Friday May 2, 2025 | NATIONAL NEWS [Reporting from VICTORIA, BC]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
As something of a shot over the bow of the political boat, newly re-elected Prime Minister Mark Carney chose promotion of the new Canadian Dental Care Plan as the first thing his government is promoting as a benefit to Canadians.
Carney mentioned it in his campaign and posted a message in social media on May 1 to show how his Liberal government is supporting low-income Canadians.
“We’re expanding the Canadian Dental Care Plan. Starting today, Canadians aged 55-64 can apply. In the coming weeks, applications will open to Canadians aged 18-54. Because of this plan, millions of people can now afford to see a dentist — some for the first time in decades. Soon, millions more will get that same care,” said Carney in his social media post on May 1.
It is a factual thing that the NDP MPs in the House of Commons during the 44th Parliament pushed the Liberal government to create and launch the dental plan. That was made possible through the Supply and Confidence Agreement between the Trudeau Liberal government and the NDP then led by Jagmeet Singh.
Who is eligible:
Applications for more age groups are now open, including:
- Seniors aged 65 and over
- Adults between 55 and 64
- Adults 18 to 54 with a valid federal Disability Tax Credit certificate
- Children under the age of 18
Problems with the plan:
Problems with the plan are both political and administrative.
Not all Canadians are supportive of the Canadian Dental Care Plan. People who pay for their own extended health-care insurance (including dental) are not eligible for the plan.
People whose employers cover medical and dental are not eligible but largely represent a group of Canadians who have enjoyed better health care than people who are self-employed, part-time employed, gig workers or self-employed.
The federal plan is for people who may not have had dental coverage for years, if ever. It’s a way for financially-disadvantaged people to catch up (though years lost to poor dental health including socioeconomic impacts can never really catch up).
Many Canadians are still not aware of the struggle of families and seniors over the past 30 years as the economy cumulatively favoured some who caught the wave of free trade and the digital economy while many others got left behind.
Not all dentists (who operate as business professionals) have signed onto offering services through the federal plan. There is an overburden of administration for dentists and their staff including sorting out what is covered and what is not.
The plan requires annual renewal by people who are on the plan, as each year’s tax-reported income will determined continued eligibility.
NDP did it:
A bitterness is emerging from the results of that agreement which the NDP undertook to get solid benefits for Canadians (e.g. dental plan, child care, school food program, anti-replacement-worker legislation and more).
The NDP were propping up Trudeau’s minority government as the tradeoff for getting those results for Canadians. But for the most part that commitment and effort is falling short of recognition and did not produce electoral results for the NDP in the April 28, 2025 election.
Back in December 2024, NDP MP Alistair MacGregor (then MP for Cowichan-Malahat-Langford) pointed out in his annual holiday season open house speech that “this is now a radically transformed Canada” due largely to the influence of the NDP in the 43rd and 44th parliaments when Trudeau was prime minister.
Poor NDP result in Election 2025:
The poor result for the NDP in April 28 election speaks to the strength of the tariff fear during Election 2025 as many NDP supporters cast their votes instead for the Liberals based largely on the economics-career resume of Liberal leader Mark Carney.
The NDP results of only seven seats across the country on Monday night speaks also to the communications strategy of the NDP. For at least two years they should have been promoting the heck out of their accomplishments for Canadians, and especially during their campaign that the real source of those social benefits for low-income Canadians were the work of the NDP.
The idea of the NDP being a party of good people-first ideas is valiant and necessary in our current political system. But the larger parties will continue to win out in the aspect of forming government so long as first-past-the-post remains the electoral system in this country.
Hopefully the new small seven-MP NDP caucus can continue to work for benefits for all Canadians and reclaim the glory of the achievements that were made under Jagmeet Singh during the 2021-2025 44th Parliament.
===== RELATED:
- Results of the April 28, 2025 Federal Election (April 28, updated to May 2, 2025)
- Canada needs strong NDP in 45th Parliament says NDP incumbent Alistair MacGregor (April 6, 2025)
- This is a radically transformed Canada says Alistair MacGregor MP (December 14, 2024)
- NDP political win as federal dental plan begins phased rollout (December 11, 2023)
- Political mechanics of producing dental & sick leave supports (November 30, 2022)
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