Canada’s Basic Income Movement Rallies around PEI’s campaign for a Guaranteed Basic Income (GBI)
20 leading organizations that advocate for income security in Canada added their logos in support of Coalition Canada’s pre-budget submission to the federal government. To add your support please send a letter to your MP asking them to support funding for the PEI GBI demonstration project in the upcoming fall 2025 budget,
A brief History of our Campaign
In 2020, the Government of PEI accepted the recommendations of its Special Committee on Poverty to create a basic income guarantee (BIG) for PEI in collaboration with the federal government. In 2022, all parties in the Legislature reaffirmed their support for a BIG in PEI.
In response to the PEI Government’s support for a BIG for PEI, Coalition Canada convened a team of economists, former federal MP’s, sitting PEI MLA’s, policy experts and advocates to develop a proposal for the implementation of a BIG-PEI demonstration project. The team worked for over two years to develop a feasible, affordable federal/provincial demonstration project.
In November 2023, the team released its report, A Proposal for a Guaranteed Basic Income for PEI, answering many of the questions and concerns related to such an income assistance benefit. This report has changed the conversation about a national basic income guarantee benefit in Canada
In July 2024, three former federal MPs who were members of the report team, Wayne Easter (Liberal – PEI), Jean Crowder (NDP – BC) and Bruce Stanton (Conservative – Ontario) authored an article published in National Newswatch (July 7, 2024). Here they argued that a GBI is an evolution of our social support system, not a revolution, and that the implementation of a Guaranteed Basic Income (GBI) demonstration project in PEI would address the doubts and concerns that people have regarding the merits and affordability of a GBI benefit. They contended that a multi-year GBI program in PEI is a practical and affordable way to demonstrate that a GBI for working-age Canadians is a far superior way to eliminate poverty than the myriad of targeted, often dysfunctional, social assistance schemes…(read the full article….)
In September 2024, the governments of Canada and PEI established a federal/provincial working group to study the data and administrative structure of a 5 to 7-year Guaranteed Basic Income (GBI) demonstration project for PEI.
In March 2025, the Halifax Examiner published an op-ed by PEI MP Sean Casey, who again made the case for implementing the PEI Demonstration project to answer important questions decision makers have about basic income, including cost, administration, impacts on poverty reduction and labour markets, and cost savings in healthcare and the justice systems.