This election is Canada’s opportunity to choose leaders who will make life better for everyone: a government that will make investments in public services, take care of those who need help, correct inequality, and ensure the wealthiest Canadians pay their fair share.

The pandemic showed us these things are possible.

The next government must take what was learned during the spread of COVID-19 and keep moving forward without leaving anyone behind. Defining a new normal doesn’t mean our country has to go back to the way things were before.

For years, Canadians were told that things like paying workers enough to get by, giving people paid sick leave, and making Employment Insurance more accessible was too expensive, too hard to figure out, or not worth the effort.

And then, during the pandemic, the government and the business community stepped up and did all these things. Frontline grocery workers got raises, people got paid time off if they got sick, and the federal government pitched in to help millions of Canadians – and businesses – financially.

Canadians weathered the pandemic by taking it a day at a time and supporting each other.

As the economy shut down to protect Canadians from COVID-19, the government quickly implemented a range of public supports, protecting Canadians from catastrophe. PSAC members stepped up to deliver a wide range of programs and services that supported both people, and businesses.

The critical role public services play in the lives of all Canadians was reaffirmed.

Delivering these public services and fighting the pandemic was expensive, but it had to be done. A wealth tax on the ultra-rich will make sure the cost is shared fairly.

To continue to fund the public services Canadians rely on, large corporations and the wealthiest Canadians must start to pay their fair share.

Canada’s top 47 billionaires added $78 billion to their wealth over the last year. They got richer during the pandemic while many others struggled.

People in precarious, temporary, or part-time jobs – many of whom are women, racialized, Indigenous, newcomers to Canada or migrant workers – were hardest hit. As part of Canada’s pandemic recovery, the next government will have the opportunity to correct this and many other inequities.

COVID-19 has shown us that the government can invest in a future that lifts everyone up.

Working people were at the centre of Canada’s pandemic response and deserve a post-pandemic recovery that is committed to putting people first.

Canadians deserve strong leaders that will fight against those who would welcome cuts, austerity and privatization and a government that will protect the importance of public services and good jobs.

That’s why Erin O’Toole’s Conservatives are not the right choice for a post-pandemic Canada.

Previous Conservative governments have put the needs of large corporations ahead of workers, slashed tens of thousands of public service jobs, stood in the way of vital supports in times of crisis, and weakened Canada’s social safety net. A Conservative pandemic recovery will not be guided by the principles most Canadians believe in.

To build a just pandemic recovery – a recovery that leaves no one behind - the next government must commit to properly fund our public services, expand Canada's social safety net, and ensure the ultra-rich pay their fair share.

Pledge to vote for a candidate who will make sure no one is left behind.