Canada is edging closer to a historic expansion of state welfare, as the Senate voted this week to advance committee study of Bill S-206, legislation that would lay the groundwork for a national guaranteed livable basic income.
Sponsored by Senator Kim Pate, the bill would create a framework for cash transfers “sufficient to live on and available to those in need,” with participation from all levels of government and Indigenous communities. Pate said the measure could reduce poverty and inequality, citing research by the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and other advocates.
Critics, however, warn that the proposal represents a dramatic step toward a universal basic-income model—effectively a permanent, government-funded income floor that could transform Canada’s economic identity. Fiscal conservatives argue such programs risk ballooning deficits, eroding work incentives, and entrenching centralized redistribution reminiscent of European-style socialism.
The Fraser Institute has cautioned that even a modest national basic-income program “would require significant tax increases or spending cuts elsewhere” and could “undermine the work ethic that sustains economic productivity.”
The Senate Finance Committee will resume hearings on Bill S-206 later this month.