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Dufferin–Caledon candidates answer questions on key issues ahead of Monday’s federal election

April 24, 2025   ·   0 Comments

By Sam Odrowski

A record-setting number of Canadians participated in advanced voting ahead of the country’s 45th General Election. 

And many millions more will cast a ballot for their preferred party and candidate when the federal election takes place on April 28.

As election day approaches, Canadians are encouraged to set aside some time to become informed on all the major party’s platforms, stances on issues, and objectives, if elected. 

To assist residents of Dufferin–Caledon in learning more about their local candidates, the Citizen asked them several questions about issues relevant to voters. 

Responses were received from incumbent Conservative candidate Kyle Seeback, Liberal Party candidate Malalai Halimi, Green Party candidate Ifra Baig, PPC candidate Dympna Carolan and NDP candidate Viktor Karklins.

Here are the questions and what the candidates had to say in response:

When looking at the Dufferin–Caledon riding, what issues do you see as unique to this area?

Kyle Seeback (Conservative): Housing affordability is an issue across Canada; however, it is particularly challenging for people in Dufferin-Caledon. For example, as of February 2025, the average price for a home in Dufferin County was $820,278 and in April 2025, the average price for a home in Caledon was $1,374,819, making it nearly impossible for young families to buy a home. 

Under the Liberals, housing prices doubled, and it now takes 25 years to save up for a down payment. Canada has the worst housing inflation of any country in the G7. Young people are forced to rent, but rent has doubled too.

Since 2015, the Liberal government has put in place costly government programs that build bureaucracy, not homes. As a result, Canada has the second-slowest building permit approval time out of 35 countries, as measured by the OECD, and when compared to the United States, Canada’s approval times are over three times longer.

Conservatives have a real plan to tackle the housing affordability issue for young families and first-time home buyers in Dufferin-Caledon and across Canada. We will axe the sales tax on new homes, saving families up to $65,000 on the purchase of a home and $3,000 on yearly mortgage payments while spurring a massive new home-building boom. 

We will bring more Boots, not Suits, backing 350,000 positions for trade schools and union halls to train red-seal apprentices to build homes, and we will bring back the $4,000 apprenticeship grant that the Liberals plan to eliminate. We will work to eliminate red tape and delays in approving housing projects. We will also incentivize municipalities to speed up permits, free up land, and cut housing taxes so homes can be built faster.

Malalai Halimi (Liberal): Dufferin-Caledon is my home. It’s where I live with my three teenage children, where I shop, and where I enjoy some of my downtime when I’m not working as a business manager. As a resident, I know firsthand the importance of supporting this community to make sure it thrives. 

Part of what makes Dufferin-Caledon so special is our natural beauty. Dufferin-Caledon is home to some world-renowned natural wonders, and it is all of our responsibilities to protect them. Throughout my campaign, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting with various environmental organizations who are committed to protecting our local environment. 

As your Member of Parliament, I will work to preserve and protect more of Dufferin-Caledon’s nature. And I’ll ensure that your federal representative has a strong voice that stands up for our environment. 

But our community also faces our fair share of challenges. 

As a mother who wants to ensure her kids own a home in the future, I’m concerned by the lack of housing that exists in our communities. I will work with our federal government to ensure we can build more homes across Dufferin-Caledon. In Caledon, our federal government has committed to building 6,250 homes over the next 10 years – but that’s just a start. I’ll work to ensure that more homes are built in our riding, as part of our Liberal plan to build 4 million homes across Canada.

Viktor Karklins (NDP): When looking at Dufferin-Caledon, I see an amazing region of hard-working people. I see those who have seen success and those who have seen hardships. One thing I firmly believe is that nobody should be left behind, and instead of declaring some as winners and some as losers I believe the government of Canada has a responsibility to weave a strong and free safety net to catch those who fall. 

As we’ve seen with the growing issues of homeless encampments, with seniors being the largest growing demographic of those without homes due to economic hardship, when homes are an asset class for investors rather than a place to live we see only economic winners and losers. 

Dufferin-Caledon is no exception to these challenges, and we need to ensure that there are enough homes for everyone by building 3 million new homes by 2030 with a new $16 billion housing accelerator fund. Let’s ensure that homes are for living in, not just for profiting off of.

If we’re looking specifically for a unique issue in this area, I think there is so much opportunity for the region to be a hub of economic activity. 

In order to build 3 million new homes in five years we will need everything from labourers to engineers, and with Dufferin-Caledon being so close to an array of massive cities we are uniquely positioned to take advantage of that. 

If our carpenters, architects, and project managers can help accelerate the building of homes everywhere from Toronto to Bolton to Shelburne we can be at the centre of a housing boom.

Ifra Baig (Green): Dufferin–Caledon is such a special place. You can feel it — the sense of community, the connection to the land — but I also see the challenges people are living with every day. 

Affordable housing is slipping out of reach for too many families. Development is happening so fast that a lot of us are worried about losing the small-town feel and the farmland that defines us. There’s also a real need for better healthcare access, and for transit options that actually connect our communities.

If I’m elected, I want to protect what makes Dufferin–Caledon home — by standing up to developers who don’t put the community first, protecting the Greenbelt, and pushing for affordable, sustainable housing. I want to invest in rural healthcare and expand local transit so people aren’t cut off. And I really believe we can be leaders in agriculture, green innovation, and small business — we just need a government that believes in us the way we believe in ourselves.

Dympna Carolan (PPC): One of the main issues affecting Canada, our economy and our housing market is something we actually can solve and that is irresponsible immigration. 

Being so close to the GTA, where a large portion of new immigrants settle, Dufferin-Caledon has been enormously negatively affected by immigration policies. 

Mass immigration plays a part in our slow economy and stagnant wages and puts enormous pressure on our services. 

This strains our citizens, both economically and socially. 

For many years we had a strong immigration policy that benefited both Canadian citizens and newcomers to our country. Let’s get back to sound policies.

The People’s Party policy is an immediate moratorium on immigration, to cool down the housing market and reboot our economy. Then get back to responsible immigration for the benefit of all.

What actions will you and your party take to improve the economy, tackle the cost-of-living crisis and increase the number of good-paying jobs across Canada and Dufferin–Caledon?

Viktor Karklins (NDP): If elected, the NDP stands firm on the creation of good, unionized jobs and fair wages. When corporations put profits above people, instead of treating employees like people you reduce them to gig-workers and contractors. 

We need to recoup those unfair profits from companies that exploit the opportunity for profit in the midst of crisis, like a wealth tax on companies that overcharge for product of Canada goods at the grocery store to take advantage of those who are looking to fight back against the United States’ unfair tariffs. 

Instead, we need to help reduce the cost of basic essentials at the store, ensuring that everyone can afford to eat, not just those who have been the luckiest. One job should put a roof over your head and food in your fridge, you shouldn’t have to stitch together a series of part-time gigs to barely get by.

We also need to ensure that tax cuts help those who need it most, not millionaires. Let’s ensure that the billionaires and the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share in taxes, just like you and I do. Stop the offshore tax havens and let’s stop giving handouts to mega-corporations, if we even just collected the taxes that are owed by the ultra-wealthy that would pay for more nurses, doctors, and new homes. 

Ifra Baig (Green): People are working harder than ever, but life keeps getting more expensive. That’s not right, and it’s not sustainable. The Green Party and I want to rebuild the economy so that it actually supports people and families, not just the big corporations at the top.

We want to create good-paying, future-ready jobs right here by investing in clean energy, sustainable farming, green manufacturing, and local entrepreneurship. In Dufferin–Caledon, that means creating opportunities for farmers, tradespeople, young entrepreneurs — anyone who wants to build a good life close to home.

When it comes to the cost-of-living crisis, we have to be real: inflation isn’t just a number. It’s your grocery bill, your rent, your ability to take your kids to soccer without stressing over gas prices. 

We need to build affordable housing, crack down on corporate price gouging, and expand healthcare coverage so you’re not paying out-of-pocket for essentials like dental care. And we need a fairer tax system because the billionaires shouldn’t be paying less (percentage-wise) than the people working two jobs to survive.

This isn’t about temporary fixes. It’s about building an economy that finally puts regular people first.

Malalai Halimi (Liberal): As a single mother of three teenagers, I know firsthand how rising costs have impacted families here in Dufferin-Caledon and across the country. We need strong, experienced leadership to help bring costs down, especially at a time when Donald Trump is threatening our economic stability. 

As Mark Carney has said, we cannot control Donald Trump, but we can take measures that ensure life becomes more affordable while building a stronger Canadian economy.

Mark Carney and our Liberal Party have already started doing just that. We’ve cancelled the divisive carbon tax, have committed to delivering a middle-class tax cut saving families up to $825/year, and pledged to eliminate the GST for first-time homebuyers on homes under $1 million, saving Canadians up to $50,000 on the purchase of their first home.

We would also take measures to protect and increase the number of good-paying jobs across the country, with investments like a $2 billion strategic response fund that would protect Canadian manufacturing jobs and boost Canada’s auto sector competitiveness, launching a new training and upskilling benefit worth up to $15,000 for workers in the middle of their careers, and ensuring all workers have access to employment insurance. 

Pierre Poilievre, Kyle Seeback and the Conservatives have consistently voted against programs like $10-a-day child care, dental care, pharma care, and the National School Food Program. Why should Canadians trust them now to protect, not cut, programs that make life more affordable for Dufferin-Caledon families?

Mark Carney and I are committed to creating new jobs, cutting taxes for the middle class, and keeping Canada strong. 

Kyle Seeback (Conservative): A Conservative government will unleash our industry, cut taxes on our workers, zero capital gains taxes on Canadian reinvestment, and build more homes, LNG plants, pipelines, mines and more to build our own economic fortress here in Canada.

We are going to do this while implementing our plan to build more homes, fixing the budget to keep inflation down, capping immigration so we never again add people faster than we add jobs and remove criminals from our streets.

We’ve promised a massive ‘Bring it Homes Income Tax Cut’ to cut income tax by 15 per cent. We will reduce the lowest income tax bracket rate from 15 per cent to 12.75 per cent to save the average family $1,800 a year and the average worker up to $900 annually. Our plan means Canadians will keep more of their paycheque and that their hard work will be rewarded.

Everyone who pays income tax will pay less, but because Conservatives will cut the rate on the lowest income bracket, average hardworking Canadians will save the most in percentage terms.

Canada is now spending more on debt interest than on health transfers. 

A Conservative government will cap government spending with a dollar-for-dollar rule law that requires we find $1 of savings for every dollar of spending. We’ll also cut bureaucracy, waste, and consulting contracts so that we can get the budget close or hopefully on balance as soon as possible to bring down interest rates, inflation, and debt.

China and Canada are the only two countries that support formal counter-tariffs against the United States. Do you support counter-tariffs or would you prefer to use other tools to respond, if elected?  

Kyle Seeback (Conservative): The imposition of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs has been a wake-up call to all political leaders who are now forced to put the national interest ahead of special interests. Canadians expect all political leaders to do what it takes to make our country more self-reliant and less dependent on the U.S. 

Our immediate response should be to impose targeted tariffs that will harm American businesses and have very little impact on Canadian businesses; help affected workers and businesses with tariff revenue;     implement a bring it home tax cut on work, investment, energy, and homebuilding; scrapping the Liberal anti-energy law C-69 and greenlight resource projects; removing interprovincial trade barriers; and rebuilding our military and taking back control of our borders. 

We will propose accelerated renegotiations to replace the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), bringing in a new deal on trade and security. We will also propose that both countries pause tariffs while we renegotiate a deal. Canadian businesses and workers need certainty now.  

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