Liberal political strategy at odds with Bloc demands for old age security bill

The government has just weeks to decide if it will meet the $16-billion demand from the Bloc Québécois to stave off an election for a few more months, but the stipulation may be at odds with the political and fiscal plans of the Liberals.

The Liberals have taken great pains in the last year to mould their political strategy around a sense of injustice among millennials and generation-Z Canadians who feel their work isn’t paying off like it did for previous generations.

While Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been touting policies aimed at “fairness for every generation,” the Bloc has given him until Oct. 29 to green light spending for its private member’s bill to increase old age security for seniors under the age of 75.

If the government doesn’t support the bill by then, Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet says he will enter talks with other parties to bring down the Liberal minority government before the new year.

“I don’t see clearly what the political upside is for the Trudeau Liberals to spend more on seniors,” said Andrew Perez, a Liberal strategist with Perez Strategies.

That does appear to be the only demographic the Liberals are still competitive with, Perez said.

The younger voters who helped Trudeau soar to popularity in 2015 seem, according to the polls, to have drifted to the right to support Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.

“Liberals historically are always ahead of Conservatives among younger generations. So it’s quite an anathema to the Liberal brand, it’s quite shocking to see these numbers,” he said.

It will be difficult for any party to stand up in the House of Commons and oppose more money for seniors, said Tyler Meredith, the former lead economic adviser for Trudeau and two finance ministers and a