Q&A with: Michael Glenister, Green Party candidate for Coquitlam-Port Coquitlam

Name: Michael Glenister

Party: Green Party of Canada

U.S. Relations

Canada–U.S. trade relations have become increasingly tense. The new Trump administration has threatened our sovereignty, and initiated a trade war impacting Canadian jobs, manufacturing, agriculture, and energy exports.

Amid U.S. nationalist and protectionist policies, should Canada be trying to repair its relationship with our southern neighbour?

Yes, but without sacrificing our self-respect but not capitulating to bullies.

What steps should Canada take to protect its economy?

Remove barriers between trade between provinces. Develop more value-added products from our natural resources.

Affordability & Cost of Living

Inflation has moderated but remains a significant concern. Many Canadians are struggling with stagnant wages, rising rents, and the high cost of essentials like groceries and fuel. Food bank use has hit record highs.

What is your plan to address the rising cost of living, especially housing, groceries, and transportation, which continue to outpace wages for many Canadians?

Prioritize federal funding for deeply affordable housing targeted specifically at households earning between 0 and 50 percent of area median income (AMI). Reinstate the income tax deduction for transit passes that the Liberals removed in 2022.

How will your policies ensure long-term affordability, rather than short-term relief?

Increase the Canada Rental Protection Fund to help nonprofits acquire existing rental buildings and keep them permanently affordable. Require all housing developed with public financing to have permanent affordability covenants to protect public investments.

Do you believe price-fixing is a systemic issue? If so, how should it be addressed?

Yes, B.C. has the highest cost of living in Canada, yet salaries don’t reflect that. A teacher in Ontario earns about $15 000 more a year than a teacher in B.C. Ensure that affordability thresholds account for regional cost of living differences.

Housing Crisis

Canada faces a severe housing shortage, particularly in major cities. CMHC estimates the country needs over 3.5 million new homes by 2030 to restore affordability. Homelessness is rising, and many young Canadians are locked out of the housing market.

What specific measures will you take to increase the supply of affordable housing?

Triple the amount of social housing in Canada by building 1.2 million permanently affordable homes (non-market rental or cooperative) over seven years.

How will you address homelessness and ensure vulnerable populations have access to secure housing?

Expand investments in Housing First programs and wraparound support services, ensuring those experiencing homelessness have access to mental health care, harm reduction, and addiction recovery supports alongside permanent housing. Increase municipal funding for emergency shelters and transitional housing, ensuring cities have long-term, stable federal support for frontline homelessness services.

Climate Change and Energy Transition

Canada is not currently on track to meet its 2030 emissions reduction targets under the Paris Agreement. Extreme weather events like wildfires and floods are becoming more frequent, and many governments are transitioning away from fossil fuels to clean energy.

How should Canada balance priorities regarding its natural resources and climate policy?

Modernize Canada’s grid, creating interconnected regional electricity grids, ensuring 100 percent renewable electricity nationwide by 2035 through hydro, wind, solar, and energy storage. Swiftly transition Canada to 100 percent renewable electricity by investing heavily in solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal technologies.

What are your party’s concrete targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions between now and 2030, and how will you ensure accountability?

The Green Party’s Climate Change Act would establish binding emissions targets and establish penalties, with a focus on high-polluting industries. Other priorities include sector-specific emissions caps, the introduction of right-to-repair laws, investments into Indigenous-led conservation, and the expansion of sustainable agriculture. When it comes to new cars, we would ban the sale of passenger gas vehicles by 2030.

Health Care

Health systems across provinces are under pressure. Staffing shortages, long ER wait times, and limited access to family doctors are widespread.

How will you address the shortage of family doctors and long wait times in emergency rooms across the country?

Hire 7,500 new family doctors, nurses, and nurse practitioners over five years to address health worker shortages.

Do you support expanding public health care to include dental care, pharmacare, and mental health services? If so, how will it be funded and implemented?

Yes, Implement Universal Pharmacare to establish single-payer pharmacare across Canada. Expand the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP) immediately to all Canadians who meet the eligibility requirements. Expand community health services, including mobile clinics for rural and remote communities and increased support for telemedicine. Increase the corporate tax rate from 14 percent to 21 percent for businesses with profits over $100 million (generating $44 billion in revenue). Introduce a permanent Windfall Tax (Excess Profit Tax) on large corporations, including banks, grocery chains and fossil fuel companies, to prevent profiteering at the expense of Canadians.

Indigenous Reconciliation

Progress on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action and the MMIWG Inquiry’s Calls for Justice has been slow.

What steps should be taken regarding the TRC’s Calls to Action and the MMIWG Inquiry’s Calls for Justice?

Fully implement all 94 Calls to Action from Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission to repair harm, support healing, and build a fair relationship with Indigenous Peoples.

How will you approach equitable access to clean water, health care, housing, and education in Indigenous communities?

Permanently end all drinking water advisories in Indigenous communities through sustained federal funding for water infrastructure, maintenance, and community-based oversight. Develop affordable housing solutions, including modular and climate-resilient housing, tailored specifically for Indigenous communities. Guarantee every First Nations, Métis, and Inuit child equitable access to high-quality, culturally relevant education, regardless of location.

Economic Inequality & Tax Reform

Wealth inequality is growing in Canada. The wealthiest Canadians have seen major gains, while lower- and middle-income households face stagnating or declining real incomes. Corporate profits remain high, yet some large companies pay minimal tax.

Do you support changes to Canada’s tax system? If so, what specific reforms do you propose?

The Green Party would raise the basic personal amount to $40,000, increase the corporate tax rate, and introduce a permanent Windfall Tax.

How would you reduce income inequality?

Implement a progressive wealth tax on net wealth above $10 million. The tax would apply at a rate of 1 percent on net wealth over $10 million, 2 percent on net wealth over $50 million, and 3 percent on net wealth over $100 million. This policy would impact only 0.5 percent of Canadian households.

Technology, Misinformation & AI

The rise of artificial intelligence and digital misinformation threatens public trust, job security, and democratic institutions. Canada has yet to pass comprehensive legislation to regulate AI and social media algorithms.

How will your government address the growing influence of misinformation, particularly regarding discourse on U.S. tech platforms?

Legislatively redefine social media companies and digital platforms as “publishers,” making them accountable under common law for content they publish, allowing legal recourse for libel, slander, misinformation, and interference in elections.

What safeguards will you put in place regarding the development and use of AI in Canada, including impacts on jobs, privacy, and ethics?

Protect Canadians by creating a comprehensive national framework for AI, setting standards for ethical use, transparency, accountability, environmental impacts, and robust data privacy protections.

Democratic Reform

Many Canadians feel alienated from federal politics. The 2015 Liberal promise of electoral reform was abandoned. Concerns over transparency, lobbying, and accountability continue to erode trust.

Do you support electoral reform to move away from the first-past-the-post system? Why or why not?

I am strongly in favour of Proportional Representation, a much fairer electoral system, and the last election was a perfect example of why we need it. With PR, votes aren’t wasted, and if 30 percent of the voters vote for a given party, then that party gets 30 percent of the seats.

What will you do to restore public trust in government institutions and political transparency?

Strengthen the Conflict of Interest Act by broadening the definition of conflicts to include personal, political, and family interests, with meaningful financial penalties for violations.

Immigration

Canada has ambitious immigration targets, but there’s growing concern about whether infrastructure—especially housing, transit, and social services—can keep pace.

What is your plan for balancing immigration with infrastructure and housing capacity, particularly in high-demand cities?

Engage with municipalities, provinces, Indigenous governments, and community organizations to assess the potential for voluntary resettlement strategies that align with local development goals.

Should Canada’s immigration targets be adjusted?

Expand refugee resettlement programs, ensuring refugees receive housing, language training, and employment support.

Crime & Public Safety

Concerns about violent crime, organized crime, gun violence, and safety in public spaces have increased in many communities. At the same time, experts emphasize the need for evidence-based approaches that focus on prevention, mental health supports, and root causes. There’s also ongoing debate about bail reform, policing budgets, and systemic inequities in the justice system.

What is your plan to address crime and improve public safety, particularly in urban settings?

More funding to police departments.

How will your approach balance enforcement with investments in mental health, addiction treatment, housing, and poverty reduction as part of a long-term strategy for safer communities?

Make mental health services fully insured under the Canada Health Act, ensuring public coverage of therapy, counselling, and psychiatric care through general provincial health transfers.

Toxic Drug Crisis & Public Health Response

Canada’s toxic drug crisis continues to worsen, with more than 50,000 deaths since 2016, driven largely by fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. The crisis affects people across age groups, income levels, and regions, and is closely tied to mental health, poverty, and homelessness. Provinces and cities are calling for stronger federal leadership on harm reduction, treatment, and decriminalization.

What is your plan to address the toxic drug crisis?

Will your party support harm reduction measures such as safe supply programs, supervised consumption sites, and decriminalization of drug possession?

How will you expand access to addiction treatment, mental health care, and long-term supports to prevent overdose deaths and help people recover?

Establish a Federally Managed Safe Supply Program, providing pharmaceutical alternatives to prevent overdose deaths. Legislate full decriminalization of drug possession for personal use, replacing discretionary policies with a consistent legal framework.

Is there an issue you plan to address that is not part of your party’s platform?

I would like to see the Transit Pass income tax deduction reinstated. The Liberals removed it in 2022, which unfairly targeted lower income Canadians, as well as being a step in the wrong direction environmentally.

Why should Canadians vote for you?

Voters should educate themselves on the different political parties, what they stand for, and if possible, what they have done when in power. The Green Party is about fairness, the environment, and changing how things are done for the better. If you are happy with the status quo, then look elsewhere. However if you share our values, and want to see some actual change in how things are done, then vote Green.