Join the movement
Rob is running to unite the party and make workers’ voices and the voices of everyday people the driving force of Canadian politics.
Rob’s Plan to Win the Housing War
- Triple the construction of public, co-op, and non-profit homes — homes that stay affordable forever because they’re kept out of the speculative market — and grow Canada’s non-market housing supply to 20% by 2040.
- Bring more private land into public ownership for the construction of non-profit, affordable homes. Prioritize the land close to rapid public transit.
- Use public funds to build homes ordinary people can actually afford — not luxury units for investors.
- Standardize modular, prefab, and mass‑timber methods to lower costs.
- Modernize zoning to allow duplexes, triplexes, and gentle density in every community. Invest in housing in Indigenous communities and in an Indigenous Housing Strategy for urban, rural, and northern communities.
- Use Canadian steel, cement, lumber, and manufactured products.
- Tie all federal housing dollars to prevailing wages, apprenticeship requirements, and strong labour standards.
- Establish regional prefab plants to create local jobs.Train tens of thousands of young workers for careers in the skilled trades and restore the Apprenticeship Completion Grant and the Apprenticeship Incentive Grant.
- Ban big corporate landlords from buying affordable apartment buildings and starter homes when they hit the market.
- Support non-profits, co-ops, and community housing providers to acquire those buildings instead — keeping them affordable forever.
- End federal subsidies, tax breaks, and CMHC backing for any landlord that renovicts, price-gouges, or abuses tenants.
- Ban rent-fixing algorithms and other AI tools landlords use to coordinate rent hikes.
Rob's Plan to Protect Workers
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Restore one-step union certification to make it easier for workers to organize.
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Crack down on union-busting tactics.
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Protect the right to strike by repealing section 107.
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Deliver bigger paycheques by setting fair pay standards on government contracts and expanding sectoral bargaining so whole sectors can negotiate better wages.
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Require worker seats on corporate boards to ensure frontline workers have real influence over decisions that impact their jobs and pay.
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Repeal and replace the Temporary Foreign Worker Program with a fair system that protects all workers, their status, and their labour.
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Protect wages by holding employers accountable so no one can be exploited to drive down pay.
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Stop the race to the bottom by ensuring equal, fair pay for everyone doing the same work.
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Give migrant workers real power with open work permits, a clear path to permanency, and the freedom to join unions without fear.
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End divide-and-conquer tactics by guaranteeing equal rights, protections, and status for all workers.
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Keep jobs fair by requiring employers to prove they can’t find qualified Canadian workers, with unions verifying the process.
Rob's Good Jobs Promise
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If you’re ready to work, there will be a place for you — building homes, caring for others, restoring the environment, or strengthening our communities.
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Raise the floor for everyone with good, union-backed jobs that lift wages and working conditions.
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Every public dollar comes with strings attached: corporations must protect Canadian jobs and treat workers with respect.
- Transform the Bank of Canada’s mandate to focus on full employment and creating good, well-paid jobs, not just protecting investors from inflation.
About Rob
President of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Canada
Rob Ashton has spent over 30 years as a dockworker and union leader, and today serves as National President of ILWU Canada. A lifelong worker, not a politician, Rob has fought for fairness, equity, and better lives for everyday people. Backed by the strength of his family and his union, he’s built coalitions, led tough conversations, and kept diverse voices united to take on powerful interests – and win.