Federal elections are usually about families, and how to woo them. But getting parents’ attention" Not so easy. How are you supposed to get a full understanding of each party’s promises if you can barely manage to get the dog fed and the laundry done between shuttling kids to and from daycare and school and soccer/ballet/tutoring" Take a breath, and take heart: We?ve got you covered. Let this issue-by-issue cheat sheet on where each party stands be your co-pilot en route to the ballot box October 21 (and yes, that?s one more thing to add to your to-do list: VOTE).

Child care
The nice thing about being part of an important voting block is that each party falls over itself about how it will help make it easier to have a family. Childcare is, after all, a pocketbook issue: The cost of daycare has risen faster than inflation in 61 percent of Canadian cities since 2017, according to a recent report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. In Toronto, the average is something like $1,600 a month. LIBERALS: Shortly after sweeping to power in the last election, the Liberals introduced the Canada Child Benefit, which has provided a max benefit of $6,400 a year per child under age six (about $530 a month) and $5,400 a year per child aged six to 17 (which looks like $450 a month). This election, the party has promised to beef that up by 15 percent for families with a child under age one, meaning those qualifying parents of a new baby will get up to $100...