Conservatives promise to keep retirement at 65 and lower taxes for working seniors

Pierre Poilievre made promises to help homebuyers, a message other party leaders agree is a key talking point. Rachel Aiello explains.

SAINT THOMAS DE MONTMAGNY, ONT. — Pierre Poilievre promised working seniors on Wednesday that they’d pay fewer taxes under a Conservative government, while assuring them that he’d keep the retirement age at 65 and maintain the Canada Pension Plan and old age security.

At a campaign stop in Montmagny, Que., the Conservative leader said he would keep the retirement age at 65 for the CPP, OAS and the guaranteed income supplement.

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“Canadians will know they have that income coming in, and they’ll have a reliable, solid retirement and a solid floor under their feet, with the freedom to decide if they save or if they work,” Poilievre said.

The promise to keep the retirement age at 65 is a departure from the policy of Canada’s last Conservative government. Former prime minister Stephen Harper planned to raise the retirement age to 67 by 2023, which would have meant Canadians born after March 31, 1958 would have to wait two years longer to begin collecting old age security and the guaranteed income supplement.

Former prime minister Justin Trudeau rescinded the planned increase in 2016.

Poilievre -- who in 2022 criticized how much Canadians pay in CPP premiums and called on the Liberals to cancel what he described as “tax hikes” -- sidestepped when asked by reporters why he was promising to keep the retirement age at 65.

“We will protect CPP, OAS and GIS for age 65,” Poilievre replied.

“You will get all your CPP, all your GIS, all your OAS at age 65 under a new Conservative government.”

Poilievre also committed to allowing working seniors to earn up to $34,000 tax free -- an increase of $10,000 from the current level. The Conservatives say the measure would save individual seniors $1,300 a year in federal tax.

“It should be clear, no senior should ever be forced to work. But those who choose should not be punished,” he said.

He said the measure was suggested by longtime local MP Bernard Genereux, who represents the Montmagny--L’Islet--Kamouraska--Riviere-du-Loup riding.

Genereux told reporters that many seniors want to keep working “but from the moment they bring more revenue into the house, the extra revenue gets eaten up by taxes.”

Poilievre also repeated a previously announced promise to cut the lowest tax bracket by 15 per cent, offering additional savings to seniors earning more than $34,000 a year.

The Conservative leader also promised to allow seniors the flexibility to keep their RRSP savings growing in their accounts for longer. Right now, Canadians must choose to withdraw their money from their RRSPs, transfer it to a Registered Retirement Income Fund or use it to purchase an annuity by the end of the year they turn 71.

“So there you are, punished for saving responsibly. Punished for working hard,” Poilievre said.

The Conservatives did not say how much the measures would cost the government.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Wednesday that Poilievre’s plan would help out rich seniors as much as it helps low-income seniors.

“They’re going to give money to those who do not need it,” Singh said.

Poilievre spent the day campaigning in Quebec, where his party held nine seats at the beginning of the campaign.

In a region east of Quebec dotted with dairy farms, he promised to defend the supply management system that governs the egg and dairy industries in the face of an escalating trade war with the United States. He said Conservative governments have negotiated free trade deals with dozens of countries without sacrificing the system, which stabilizes prices and protects the industries from competition.

“I will act the same way when I’m prime minister,” he said. “I will defend farmers in supply management and protect Quebec’s regions.”

Poilievre was also asked to respond to the news that U.S. President Donald Trump was planning to impose tariffs on auto imports later in the day. Trump did late Wednesday sign an executive order to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all auto imports starting April 2.

“My message to him is, knock it off,” Poilievre said earlier in the day. “These tariffs are simply causing chaos in markets, they’re dislocating workers on both sides of the border. Stop threatening Canada with tariffs, stop talking about our sovereignty.”

Later, Poilievre and his wife visited a sugar shack, where they sampled maple taffy and listened to the owner discuss the impacts of tariffs on Quebec’s maple industry. He is expected to hold a rally in Quebec City on Wednesday evening.

Written by Morgan Lowrie in Montmagny, Que., David Baxter in Hamilton, and Nick Murray in Ottawa

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 26, 2025.