of Saskatchewan and Indigenous Governments and Organizations.

The party’s 2025 Budget speech states that:
-with guidance from Indigenous Governments and Organizations, the provincial government remains unwavering in its pursuit of Reconciliation. It has worked to honour the culture and heritage of Indigenous peoples, and to address such social determinants of health as education, violence prevention, and economic development.
-for 2025, nearly $500,000 is allocated to help create safer communities.
-as part of the K-12 system, opportunities are being explored to best incorporate Indigenous cultures and history into the curriculum.
-an additional $225,000 in provincial funds is allocated for the Gladue Report Project.
-as part of a new project for the Churchill River, the province has entered into a partnership that will invite considerable economic opportunities for Indigenous peoples.
-Reconciliation will take time. It requires thoughtful and meaningful engagement with Indigenous partners to define the path forward – the past must be fully understood in order to arrive at a more prosperous future.

Rural Communities

The party’s most recent platform statement (dated 2019) states that:
-as modern telecommunications are fundamental to economic prosperity, social development, and global competitiveness, it advocates further extension of coverage throughout rural Newfoundland and Labrador. It has already partnered with service providers, community partners and other governments to expand cellular service to communities in the southwest portion of Avalon Peninsula, specifically the St. Mary’s Bay area.
-it will expand Bell’s LTE broadband wireless technology in the communities of Bay de Verde, Burin, Burlington, Conche, Cow Head, Cox’s Cove, Forteau, Hampden, McIvers, Trout River and Winterton.
-it is preparing to establish a province-wide public safety radio system, which will improve the way emergency responders and Government communicate with each other during emergencies.

Labrador
The party’s 2025 budget speech states that:
-with the Churchill Falls Memorandum of Understanding and a suite of social and infrastructure initiatives, Labrador is poised for a future of unprecedented growth and development.
-it works to ensure that as economic opportunities flourish, the well-being and safety of Labradorians remains at the forefront. By investing in jobs, community development, social programs, and climate resilience, Labrador is realizing its true potential, becoming a beacon of prosperity and progress.
-the Churchill’s new chapter heralds a transformative shift in Labrador’s economic landscape. Harnessing of the immense potential of the Churchill River promises a wealth of new opportunities for residents and communities. Jobs through the construction phase into long-term operational roles, mining projects, and service industries.
-the increased economic growth on the horizon heightens the need to invest in programs that enhance the quality of life for Labradorians across a vast geographic area. Housing, health care, education, public safety, and transportation are important parts of 2025 investment in Labrador.
-the 2025 budget establishes a new 10-bed substance use treatment centre in Happy Valley-Goose Bay that will provide recovery and rehabilitation support for individuals living with addictions. Construction is beginning on a new Integrated Health, Housing, and Supportive Services Hub in this community, and five new RCMP officers are allocated for region.
-in Labrador West, the expansion of Hope Haven will see the construction of a new seven-unit, second stage housing project for women and children fleeing violence.
-$3 million is allocated for the coastal communities of Nain, Hopedale, and Makkovik, for repair and modernization of public housing.
-construction of a new K-12 school in Cartwright will begin in 2025.
-the new Atlantic Wildfire Centre will include satellite infrastructure in Wabush in response to the region’s vulnerability to wildfires.
-in recognition of the Year of Sport, $430,000 is allocated for the Labrador Sport Travel Subsidy, to make it easier for Labrador athletes to participate in provincial competitions and development camps

Immigrants & Newcomers

The party’s most recent platform statement (dated 2019) states that it recognizes the significant demographic challenges faced by Newfoundland and Labrador, and advocates swift action to address the province’s aging and shrinking population. To that end the party advocates:
-tripling the province’s immigration target from 1,700 to 5,100 newcomers per year by 2026, aligning the provincial immigration goal with Canada’s national immigration target of welcoming newcomers at a rate of approximately 1% of the existing population, and implementing a suite of immigration policies to ensure its immigration plan works to strengthen the province for the future.
-continuing the Priority Skills Newfoundland and Labrador Program to provide additional assistance to employers in meeting a growing demand for highly educated, highly skilled workers in areas such as technology and ocean sciences, where demand has outpaced local training and recruitment.
-to support the goal of tripling immigration, expanding opportunities for, and further nurturing a sense of belonging among newcomers to the province, including targeting access to social and recreational activities, opportunities for spousal/family employment and social engagement, celebrating diversity, and the availability of culture-specific communities, food, and activities, with a specific focus on increasing access to arts and culture, as well as sports and recreation opportunities for new residents of all ages, to foster a sense of cultural exchange, understanding and belonging.

The party’s 2025 Budget Speech states that the province has experienced 15 consecutive quarters of population growth and reached the highest population in a quarter of a century. The newcomers are contributing to Newfoundland and Labrador communities in meaningful ways, including welcoming the following in 2024:
-257 nurses, 90 per cent are working in areas outside the capital city.
-433 personal care attendants.
-65 early learning childhood educators.
-111 social and community service workers.
-154 skilled trades workers.
-of the 7,500 newcomers, 2,000 are estimated to be school-aged children.
-the Ukrainian Family Support Desk has been an incredible asset in assisting Ukrainians to live and work in our province. To date, there are more than 3,500 Ukrainians living in 72 communities in this province.
-for 2025, key investments will include over $2 million to market Newfoundland and Labrador globally and $16.8 million for settlement and retention services.

New Democratic Party of Newfoundland and Labrador

Solidarity with the Marginalized

The disabled
The party’s latest published policy statement (dated 2021) states that it supports allowing surrogate hunters, with no distance limit, to hunt game on behalf of hunters with mobility issues and other disabilities, and undertakes to push government to fill vacant wildlife officer positions in Labrador to ensure that regulations are followed and provincial wildlife populations are preserved.

Sex workers
The party’s latest published policy statement (dated 2021) states that:
-it will commit to the belief that sex work is work, sex workers are workers and people, and sex workers’ rights are human rights to be protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
-it will commit to amend and/or repeal any and all provincial laws and regulations relevant to sex work.
-it will work to better the lives of those who participate and are directly involved in the sex industry, including but not limited to improving the safety, security, and social and economic well-being of sex workers in the province.
-it will commit to increased funding for non-profit organizations which provide ongoing non-judgmental support, harm reduction, and resources to those who formerly or currently do sex work, and t those who continue to do sex work without being pressured to exit their choice of work.
-it will commit to lobbying for changes to relevant municipal and federal legislation and regulations to reflect the goals stated above.

Indigenous Peoples

The party’s latest published policy statement (dated 2021) states that:
-it is committed to implementation of the portions of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People that are within the jurisdiction of the Provincial government, such ensuring the free and informed consent prior to the approval of any project affecting their lands, territories, or resources, particularly in connection with the development, utilization, or exploitation of mineral, water, or other resources; and that Indigenous people have an equal right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; among others.
-it is committed to implementation of the portions of the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada that are within the jurisdiction of the Provincial government such as providing cultural competency training to all medical professionals and social workers in the province, among others.
-it is committed to implementing the portions of the Calls to Justice from the Inquiry into Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls that are within the jurisdiction of the Provincial government, such as fundamentally transforming current child welfare systems so that Indigenous communities have control over the design and delivery of services for their families and children, among others.
-it is committed to prohibiting all future hydroelectric development on the Churchill river unless such development receives the free, full, prior and informed consent of provincial Indigenous communities.

Northern and Rural Communities

Labrador
The party’s latest published policy statement (dated 2021) states that the party is committed to reinstating the Executive Director position and reopening the Labrador Affairs Office with adequate staffing.

Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador

Points to Ponder

Points to Ponder: Solidarity

It is always important, as Archbishop Donald Bolen of Regina has said, “to listen to the voices of the suffering, to be guided by them in how we respond and to be ready to engage with them in moving forward.” (Catholic Register 18 July 2021)

What does it mean – to the government, to social organizations, and to individual Canadians – to listen to, and to be guided by, the voice of someone who is suffering?
Who, in Canada and around the world, is suffering now?
How can such voices be heard so that a healthy, positive, and loving response can be determined?

Indigenous Rights & Reconciliation

How can the provincial government and the Church work together to facilitate real reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, so that all Canadians can benefit from re-established right-relationships?

Mental Health & Addictions

Several parties, particularly at the federal level, have proposed decriminalization of drug dealing and drug possession, in order to focus on the treatment of addiction as a health care issue.

Is it possible, by decriminalizing drug sales and drug possession, to both relieve an overburdened criminal justice system and help more individuals heal and recover from addictions? If so, what might a helpful approach look like?
Is it possible, through review of criminal legislation, education, and focused health care initiatives, to give individuals greater freedom to “develop their potentialities, become aware of their dignity and prepare to face their unique and individual destiny?” (quoting St. John Paul II, On the Hundredth Year (Centesimus Annus) #39
Is there any way to ensure that such measures are accompanied by effective mechanisms to address the root causes of and eliminate drug abuse, for example through educational initiatives at all levels of society?
To what extent can or should such measures be tailored to the individual human needs, desires, and weaknesses of those caught in cycles of abuse?

Refugees & Newcomers

What is being done, and what, if anything, should further be done to ensure that refugees and newcomers are safe, healthy, and enabled to flourish in Newfoundland and Labrador?
It seems obvious that many immigrants are attracted by one or more features of Canadian life and culture. To what extent is it possible and proper to expose immigrants to Canadian culture and expect them to embrace it?
If it is possible and proper to any degree, how are Canadian life and culture are to be defined, and by whom? What voice can or should individual Canadians, groups, parishes and other community organizations, the Church, and our various governments have?

Northern & Rural Communities

What is being done, and what, if anything, should further be done to ensure vibrant, healthy rural life in Newfoundland and Labrador?
Of those measures, what should be done at the federal level? By the provinces? By businesses, residents, and civil associations in rural areas?

Church Teaching

The Proper Role of Government

It is impossible to understand the role and purpose of government and other social institutions without first appreciating the purpose of life.

If, as the Church believes, the purpose of life is for each soul to search for and find the truth which is God, and to seek to grow closer to God, and to ensure that all other souls are encouraged and enabled to find their own ways to God, it follows that the proper role of government is to provide, with the support of the Church and other moral, educational, and economic institutions, a legal and economic framework in which the common good can flourish, in order that the people may accomplish their mission, that is, so that the people may use the freedom God has given them to seek the truth and thereby return to Him.

An authentic democracy is not merely the result of a formal observation of a set of rules but is the fruit of a convinced acceptance of the values that inspire democratic procedures: the dignity of every human person, the respect of human rights, commitment to the common good as the purpose and guiding criterion for political life. If there is no general consensus on these values, the deepest meaning of democracy is lost and its stability is compromised.

The Church’s social doctrine sees ethical relativism, which maintains that there are no objective or universal criteria for establishing the foundations of a correct hierarchy of values, as one of the greatest threats to modern-day democracies. – 407, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

Responsibilities of the State include:
– ensuring that all individuals are enabled to achieve their full potential, by maintaining a framework capable of providing all the material, moral, and spiritual goods necessary for the common good
– harmonizing the different interests of sectors of society with the requirements of justice, including particularly the reconciliation of private ownership of goods with the common good
– ordering society not only in accordance with the desires of the majority, but the effective good of all the members of the community, including minorities
– 168, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

Stewardship of Office

Public administration at any level — national, regional, community — is to be oriented towards the service of citizens, serving as steward of the people’s resources, which it must administer with a view to the common good.

Tax revenues and public spending take on crucial economic importance for every civil and political community. The goal to be sought is public financing that is itself capable of becoming an instrument of development and solidarity. Just, efficient and effective public financing will have very positive effects on the economy, because it will encourage employment growth and sustain business and non-profit activities and help to increase the credibility of the State as the guarantor of systems of social insurance and protection that are designed above all to protect the weakest members of society.

Public spending is directed to the common good when certain fundamental principles are observed: the payment of taxes as part of the duty of solidarity; a reasonable and fair application of taxes; precision and integrity in administering and distributing public resources.

In the redistribution of resources, public spending must observe the principles of solidarity, equality and making use of talents. It must also pay greater attention to families, designating an adequate amount of resources for this purpose. In the democratic system, political authority is accountable to the people. 355, 408, 412, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

Democratic Reform
Representative bodies must be subjected to effective social control. This control can be carried out above all in free elections which allow the selection and change of representatives. The obligation on the part of those elected to give an accounting of their work — which is guaranteed by respecting electoral terms — is a constitutive element of democratic representation.

Among the deformities of the democratic system, political corruption is one of the most serious. If there is no ultimate truth to guide and direct political action, then ideas and convictions can easily be manipulated for reasons of power. A democracy without values easily turns into totalitarianism. – 406-412, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

Cooperation and respect between parties
Political parties have the task of fostering widespread participation and making public responsibilities accessible to all. Political parties are called to interpret the aspirations of civil society, orienting them towards the common good… An authentic democracy is not merely the result of a formal observation of a set of rules but is the fruit of a convinced acceptance of the values that inspire democratic procedures: the dignity of every human person, the respect of human rights, commitment to the common good as the purpose and guiding criterion for political life. If there is no general consensus on these values, the deepest meaning of democracy is lost and its stability is compromised. – 407, 413, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

Peace & Good Order

Peace & International Relations
Because of the new bonds of interdependence among global operators, the traditional defensive measures of States appear to be destined to failure.

The centrality of the human person and the natural inclination of persons and peoples to establish relationships among themselves are the fundamental elements for building a true international community, the ordering of which must aim at guaranteeing the effective universal common good… [T]he unity of the human family is not yet becoming a reality. This is due to obstacles originating in materialistic and nationalistic ideologies that contradict the values of the person integrally considered in all his various dimensions, material and spiritual, individual and community. In particular, any theory or form whatsoever of racism and racial discrimination is morally unacceptable. The coexistence among nations is based on the same values that should guide relations among human beings: truth, justice, active solidarity and freedom…. Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 370, 433

Global care for the environment
Responsibility for the environment should also find adequate expression on a juridical level. It is important that the international community draw up uniform rules that will allow States to exercise more effective control over the various activities that have negative effects on the environment and to protect ecosystems by preventing the risk of accidents… They must be accompanied by a growing sense of responsibility as well as an effective change of mentality and lifestyle. Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 467, 468

Peacekeeping & Embargoes
States do not always possess adequate means to provide effectively for their own defence. From this derives the need and importance of international and regional organizations, which should be in a position to work together to resolve conflicts and promote peace, re-establishing relationships of mutual trust that make recourse to war unthinkable.

The purpose of sanctions must be clearly defined and the measures adopted must from time to time be objectively evaluated by the competent bodies of the international community as to their effectiveness and their real impact on the civilian population. The true objective of such measures is open to the way to negotiation and dialogue. Sanctions must never be used as a means for the direct punishment of an entire population. Economic sanctions in particular are an instrument to be used with great discernment and must be subjected to strict legal and ethical criteria. An economic embargo must be of limited duration and cannot be justified when the resulting effects are indiscriminate. Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 499, 507

Displaced Persons & Humanitarian Aid
A particular category of war victim is formed by refugees, forced by combat to flee the places where they habitually live and to seek refuge in foreign countries. The Church is close to them not only with her pastoral presence and material support, but also with her commitment to defend their human dignity: Concern for refugees must lead us to reaffirm and highlight universally recognized human rights, and to ask that the effective recognition of these rights be guaranteed to refugees.

It is therefore essential to seek out the causes underlying bellicose conflicts, especially those connected with structural situations of injustice, poverty and exploitation, which require intervention so that they may be removed. For this reason, another name for peace is development. Just as there is a collective responsibility for avoiding war, so too there is a collective responsibility for promoting development. Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 158, 498, 515

Finance
In the presence of new areas of competition, the very notion of a national market recedes into the background. If the creation of what is called the “global capital market” has brought benefits… on the other hand it has also increased the risk of financial crises. The financial sector, which has seen the volume of financial transactions far surpass that of real transactions, runs the risk of developing according to a mentality that has only itself as a point of reference, without being connected to the real foundations of the economy.

The more the worldwide economic-financial system reaches high levels of organizational and functional complexity, all the more priority must be given to the task of regulating these processes, directing them towards the goal of attaining the common good of the human family. Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 368-371

Trade
The Church has time and again called attention to aberrations in the system of international trade, which often, owing to protectionist policies, discriminates against products coming from poorer countries and hinders the growth of industrial activity in and the transfer of technology to these countries.

The continuing deterioration in terms of the exchange of raw materials and the widening of the gap between rich and poor countries has prompted the Church to point out the importance of ethical criteria that should form the basis of international economic relations: the pursuit of the common good and the universal destination of goods; equity in trade relationships; and attention to the rights and needs of the poor in policies concerning trade and international cooperation.

Economic and social imbalances in the world of work must be addressed by restoring a just hierarchy of values and placing the human dignity of workers before all else. Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 370, 321, 364

Disarmament
The Church proposes the goal of general, balanced and controlled disarmament. The enormous increase in arms represents a grave threat to stability and peace. The principle of sufficiency, by virtue of which each State may possess only the means necessary for its legitimate defence, must be applied both by States that buy arms and by those that produce and furnish them. Any excessive stockpiling or indiscriminate trading in arms cannot be morally justified.

The doctrine of deterrence gives rise to strong moral reservations. The arms race does not ensure peace. The principle of the non-proliferation of nuclear arms, together with measures of nuclear disarmament and the prohibition of nuclear tests, are intimately interconnected objectives that must be met as soon as possible by means of effective controls at the international level. Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 508-509

Arms Sales
War is a scourge and is never an appropriate way to resolve problems that arise between nations. Appropriate measures are needed to control the production, sale, importation and exportation of small arms and light weapons, armaments that facilitate many outbreaks of violence to occur. The sale and trafficking of such weapons constitute a serious threat to peace: these arms kill and are used for the most part in internal and regional conflicts; their ready availability increases both the risk of new conflicts and the intensity of those already underway. The position of States that apply severe controls on the international transfer of heavy arms while they never, or only very rarely, restrict the sale and trafficking of small arms and light weapons is an unacceptable contradiction. Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 497-511

Criminal Justice & Public Safety
In order to protect the common good, the lawful public authority must exercise the right and the duty to inflict punishments according to the seriousness of the crimes committed. The State has the twofold responsibility to discourage behaviour that is harmful to human rights and the fundamental norms of civil life, and to repair, through the penal system, the disorder created by criminal activity…

Punishment does not serve merely the purpose of defending the public order and guaranteeing the safety of persons; it becomes as well an instrument for the correction of the offender. There is a twofold purpose here. On the one hand, encouraging the reinsertion of the condemned person into society; on the other, fostering a justice that reconciles, a justice capable of restoring harmony in social relationships disrupted by the criminal act committed. – 402 Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador

Party Values & Purpose of Government

The party’s constitution states that:
-all individuals should be treated with dignity.
-it strives for an inclusive society in which every individual is valued equally under the law and has an equal opportunity to reach their full potential.
-a fundamental core Liberal value is a fair balance between respect for individual rights and freedoms and caring for the needs of each individual and of society as a whole.
-its members are committed to openness and transparency in government and the opportunity for all to participate in the political process.

In its 2021 mandate letters, the party instructed its each of its ministers:
-to remain always focused on a robust economy where there is a place for all workers, an economy that embraces renewable energy while maximizing the provinces oil and gas advantage; including fostering a business environment that supports new and growing technology work while reimagining and reinvigorating provincial fishing and mining sectors to meet global demand for its abundant resources.
-while building a strong economy, work also to create a prosperous society, healthy, active residents who not only have access to the means to treat illness but also to achieve wellness, with vibrant, engaged communities in which nobody is left behind while also building both economic and social, environmental, and cultural wealth.
-to remain always mindful of the needs of the most vulnerable in provincial society and ensuring that quality social services are available and accessible to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.
-in meeting these needs, to integrate a Gender-Based Plus Analysis into all policies and proposals.

Taxes, Services, Stewardship & Reform

Fiscal responsibility
The party’s most recent platform statement (dated 2019) states that:
-during its prior term in office, as the province battled its way out of a tough financial situation during challenging economic times, it was spending over $1 billion per year on servicing the province’s existing debt.
-it undertakes to responsibly manage debt, and to take steps to improve its debt management, including engaging best practices and financial experts, consolidating debt across Government entities, and rolling over expensive debt from past years to more affordable arrangements.
-given the Province’s current debt burden of over $16 Billion and with an annual deficit of $1.8 Billion, its plan for the province during its prior term in office was focused on economic and social growth that would make real improvements in people’s lives without further jeopardizing the province’s financial footing. Many of the ideas in its plan would be funded by Reinvested Savings (RS).
-it would also seek opportunities to modernize the Financial Administration Act to help the Province meet its debt requirements today, while allowing the province to reduce the overall debt load tomorrow.

The party’s 2021 provincial budget projected deficits at the following levels through 2026, with a target surplus position by 2026-27:
*2021-22 $826 million
*2022-23 $587 million
*2023-24 $377 million
*2024-25 $314 million
*2025-26 $88 million

The party’s 2025 budget provides the following summary of the financial health of the province:
-provincial deficit decreased during its term in office from $1.5 billion in 2020-21 to $372 million estimated in 2025-26.
-contributions of $108 million to the Newfoundland and Labrador Future Fund to bring the total contributions to $467 million. Cumulative Future Fund contributions to 2029-30 are forecast to be $1.3 billion. This investment will be used for debt repayment and future opportunities.
-during 2024-25, placed first transactions in the European capital market, building upon the launch of the European borrowing program at the London Stock Exchange.
-strengthened liquidity, so that cash reserves are available to meet obligations.
-signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Québec to terminate and replace the 1969 Upper Churchill Contract, develop Gull Island and expand capacity of the Churchill Falls plant. This will result in more than $225 billion in total revenue to the provincial treasury over the life of the agreements.
-projects the following revenue and expense totals for 2025-2030:

Source: Newfoundland and Labrador Budget 2025

Democratic reform
In its 2021 mandate letter, the party instructed the Minister of Justice and Public Safety to lead a review of the elections act in order to develop modern legislation that ensures accessible voting for the people of the province, and collaborate with the Government House Leader to lead democratic reform efforts.

Intergovernmental Relations

Communities
The party’s most recent platform statement (dated 2019) states that:
-the community sector plays a vital role, delivering significant and lasting social and economic value to communities across the Province. The sector employs more than 16,000 Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, and delivers wide-ranging support to people and communities.
-it advocates working with high-potential organizations whose impact can be scaled, harnessing their economic and social benefits, including creation of an incubator and accelerator to spark, grow, and enhance the community sector and drive social innovation, complemented by holistic support of the community sector.

Strong and sustainable municipalities
The party’s most recent platform statement (dated 2019) states that:
-sustainable communities are the building block of the province. Local governments provide services closest to home for Newfoundland and Labrador.
-during its term in office it increased support for municipalities, and will continue to collaborate with stakeholders to ensure they remain strong and sustainable.
-advocates incentivizing communities exploring regionalization and seeking to share services, thereby reducing costs and improving outcomes, and to that end will continue to partner with municipalities and the Federal Government to ensure sustainable communities across Newfoundland and Labrador.
-to empower councils and ensure accountable local leadership, it undertakes to introduce modern municipal legislation, based on extensive consultations with stakeholders.

The party’s 2025 Budget Speech states that in order to support municipalities and help provide important services to residents, the party has allocated:
-$187.5 million for funding programs and grants, including Municipal Operating Grants, Special Assistance Grants, the Community Enhancement Employment Program; Provincial Gas Tax, and the Canada Community Building Fund.
-$225,000 for volunteer firefighter training.
-$508,000 for drinking water improvement initiatives.
-$350,000 for initiatives to support the 2025 general Municipal Election.
-$100,000 for wastewater monitoring.
-$75,000 to help mark the 100th anniversary of women achieving the right to vote and hold public office.
-for community-based organizations that contribute to the social and economic well-being of communities, more than $100 million in grants.
-to build upon $382.6 million allocated over the last five years for close to 750 heavy civil projects including water, sewer, and roads infrastructure, support for projects currently in active construction, and 280 projects totalling $334 million in approval or design phase.

Courts & Public Safety

The party’s most recent platform statement (dated 2019) states that:
-the support and development of modern correctional practices is crucial to positive outcomes of those in the criminal justice system.
-it advocates construction of a new penitentiary set to start in 2022 and be completed by 2024-25, and implementation of enhanced programming, recreation and mental health services to better support the inmates and improve working conditions for employees.

The party’s 2025 Budget speech states that it has allocated:
-$32.8 million allocated over the next two years to redevelop the Martin Gallant Building in Stephenville Crossing.
-$17.5 million to continue the procurement of the replacement of Her Majesty’s Penitentiary and address temporary infrastructure enhancements until the replacement.
-$4.5 million to complete the redevelopment of the Labrador Corrections Facility

Restorative Justice
The party’s latest platform statement (dated 2019) states that:
-it believes that the core of a caring, civil society is developing authentic relationships and empathy with others. The Government of Canada incorporates restorative justice options and practices as part of the criminal justice system, but restorative justice in education deals with developing foundational relationships as a way of being. Many educational institutions have begun implementing restorative justice practice as part of a holistic student and faculty approach to improving the school climate, developing meaningful relationships and enhancing the learning environment of the school.
-the Little Book of Restorative Justice in Education defines RJE as …facilitating learning communities that nurture the capacity of people to engage with one another and their environment in a manner that supports and respects the inherent dignity and worth of all (Evans & Vaandering, Restorative Justice in Education, 2016).
-it is committed to working further with the expertise established at Memorial University to enhance teacher training in restorative justice principles. It will work to further implement these principles into all our Province’s schools to nurture healthy relationships built on foundational respect for all members of the school community and support the development of policies and practices that reinforce inclusive behaviour.

The party’s 2025 budget speech states that:
-the Policing Transformation Working Group, and its extensive engagement with community partners, continues to advise on best practices for enhancing public safety and meeting the evolving needs of provincial communities. Nearly $20 million has been invested over two years to bolster new public safety initiatives, in addition to the $40 million the party added to the budget over the last five years, which has been applied toward establishment of a Joint-Task Force Unit comprised of RNC and RCMP officers to target weapon, drug, and contraband enforcement and critical incident response activities.
-over $180 million is allocated annually for policing services in Newfoundland and Labrador.
-Budget 2025 provides five new RCMP officers in Happy Valley-Goose Bay and 10 new RNC officers for the Northeast Avalon, as well as ongoing police training, the provision of essential equipment, fleet enhancements, and operational requirements.
-$3.4 million is being allocated as part of a $24 million investment for new tools and technologies to improve efficiency, as well as 25 new Correctional Officers; 18 new Crown attorneys; 14 new Deputy Sheriffs and a Manager of court security for Labrador.
-allocates $3.7 million for fire protection vehicles and equipment, and $3.5 million in disaster emergency assistance, to help residential homeowners and tenants, small businesses, not-for-profit organizations and cooperatives, local authorities and the public sector with uninsurable loss and damage caused by an eligible disaster.
-honours the culture and heritage of Indigenous Peoples and works to address such social determinants of health as education, violence prevention, and economic development through allocation of nearly $500,000 to help create safer Indigenous communities; and $5 million for the ongoing Inquiry Respecting the Treatment, Experiences and Outcomes of Innu in the Child Protection System.

Gender-based violence
The party’s 2025 Budget speech states that:
-through strong partnerships with community groups, progress is being made on the National Action Plan to End Gender-based Violence, which is in its third year. For 2025 more than $3.6 million is allocated for continued focus on the safety and security of women, Indigenous Peoples, and gender-diverse individuals. These efforts are pivotal in addressing the social determinants of health for these communities.
-in addition, more than $3 million is allocated annually for community organizations, for building community support networks.
-in addition, a Sergeant position has been established within the RNC dedicated to this critical issue, and a new civilian victim services navigator position has been created for the RNC’s intimate partner violence unit, supported through the Office of Women and Gender Equality.

Ontario New Democratic Party

Party Values & Purpose of Government

The party’s constitution states that its objectives are to promote principles of social democracy, namely:
-belief that the social, economic, and political progress of Newfoundland and Labrador can be assured only by the application of social and egalitarian principles to the governance and administration of public affairs.
-directing production of goods and services to meeting the social and individual needs of people within a framework of economic and environmental sustainability.
-accepting that the dignity and freedom of the individual is a basic right that must be maintained and extended to all persons regardless of race, ethnic background, ability, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.
-accepting that abolition of poverty and elimination of exploitation are achievable goals and must be a priority of any thinking and compassionate government.
-the right of the people to a meaningful voice in public policy through consultation and participation at all levels of public decision-making.
-the right of voters to representative and participatory democracy through proportional representation.

Taxes, Services, Stewardship & Reform

Revenue
The party’s latest published policy statement (dated 2021) states that it advocates:
-increasing royalty payments for natural resource extractors by an additional 3% per annum, and increasing their corporate tax rates to 20% immediately.

Services
The party’s latest published policy statement (dated 2021) states that it adamantly opposes dismantling of public services and selling off of public assets.

Municipal Elections
The party’s latest published policy statement (dated 2021) states that it:
-supports reform of legislation governing municipalities, including working with municipal governments and community organizations to strengthen municipal autonomy to set electoral standards, including strengthening of finance laws, enfranchisement for permanent residents, and allowing alternatives to the first-past-the-post voting system.

Courts & Public Safety

Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador

Party Values & Purpose of Government

The party’s constitution (dated 2020) states that:
-that the mission of the party shall include promoting democracy and advancing the core values and policies of the party.
-core values of the party include:
* justice, respect, and freedom.
*openness, transparency and accountability.
*fiscal responsibility.
*sound economic management.
*diversity.
*progressive social policy.

The party’s most recent platform publication (dated 2019) identifies three pillars supporting its policy proposals:
-jobs and hope.
-affordable living.
-honest leadership.

Taxes, Services, Stewardship & Reform

Reform
The party’s most recent platform publication (dated 2019) states that:
-Canadian activists have put forward a list of issues they believe any jurisdiction that’s serious about democratic reform should address – issues such as honesty in politics, oversight, government hiring, public consultation legislation, political donations, conflict of interest, lobbying, electoral reform, access to information and fiscal management.|-if these changes were made by any government in any jurisdiction, it would become the world’s leading democratic jurisdiction.
-the party advocates reform in all these areas.

Electoral Promises and Performance in Office
The party’s most recent platform publication (dated 2019) states that it undertakes to:
-enact Canada’s first Honesty in Politics Law to hold politicians accountable for promises made which voters reasonably take as solemn and intended to be relied on.
– enact ‘recall’ legislation to enable constituents to remove a Member.

Parliamentary Question & Answer Period
The party’s most recent platform publication (dated 2019) states that it undertakes to:
-require Ministers to answer questions posed to them, and drive the process to reform the Standing Orders of the House of Assembly to make Question Period more accountable as an Answer Period.
-forbid political parties from ‘whipping’ the vote for Speaker.
-press for the acceptance of digital signatures on petitions to the House of Assembly.

Electoral reform
The party’s most recent platform publication (dated 2019) states that it undertakes to:
-reform fixed-date election legislation to respect the principle of providing adequate advance notice for elections while ensuring prospective candidates have adequate time to prepare. The provision in the existing House of Assembly Act that, in effect, permits the Premier to call an election at any time will be repealed.
-explore options to ensure women, Indigenous communities and minorities are better represented in the House of Assembly.

Code of Conduct & Accountability
The party’s most recent platform publication (dated 2019) states that it undertakes to:
-commission a review of the Members of the House of Assembly Code of Conduct to ensure it better reflects the people’s expectations of their elected Members.
-remove the Premier’s power to commission secret investigations of Members that are reported to the Premier directly but not to the House.
-prohibit political interference in harassment investigations.
-establish a cooling off period before lobbyists can work in key roles in the public service.
-replace the ‘smokescreen’ Independent Appointments Commission with a truly independent, transparent and accountable process for appointing people to senior roles in the public service, fully engaging the nonpartisan Public Service Commission.
-require the disclosure of key shareholders in numbered companies doing business with the government or benefiting from public funding.
-empower the Seniors’ Advocate to investigate and report, which the other officers of the House of Assembly have by law.
-lower ATIPPA costs by publishing more information proactively as a matter of course.
-publish a mandate letter for each Cabinet Minister and hold each Minister to account for fulfilling that mandate.

Public Consultations
The party’s most recent platform publication (dated 2019) states that it undertakes to:
-create a Public Consultation Act to define the duty to consult and describe the mechanisms.
-provide forums for citizens and groups to be consulted on their concerns and perspectives.
-make better use of digital communications technology to improve democratic engagement and information exchange.-establish a process to tap into the particular expertise of academic leaders.
-establish a process by which public employees can provide regular advice about ways to reform government operations and enhance accountability.
-consult with municipalities on ways to strengthen local decision-making and engagement.
-establish the mechanisms to inform the public of democratic governance issues.
-reform the law to allow citizen-initiated referendums and plebiscites, and the adding of ballot questions during a general election.

Intergovernmental Relations

The party’s most recent platform publication (dated 2019) states that:
-it advocates exclusion of non-renewable resource revenues from the calculation of transfer payments in the federal Equalization formula as is already done for revenues from hydroelectricity. The federal policy rewards a province like Quebec that earns revenue from the sale of hydroelectricity, and punishes Newfoundland and Labrador for revenues earned from offshore oil. This is artificial and unfair.

Courts & Public Safety Role & Purpose of Government

As one of its three policy pillars, the party’s most recent platform publication (dated 2019), identifies making life more affordable to assist in keeping young people in the province, including by:
-preventing violence through a renewed strategy for safer communities and homes.
-providing more moose fencing every year to save lives on provincial highways.
-developing a municipal fiscal framework as a foundation for municipal growth.

The party’s most recent platform publication (dated 2019) states that it undertakes to:
-toughen privacy protections to safeguard the private information of individuals and penalize those who disclose such information maliciously or through gross negligence.
-legislate to oversee and regulate the protection and use of voter data and personal information by provincial parties.

Points to Ponder

Points to Ponder: Good Government

Consider discussing the following with your local candidates, elected representatives, and the parties, and discussing with your family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, and fellow parishioners:

The Role and Purpose of Government
Catholics have definite ideas about the purpose of life and, arising from that purpose, the proper roles of civil society, government, and other social institutions. (https://catholicconscience.org/catholiccivics/)

Are those ideas shared by most Canadians? If not, to what extent can or should we share our ideas with other Canadians? How should that be done?
Are any values held in common by most Canadians? If so, what are they, and how do they inform the proper role of government and other social institutions? For example, what do we owe each other, and what does the answer mean for government, charities, schools, etc.?
Is it important for a society to share common values? How can common values be promoted within a society?

The Government of Canada has recently published a Framework for Quality of Life (https://www160.statcan.gc.ca/infosheet-infofiche-eng.htm), and has instructed its ministers that “Across our work, we remain committed to ensuring that public policies are informed and developed through an intersectional lens, including applying frameworks such as Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) and the quality of life indicators in decision-making.”

To what extent is the Quality of Life framework consistent with the principles and values of Catholic social teaching?
To what extent does, or should, a Quality of Life framework apply to provincial governance as well we federal?

Truth, Respect & Good Governance

Each of the mandate letters used by the federal government to instruct its ministers at the time the current government was formed explained that: “Canadians expect us to work hard, speak truthfully and be committed to advancing their interests and aspirations. When we make mistakes – as we all will – Canadians expect us to acknowledge them, and most importantly, to learn from them.”

Has this standard been applied to provincial government in Newfoundland and Labrador?
To the extent it has not, what can or should Newfoundland and Labrador voters do to encourage their governments to apply it?

It is an unfortunate and nearly universal practice for our political parties, in framing their platforms and policy statements, to focus at least as much on what’s wrong with the other parties as they do on what’s right about themselves.

How can we, as citizens and voters, help encourage parties to look for common ground, speak positively and constructively about one another, and voice their suggestions for improvement in respectful and collaborative terms?
How can we, as individuals, parishes, and as a Church, encourage responsible individuals to consider and accept political vocations in pursuit of truth, justice, and the common good? What roles can or should local, provincial, and federal governments play in promoting such callings?

Public Safety and the Responsibility to Protect

Since 2021, at least 85 Catholic Churches have been burned or vandalized in Canada (https://canadiancatholicnews.ca/as-churches-continue-to-burn-its-time-catholics-mobilized-politically/). Few such incidents have resulted in arrests, or even apparently seriously investigated. Yet all levels of government – municipal, federal, provincial – are responsible for the protection of citizens and their property. https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/cp-pm/just/06.html ).

Have governments in Canada met their responsibilities in protecting Catholics and others, including their rights to worship?
Since at least 2005, member-nations of the United Nations including Canada, have accepted the principle of their responsibility to protect their citizens.(https://www.un.org/en/genocide-prevention/responsibility-protect/about) Have Canada and its provinces met their responsibilities to protect worshipers?
To the extent governments have not met their duties, what can or should be done about it? How can or should Catholics encourage them to do so?

Contracting; Public – Private Partnerships

Contracting and cooperation between government and corporations or other private entities can be instrumental in accomplishing great common projects. On the other hand, unwatched they can become instruments of misuse.

To what extent should public-private partnerships be allowed, for research, infrastructure development, or other purposes?
What type(s) of entities should be considered when contemplating such partnerships? Local or foreign corporations? Non-profit or charitable organizations?
How should such partnerships be monitored or regulated, in order to assure that arms-length relationships are maintained, and that principles of subsidiarity are respected?

Fiscal Responsibility

Table 4 below is taken from the report The Growing Debt Burden from Canadians: 2024 edition (©2024 Fraser Institute; https://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/growing-debt-burden-for-canadians-2024.pdf). The report shows provincial and federal debts following the 2023/24 fiscal year, and suggests that between provincial and federal debt, taxpayers in Newfoundland & Labrador would appear to be liable for a debt of more than $67,000 per provincial resident, to be repaid at some future point as directed by the government.

The most recent report of the Auditor General (https://www.ag.gov.nl.ca/files/2024-Financial-Statement-Overview-Website.pdf) indicates that provincial debt has continued to rise in Newfoundland and Labrador, and that “the province should also plan to become less exposed to the increased cost of borrowing through conscious strategies to reduce its debt.”

What do these figures tell citizens of Newfoundland and Labrador? Who will ultimately be responsible for satisfying public debt? Where will the money come from?
The report suggests that citizens of Newfoundland and Labrador have the highest debt levels in Canada. Should voters or taxpayers be concerned? If so, what can or should they do about it?
Should future generations of voters, taxpayers, or citizens be concerned? If so, what can or should they do about it?

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Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Election 2025

Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Election 2025

Read. Pray. Vote! Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Election 2025

The materials below are current as of June 30, 2025. We will endeavour to keep them current. Please watch as election day approaches, and check the parties’ official pages (links provided under Step 1, in “Additional election resources”).

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Basic downloads

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Policy and Platform Comparisons

Downloadable format:

Browse Comparisons

Sanctity of Life │ Stewardship of Creation │ Family & Community | Economy for All | Rights & Responsibilities | Solidarity | Good Government

The Sanctity of Human Life: from Conception to Natural Death

Abortion, Euthanasia & Alternatives │ Human Engineering │ Population Control

Points to Ponder: The Sanctity of Human Life

Stewardship of Creation

Climate Change │ Species, Diversity & Wildlife │ Energy & Resources │ Conservation & Sustainable Development

Points to Ponder: Stewardship of Creation

Family, Community & the Common Good

Role of the Family │ Healthcare │ Education & Young Workers │ Culture Arts & Tourism

Points to Ponder: Family, Community & the Common Good

An Economy for All

The Dignity of Work │ Poverty Reduction │ Labour, Unions, Employment | Industries & Corporations

Points to Ponder: An Economy to Serve People

The Individual & Society: Rights, Responsibility, & Subsidiarity

Civil Liberties │ Human Rights │ Responsibilities: Participation & Subsidiarity

Points to Ponder: Rights & Responsibilities; Subsidiarity

Solidarity

Supporting the Marginalized │ Indigenous Peoples │ Rural Communities │ Refugees & Newcomers

Points to Ponder: Solidarity

Good Government: Democracy, Justice, & Peace

Role & Purpose of Government │ Stewardship & Reform │ Provinces, Territories, Municipalities │ International Relations & Defense │ Public Safety

Catholic Journalism – Summer Intensive Course

Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Election

Disability, Theology & Spiritual Formation Certificate

Nunavut General Election 2025

Yukon General Election 2025