Singh proposes Canada Victory Bonds to bolster the country in face of U.S. tariffs

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh makes an announcement during a federal election campaign stop in Ottawa on Thursday, April 3, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

OTTAWA — NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh invoked wartime rhetoric Thursday in a pitch for tax-free “Victory Bonds” to shore up the economy against U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Singh told a campaign event in Ottawa that Canadians are looking for ways to support their country and “do their part.”

“This is an opportunity for Canadians to invest in our country. In fact, during the world war, victory bonds raised more revenue than taxes,” Singh said at the National Arts Centre with the National War Memorial behind him.

The Canada Victory Bonds proposed by the NDP would be available in five-year and 10-year terms and pay a compounding interest rate of 3.5 per cent, the party said in a media statement.

The interest earned on the bonds would be tax-free if held to maturity, Singh said, meaning a $100 bond would grow to $118.77 in five years, or $141.06 in 10 years.

“We’re going to need to raise money to be able to build the roads, the bridges, the infrastructure we need,” he said. “Instead of relying solely on banks and paying debt and interest to those banks, let’s pay interest to Canadians instead.”

The NDP statement said the bonds would be available through payroll deduction or over the counter, making it easy for Canadians to participate. The party said every dollar raised would be dedicated to public infrastructure like roads, bridges, transit, ports, housing and water systems.

Singh acknowledged that the Canadian government stopped selling savings bonds years ago, in part due to high administration costs, but “we’re in a very different context right now,” he said.

“We are in a type of war right now, in a trade war, and the threat of Donald Trump has made Canadians say, ‘What can I do to stand up and defend my country?”’ he said. “For those Canadians who want to contribute, here’s a way to do so.”

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Singh began the announcement with comments about Trump’s tariffs hitting the auto sector and pointed to the temporary two-week closure of an assembly plant in Windsor, Ont., which he visited earlier in the campaign.

He said the 25 per cent automotive tariffs imposed by Trump are a “direct attack” on the sector’s workers. He cited the NDP’s campaign promise to expand employment insurance “so they can actually pay their bills, pay their mortgage, keep food on the table”

“That’s got to be job number 1 today in the face of these tariffs,” Singh said.

The NDP leader deflected questions about the party’s single-digit polling numbers and wouldn’t reveal his postelection leadership plans should the party fail to maintain or improve its seat count in Parliament.

“This is a question we get pretty much every election,” he said. “New Democrats are always going to be there. I’m sure the other parties would love for us to not be there to point out that their plans are going to hurt Canadians.”

Singh’s campaign moves on to Montreal later Thursday after a planned meeting in Ottawa with Canadian Labour Congress president Bea Bruske.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 3, 2025.