Trudeau says re-elected Liberal government will invest $9B in long-term care during Victoria campaign stop

Victoria -

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau says a re-elected Liberal government will invest $9 billion in long-term care and raise the minimum wage for personal support workers to at least $25 per hour.

Trudeau made the announcement during a campaign stop Thursday morning at the Veterans Memorial Lodge in Saanich, B.C.

The Victoria-area seniors home has a personal connection for the Liberal leader – it’s where his late grandmother Kathleen Sinclair lived before her death in 2012.

Trudeau did not provide specific details on the $9-billion promise. However, he said a re-elected Liberal government would guarantee a minimum wage for personal support workers of "at least $25 per hour."

Trudeau condemned the “heartbreaking conditions” found in many long-term care homes across the country during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We had to send the Armed Forces into retirement homes in Canada,” the Liberal leader said. “The situation was so heartbreaking and so dire in so many places.”

The Liberal party said in a statement Thursday that it would train up to 50,000 new personal support workers and increase the quality and availability of long-term care beds across the country.

“We’re not doing a good enough job everywhere across the country,” Trudeau added. “We have to make sure that tragedies like this never happen again.”

A re-elected Liberal government would also implement strict infection prevention measures at care homes and develop a Safe Long Term Care Act to ensure that seniors are guaranteed a higher standard of long-term care, the party said.

Trudeau acknowledged that while health care is the jurisdiction of provinces and territories, a new Liberal government would work with them to provide more supports for seniors.

Trudeau made the announcement alongside Sherri Moore-Arbour, the Liberal candidate for Saanich-Gulf Islands.

The riding has been held by former Green leader Elizabeth May since 2011 and is considered a Green Party stronghold.

May stepped down as Green leader in 2019 but retained her seat as MP. She is running for re-election in September.

Trudeau is expected to leave Vancouver Island late Thursday afternoon, with stops in Calgary and Winnipeg planned later in the day.