Deputy Conservative leader says party plans to 'rein in' spending will be detailed in election platform

Conservative deputy leader Melissa Lantsman says Canadians will learn how her party plans to 'rein in' government spending, and what cuts that may entail, during the next federal election campaign.

Conservative deputy leader Melissa Lantsman says Canadians will learn how her party plans to "rein in" government spending, and what cuts that may entail, during the next federal election campaign.

The Liberals have suggested that Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s plans to balance the budget would include scrapping key social programs. In an interview on CTV's Question Period with host Vassy Kapelos, Lantsman was asked to clarify when and how the Official Opposition plans to tamp down the currently projected $40 billion federal deficit.

"We're going to present a plan during the election to give Canadians the very clear choice," Lantsman said.

"Either you have a government that spends more than we have on things that we don't need or want… or you're going to have a Conservative government who is going to rein in the spending, so we can lower interest rates, lower inflation, and make sure that people can take more home of what they earn," she said.

Since becoming leader, Poilievre has offered some examples of ways he'd scale back—such as implementing a 'pay-as-you-go' law requiring every $1 of new spending be offset by $1 of savings, and scrapping the ArriveCan app. But in terms of what else may be on the chopping block, Lantsman wouldn't say.

Asked specifically to address the Liberal claims that a Conservative government would cut dental care, the Canada Child Benefit, and $10-a-day childcare, Lantsman promised "a very clear plan" is in the works, but for now, Poilievre’s party is focused on holding the government to account for its spending.

Her comments come after a pair of Liberal MPs took to the House of Commons foyer on Tuesday to decry what they saw as a lack of information around what Poilievre's plans are, more than a year into his leadership, but potentially still years away from the next campaign.