Alberta Election Sees Both Major Political Parties Appealing to Seniors With New Benefits

Senior citizens make their way along a street in Peterborough, Ont., on May 7, 2012. Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press

United Conservative Party (UCP) Leader Danielle Smith announced a new discount for Alberta seniors Thursday as part of her reelection campaign, while the New Democrat Party (NDP), led by Rachel Notley, pledged to increase seniors benefits and Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) payments.

At a news conference in Calgary on May 11, Smith said seniors living on a fixed income need affordability measures. The UCP has pledged a 25 percent discount for seniors on government services and user fees including registry services, medical driving tests, and camping fees.

“For seniors who are often on fixed incomes, covering monthly expenses can be difficult, especially when inflation is high. When the price of everything goes up but your income doesn’t, you can only tighten your belt so much,” Smith said.

She also noted that the tax cut announced earlier in the month, as well as the new tax bracket of 8 percent, will mean seniors save an additional $760 annually each.

The discount would be automatically applied if seniors use a registry service or book a provincial camping place. The province would create a new billing code for the discount on medical driving tests.

“Every dollar saved through the seniors discount is another dollar back in their pockets that they can use on necessities and the things that matter to them,” she said.

Meanwhile, Notley said on May 8 that the NDP would provide more homecare to seniors if elected. The NDP pledged to provide 20,000 more seniors with homecare support over the next four years by increasing funding another $100 million.

The NDP’s campaign platform indicates the party would increase the seniors benefit, income supports, and AISH payments. The party said it would “immediately increase the value of these benefits to where they should be if they had kept pace with the cost of living, and then index to inflation from there.”

The NDP said that would mean a monthly increase of $135 to AISH recipients. Candidates for the NDP in Red Deer provided more details on the plan for seniors, according to Red Deer News Now.

Candidate Michelle Baer said the party would cap insurance premiums and make the $300 shingles vaccine free for seniors. The NDP also said it would increase support services like snow shoveling, lawn care, transportation, and meal help.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.