Newmarket-Aurora Conservative candidate Lois Brown was nominated early — March 15, 2018 — and says she has knocked on more than 14,000 doors in her bid to connect with as many residents as possible about what issues matter to them in the Oct. 21 election.
As the local MP from 2008 to 2015, she also served as parliamentary secretary to the minister of international development, was appointed to the Red Tape Reduction Commission, and was elected vice-chair of the Conservative auto caucus. She also was a member of the standing committees on foreign affairs and international development, and transport, infrastructure and communities.
“It was a tremendous privilege to represent Canada as parliamentary secretary for international development, I had carriage of much of the maternal newborn and child health initiative. It was Canada’s flagship development project initiated by Mr. Harper in 2010,” said Brown, who speaks passionately about the impact the program had both in Africa and here, too, by creating opportunities for Canadian medical and research teams.
During her tenure as MP, federal contributions were made to local projects that included Riverwalk Commons, Newmarket Operations Centre, and the Newmarket Public Library Collaborative.
Find more election news and information on our Canada Votes page
The small business owner co-founded a disability management company that works with large Canadian manufacturers. She has been active in the community for many years, and is a director for two non-profit organizations assisting those less fortunate in Africa.
Brown and her husband, Calvin, are Newmarket residents and have two grown daughters.
NewmarketToday has interviewed each candidate in the Newmarket-Aurora riding, asking them the following questions about themselves and the issues. Here's how Conservative candidate Lois Brown responded.
Why are you running to be Newmarket-Aurora MP?
“There is still a great deal of work to be done,” Brown said. “At its worst, politics can be a very nasty business. At its best, it can be a wonderful opportunity to serve the community. I have a history of service to my community, and I would like to continue that as the member of Parliament.”
How do your background and experience make you the best candidate?
After serving seven years as Newmarket-Aurora MP, Brown said, “I know the job,” dealing effectively and empathetically with “hundreds and hundreds” of issues for constituents, from tax concerns with Canada Revenue and citizenship applications, to helping a family with their legal adoption of a child from India.
“I care passionately for people, and having a heart of compassion is necessary when you are dealing with the issues that people face in the constituency.”
She added she has been engaged in the political arena — including volunteering on local Conservative campaigns — since she was 18 years old.
What’s the most pressing issue in the 2019 federal election campaign?
Brown said it’s crucial that the “runaway spending” of the Liberal government is stopped.
“The federal Liberals have spent $71 billion that we have not taken in, and there is no path to balanced budgets if this government is re-elected. That’s not Conservative words, that’s the parliamentary budget officer who is saying this.”
“Debt today is higher taxes tomorrow,” she added forcefully.
An election win for the Conservatives won’t mean cuts to the health care transfer payments to the provinces, child tax benefits and programs for seniors, Brown noted, “but we will find the savings within government.”
Multiple election polls show that Canadians are placing climate change as a top concern in this election for the first time. What specific actions will your party take to address this issue?
“First and foremost, a carbon tax is not an environmental program, it’s a tax program,” Brown asserted. According to her, the tax revenues are not going to an environment ministry but general revenues.
“It’s making everything cost more for people,” she said.
The Conservatives have a “fulsome” environmental plan, including a green energy home renovation tax credit and the development of an “energy corridor” to facilitate the transport of Canadian energy resources across the country, which will end the reliance on “dirty oil” from other countries and minimize environmental impacts, she said.
What’s your message to the many young people in York Region feeling disenfranchised — unable to afford to buy a home of their own, living with their parents after graduating from college and university, and concerned about the impact of climate change on the environment, the economy and their future?
Her first message is for young adults to be involved in the political process, “It’s critical that your voice is heard,” adding that she has makes it a priority to mentor young people, including those working on her campaign team, as “our political future”.
“I don’t want my kids having to move to Moosonee to buy a house,” she said. “The stress test that the Liberals have put in place is disallowing so many young people from getting into the housing market. We desperately need to rework those because we need young people who are going to be part of the job community here — to be part of our community.”
According to statistics, the economy is flourishing with 421,000 new jobs created last year and employment increasing by 2.3 per cent. Yet, many Canadians say they are not better off, or feel they can’t get ahead, which is confirmed by multiple recent polls indicating a top concern for Canadians is the cost of living and the economy. How do you explain that? What’s your party’s plan to improve the economy?
With months of door-knocking across the riding under her belt, Brown will tell you she is hearing from countless residents who are concerned about the cost of living — many saying they are only two weeks away from not having enough money to survive.
“So we have to talk about affordability, and that is the message that Andrew Scheer is going to deliver throughout this campaign because we hear that over and over."
She said while the Liberals increased the child tax benefit, they cancelled other tax credits that were beneficial to families, including those for children in sports and arts programs, textbooks for university students and public transit.
She highlights the accumulating debt — and more than $2 billion per month in interest payments — under the Liberal government as the problem.
“That’s money that ought to be lowering the cost of living for ordinary Canadians, that’s money that ought to be going into social programs, it ought to be the money that is enhancing our health care and education at the provincial level, but we can’t because we’re paying more than $28 billion a year in interest payments.”
A Conservative government will eliminate the carbon tax and HST on home energy bills, as well as provide the green energy renovation tax credit, she said.
“Let’s make life more affordable for ordinary Canadian families. Ask any family in Newmarket if their budget balances itself.”
According to a poll commissioned by the College of Family Physicians, the top health care issues for Canadians are: ensuring there are enough health care providers; universal pharmacare; and improving access to mental health services. Can you briefly explain where your party stands on each of these issues?
With a pharmacare program forecast to cost $15 billion, it’s not in the Conservative platform, she said.
“Where is that money going to come from?” she questioned.
Most Canadians have some form of medical insurance or access to programs they can access, such as the existing catastrophic medicines program, she said.
What needs to be done to improve voter turnout? (68.5 per cent in 2015)
Brown said it’s unfortunate not all Canadians are exercising the freedom to vote that was fought and protected for us in the Second World War.
“We need to instil that in a new generation, civics needs to be a mandatory subject in high school — as well as financial literacy, you can’t separate politics and economics.
“Really what an election is all about is you telling the government how you want them to spend your money. Government has no money of its own, it only has what it takes from the taxpayer.”
Canada’s cities are asking federal parties to add more than $800 million a year to the 10-year housing strategy and fill gaps in the plan over its remaining eight years to make renting more affordable and keep people from going homeless. Will your party commit to that?
A Conservative government established the gas tax rebate for municipalities, which already provides “significant funding” to the municipalities, Brown said.
Affordable housing — which is a provincial responsibility — requires cooperation from all three levels of government, she said, acknowledging opportunities to address the issue could be found.
What one leadership quality does the leader of your party have that will allow him/her to strongly represent Canada on the world stage?
As Speaker of the House for four years, Andrew Scheer demonstrated his leadership capabilities in managing the often acrimonious House of Commons, and is acquainted with world leaders as he was Canada’s representative on state visits.
What does your party’s campaign slogan mean to you?
“It’s time for you to get ahead. For too long what we have seen with the Trudeau Liberals, it’s who you know in the PMO. And the SNC Lavalin affair, which strikes to the heart of our very democracy, ought to be of concern to every Canadian. What we want to see is that ordinary Canadians have the opportunity to get ahead, to succeed, and it’s not because you know somebody in a position of power.”
Should the minimum voting age be lowered?
No. She mentioned again the need for a mandatory civics program, and that a young person can become a member of a political party at age 14, which gives him or her a vote in the nomination process.
Do you support a universal basic income program?
Brown, who is currently working on her economics degree, noted it was a Conservative economist who put forward the theory of a universal basic income program.
The idea is worth considering but requires much more study, she said, cautioning a basic income program would mean the end of a plethora of social programs.
