NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and his candidates are taking aim at Canada’s telecommunications companies with a promise to put a price cap on cellphone and internet services.

It’s just the latest example of a New Democrat campaign strategy to appeal to voters concerned about pocketbook issues.

Telecom companies have previously warned that government attempts to corral cellphone and internet costs will hurt service quality and investments in infrastructure.

But Singh says other countries such as the United States and Australia have introduced similar price caps without such negative impacts.

The NDP leader has made a point of promising to take on big business during the early stages of the campaign, accusing Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government of caving to corporate Canada and high-priced lobbyists.

Singh says he does not want to be an enemy of the private sector, but that it needs to start working to the benefit of all Canadians, rather than the wealthy and powerful.

Not surprisingly, NDP candidates Carol Hughes (Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing) and Beth Mairs (Sudbury) say this would save families in Northern Ontario almost $250 a year.

“I hear it all the time: people are tired of paying high prices for low quality cellphone and internet services in the North,” Hughes said in a release. “Instead of making sure people are getting the services they pay for, Trudeau’s Liberals are making it easier for telecom companies to profit off the backs of Northerners for low quality or no services at all. This is unfair and things need to change.’’

According to the NDP, Liberal and Conservative governments have let telecom companies gouge Canadians while raking in billions of dollars. On Trudeau’s watch, the party claims, the Big Five telecoms enjoyed profit margins of almost 40 per cent in 2017. To top it off, Trudeau rewarded Bell, Rogers and Telus with $50 million in subsidies and more than $700 million in contracts.

“This announcement is critical for Sudbury because people need affordable and good quality telecom services for work, school, and to stay connected with family and friends,’’ said Mairs. “The NDP is the only party fighting to make life more affordable for us and the economic future in the North.”

The New Deal for People would also introduce a Telecom Consumers’ Bill of Rights to put an end to the aggressive and misleading sales and services practices of big cell and internet companies. The NDP said it will require service providers to offer basic plans that meet the needs of Canadians, end caps for internet plans and require companies to offer affordable, unlimited data plans for cellphones – so Canadians don’t have any surprise on their monthly bills.

sud.editorial@sunmedia.ca