How to advocate for a national Basic Income Guarantee (BIG) for working-age people 18 to 64
To get familiar with the basics about Basic Income:
- Check out what Coalition Canada is advocating for: The Basic Income We Want.
- Review our Talking Points. These 2 pages will help prepare you to have good conversations about BIG.
- Then take a look at our Frequently Asked Questions, so you know the answers to questions that are usually raised when talking about BIG.
Want to learn more?
- Take a closer look at the PEI Report: A Proposal for a Guaranteed Basic Income for PEI and see how far we’ve come in our understanding of and our advocacy for a Basic Income Guarantee for Canada.
- Take a look at our Case for Basic Income Series, where topic experts briefly explain why a Basic Income Guarantee is important to their sector and to their stakeholders.
Here are some quick and easy actions you can take:
Talk to your family and friends about BIG
Here are some talking points to help you with these important conversations, including what a BIG is; how support for a BIG is growing across Canada; and examples of Canadian income assistance programs that are like a BIG. Make it personal by adding why a BIG is important to you, and you have the makings of a great conversation!
Write a letter to your MP or MLA, and ask to meet with them.
Here is a draft letter you can use. Ask for a meeting so you can have a conversation with them about basic income, and why this issue is important to you. If your MP would like more information, we can help organize a meeting with experts your MP would like to speak to. You can email us here.
Paper Petitions
Paper Petitions are more work than electronic ones, BUT ARE WAY MORE EFFECTIVE. If you present a paper petition to an MP with just 30 signatures, you can ask them to present your petition in the House of Commons. We have had many of these presented by MPs in Parliament. This is a concrete way for elected officials to measure public interest in a BIG. We have paper petitions that are ready for you to use.
Campaign PEI
We are excited about Campaign PEI. Did you know that all provincial parties in the PEI Legislature support a basic income guarantee for PEI? An important report has changed the conversation about the feasibility and affordability of a BIG for PEI and a federal/PEI Working Group is now meeting to discuss how a 5 to 7-year demonstration project in PEI could be implemented.
At Coalition Canada, we believe this is the surest pathway to a national basic income guarantee. We need your help to keep the pressure up and ensure that this Working Group is recognized and funded in the 2025 budget.
- Send a letter to your MP, asking them to raise a question in the House of Commons about the status of the Federal/PEI Working group. Here is a draft letter.
- Send a letter to Minister Jenna Sudds, asking her to send a request to the Finance Minister to include the Federal/PEI Working Group in the 2025 Budget. Here is a draft letter.
Advocating for basic income during federal and provincial elections
Attend All Candidates Meetings in your riding and try to raise a question during the meeting. For example: Do you support a Basic Income Guarantee for working-age adults in Canada? Are you aware there is a Federal/PEI Working Group that is examining how to implement a 5 to 7-year demonstration project in PEI, and do you support such a demonstration project? We have prepared draft scripts and questions you ask at these meetings.
If you are not successful getting your question raised during the meeting, try to greet the candidates in person. Introduce yourself and tell them a BIG is important to you and why, then ask your question(s) to them directly.
After the election, follow up with your newly elected MP or MLA and ask for a meeting to have a conversation with them about BIG.