People’s Party of Canada candidate Andrew McCaughtrie has a passionate interest in politics, and first ran as a municipal candidate in his teens in Waterloo when he was a college student.
The four-year Newmarket resident is married and has four daughters, aged 7, 6, 3 and 1.
He’s a woodworker by trade, and is also a mortgage agent.
He was encouraged to hear that PPC leader Maxime Bernier would be participating in the national debates so that Canadians have a chance to know all the options available to them.
As he campaigns, he said he has appreciated the chance to counter misconceptions about his party’s platform, including that the party is “racist” or “anti-immigration”.
“Our policy is actually really pro-immigration compared to other nations — 150,000 immigrants a year is a very generous number,” said McCaughtrie.
He brushes aside suggestions the party is “extreme right” on the political spectrum.
“I prefer to think of the political spectrum as a fluid circle, not a line,” he added. “Some of our platform is on the left, like ending corporate subsidies.”
He’s aligned with the party’s fiscal conservative bent, adding he’s a former Liberal “who liked the Jean Chretien/Paul Martin days because of the balanced budgets.”
He adds with a smile that he is the candidate with the best hair in Newmarket-Aurora.
“What we learned in the last election is that hair is most important — Justin won because of his nice hair,” he jests.
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NewmarketToday has interviewed each candidate in the Newmarket-Aurora riding, asking them the following questions about themselves and the issues. Here's how People's Party of Canada candidate Andrew McCaughtrie responded.
Why are running to be Newmarket-Aurora MP?
“I really believe in what the People’s Party is offering to Canadians,” McCaughtrie said. “We’re giving Canadians a real option, we’re a party that’s different from the mainstream parties.”
He added he was one of the founding members of the party.
How do your background and experience make you the best candidate?
Referring to himself “as the little candidate that could” and “the underdog”, McCaughtrie said his blue-collar background and non-traditional political background make him the best candidate to represent the riding.
“I really think that gives me a different perspective to bring different ideas to Parliament and really connect with the people of Newmarket-Aurora.”
What’s the most pressing issue in the 2019 federal election campaign?
It’s always about balancing budgets and getting the deficit under control, the fiscal conservative said.
“When we don’t have balanced budgets, the amount of money that we spend servicing the debt is money that can’t be used to provide services to the people,” McCaughtrie said. “Those billions of dollars can build hospitals and roads.”
“Canada is bringing in enough money, we have to be smarter about how we spend it.”
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?
“Our party does not really believe climate change is man-made,” McCaughtrie said.
The world’s climate has always changed and will continue to change, he added.
“Frankly, one of the biggest things about climate change is that Canada could just stop existing and the world wouldn’t be in much different a position than it is in right now without the big players, like China and the U.S. reducing their emissions. What we’re really focused on is what we can control as Canadians, we can’t control what other countries do.”
The PPC would abolish the Liberal government’s carbon tax and leave it to provincial governments to adopt programs to reduce emissions.
The party’s primary focus would be to implement solutions to make Canada’s air, water and soil cleaner, McCaughtrie added.
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?
“That’s very relatable to me,” McCaughtrie, 33, responded, “I’m not too distant from those young people.”
The PPC will fundamentally change how government works: reducing taxes and putting money in people’s pockets, and reducing business taxes, which will lead to increased wages, which leads to increased wages, which allows people to afford houses, he said.
“That’s really where I see the problem is, it’s just really difficult to make decent money these days,” McCaughtrie said. “Taxes are a big burden.”
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. How do you explain that? What’s your party’s plan to improve the economy?
The numbers don’t tell the story of the many part-time and temporary jobs that people are working, rather than full-time, permanent jobs, McCaughtrie said.
Lower taxes and less regulation on business will actually create the good-paying jobs the country needs, he said.
“I certainly can relate to that feeling, when you work a little extra, you put in some overtime and you look at your paycheque and the government has taken so much from you that you go, ‘why did I bother putting in that overtime? I would have been better spending the time with my family’.”
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?
Health care is a provincial matter and the PPC strongly feels that the federal government should not be interfering, McCaughtrie said.
GST funds will go directly to the provinces to allocate to its health care priorities, “no strings attached, no questions asked,” he said.
Pharmacare isn’t included in the PPC platform.
What needs to be done to improve voter turnout? (68.5 per cent in 2015)
“A better party, with better policies,” is McCaughtrie’s succinct response.
“When it comes to most people, if they don’t feel connected, they’re quite happy to not vote.”
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?
Affordable housing is a provincial and municipal matter, McCaughtrie said.
What one leadership quality does the leader of your party have that will allow him/her to strongly represent Canada on the world stage?
Determination, McCaughtrie said.
“Starting your own party and filling 338 seats — we’re close to having a candidate in every riding — to do that in a year, wow, what an accomplishment.”
What does your party’s campaign slogan mean to you?
“I’m not a big fan of campaign slogans,” McCaughtrie said. “They’re just nice little sound bites.”
Should the minimum voting age be lowered?
“I don’t see that providing any benefit. Personally, I would have been voting when I was 12 years old but I know people like me are the exception. I’m not opposed to it, but I don’t see it as solving the problem.”
Do you support a universal basic income program?
McCaughtrie said he likes the idea, and is aware of the pilot project in Ontario, but the benefits have yet to be proven.
Better tax policies and less regulation would help people get out of poverty, he added.
