The Conservative Party of Canada members will elect a new leader on May 27. Who are the leadership candidates focused on Canada’s health and seniors care priorities? Check out the graph below.

And what exactly are the candidates promising? 

• Erin O’Toole, Member of Parliament (MP) for Durham, is calling for increased innovation in health care, incentives for physicians to practice in rural areas, and a better pharmacare program for the seven per cent of Canadians who need help paying for their medications.
• Maxime Bernier (MP for Beauce) is recommending that the federal government no longer be involved in health care, with the provinces and territories taking full responsibility – funding and all. His plan is to transfer tax points to the provinces and territories in order to help them cover these additional costs.

Three leadership candidates have policies specific to seniors care:

• Rick Peterson, a businessman from Vancouver, is looking to make everyday costs more affordable for seniors, such as lower costs for prescriptions and health insurance.
• Chris Alexander (former MP for Ajax-Pickering) is seeking to assist seniors in a different way by increasing the Guaranteed Income Supplement for those over 65 to a minimum of $20,000.
• Candidate Lisa Raitt promises to implement a national dementia strategy if elected.

Canada’s seniors’ population is rapidly increasing, and more and more Canadians are living longer, healthier lives, although often with more complex and chronic conditions. Here’s hoping that whoever becomes the next leader of the Conservative Party of Canada focuses on health care and building a revitalized health care system capable of providing all Canadians with timely access to high-quality care.