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Balancing the books

In a rare moment during the debate, May pointed to something she and Scheer have in common — both have said they want to balance the budget in five years. Scheer had previously promised to balance the books in two years if elected, but extended that to five last spring. “By coincidence, Mr. Scheer and the Green Party have the same target for balanced budgets, within five years,” May said, though she added that she would not cut spending to achieve that target. “It’s not ideological,” she said. “We aim to live within our means.”

The NDP, in contrast, has avoided making a firm commitment on erasing the deficit. In 2015, former leader Thomas Mulcair pledged to balance the budget, only to have Liberal leader Justin Trudeau outflank him on the left with his promise of a “modest short-term deficit.” This time around, Singh has been reluctant to pin himself down on the issue. The NDP platform says only that the party will “manage debt and deficits responsibly” and move to balance “when prudent.”

Health care

May came out swinging against Singh early on during the debate, targeting his promise to provide expansive health-care coverage. Both leaders are promising universal pharmacare, but the NDP has gone further, promising “head-to-toe health care” in the next 10 years, including coverage for dental, eye and mental health care.

May took issue with Singh’s commitment to dental coverage, saying the parliamentary budget officer calculated several years ago that such a program could cost $30 billion a year. “We realized we couldn’t afford it,” she said. “I don’t see how you found the money.” She said the Greens would provide dental coverage for low-income Canadians only.