Hope for 2026

Hope is one of those words that conjures up expectation, possibility, and certainty, that things can be different. Hope gives us the confidence to imagine what could be.

Hope is my word for 2026- it lifts our eyes and casts a vision for a better tomorrow. Canadians need hope.

Recent polling shows that the cost of living is the top issue for voters. After 10 years of Liberal leadership, grocery bills have doubled and food inflation in Canada is rising more than twice the rate than the United States. Even more troubling, a record 2.2 million Canadians relied on food banks last year, including 712,000 children. Families are expected to spend almost $1,000 more on groceries in 2026, averaging $338 per week or $17,571 annually. Today, one in four Canadian households are considered food insecure. With Christmas behind us, incoming credit card bills and seasonal expenses coming due will only amplify already stretched budgets.

In a recent Abacus poll, Canadians were asked which party they trust most to address the affordability issue. The consensus was clear: 42% of Canadians trust Conservatives to tackle the cost of living compared to just 29% who choose Mark Carney’s Liberals. Similarly, the trend appears on issues of crime and immigration where Conservatives continue to hold a strong lead over the Liberals for public trust in these issues. Canadians are recognizing that Conservatives have not stopped fighting for the issues that matters most to them. 

Some solutions are straightforward. A study conducted by Dalhousie University confirmed that the industrial carbon tax is undermining the competitiveness to Canada’s agri-food sector compared to the United States. According to Statistics Canada, prices for everyday staples – From cookies to coffee to beef to lettuce have increased between 7.8% to 36.4%.  This is not inevitable. Conservatives have put forward a motion to lower the cost of food by cutting the industrial carbon tax, the food packaging tax, the clean fuel standard tax and reversing inflationary deficits. Unfortunately, the motion was voted down by Liberal opposition.

But that doesn’t mean Conservatives won’t back down. Even when our ideas are dismissed or ignored by Liberal opposition, they take hold in the hearts and minds of Canadians as possibilities. By casting a vision of hope, Canadians are imagining a future with food security – one that supports home ownership, that envisions safe and secure neighbourhoods, stimulates creativity and innovation, invests in young people and restores their confidence that their future belongs here Canada.

So, what does 2026 hold? After ten years of what many have called the lost decade, Canadians are feeling the consequences.  This past Christmas made that reality clear. Dinner tables were emptier, grocery bills had doubled, parents and seniors were shocked at the check out and fewer gifts were under the tree.  To preserve the season, 67% of parents sacrificed their own future while facing a record-breaking hunger crisis.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Next Christmas can be different. Hope is real and achievable. Conservatives have a plan to restore affordability and opportunity, and we will continue to cast that vision – at every opportunity – for a better way forward

I wish you a happy, healthy, hope-filled 2026!