Social purpose funding rarely makes headlines on the federal campaign trail. 

While social policy is certainly a centrepiece to each party’s platform — as oppressed communities continue to live through the economic and social shocks of the pandemic — candidates are not debating some of the finer policy points that could have major funding consequences, leaders in the social sector say. Many of these leaders have spent the last year and a half coming up with new ways to fund solutions to the problems COVID-19 brought to communities, from community-led philanthropy to impact investing, social bonds, accelerator programs and more.

That’s why Future of Good asked 10 such funders: What’s one thing that probably won’t become a major election issue by Sept. 20, but you wish it would? Here’s what they told us.

Ending the boil water advisories in Indigenous communities

“I would say two things, for me. First would be the list of Indigenous municipalities that have to boil water or cannot consume water in their communities. And number two would be what plan each government has in place to address anti-Black racism in Canada.” – Orville Wallace, head of programs and impact at Prince’s Trust

Putting a stop to money laundering

“Money laundering estimates range from $47 billion to $130 billion in Canada. Canadians have laundered almost a billion worth of real estate across the last few years, with our government not knowing who bought billions worth of homes, or who borrowed the money to fund the purchases. Money laundering through real estate purchases drives up market prices and decreases affordability for Canadians. Money laundering can destabilize an entire economy, and there needs to be deeper discussions with proposed solutions across the political parties.” – Narinder Dhami, managing partner at Marigold Capital 

Investing in the communities COVID-19 targeted 

“I believe that investing in the infrastructural recovery of certain communities decimated most by COVID-19 won’t be spoken about as much as it should be. A clear plan for supporting often neglected communities left financially insecure due to the pandemic, in a way that garners them more agency rather than dependency, is immensely important if we mean what we say regarding our future society being more equitable, accessible, and inclusive.” – Dr. Joseph J. Smith, co-founder of the Foundation for Black Communities 

Making a plan to end gender-based violence 

“For us, gender-based violence broadly, violence against Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA people, and violence against racialized women are top of mind for major attention. To date, the campaigns have been silent on this pandemic within the pandemic. In a world where our wishes came true, party leaders would be competing to promise the largest investment in an effective national action plan on gender-based violence — millions building to billions over a ten-year framework. And the recommendations for action from national Indigenous women’s organizations — Native Women’s Association of Canada, Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada and Les Femmes Michif Otipemisiwak — would be central to the election agenda. That’d be a wish come true.” – Paulette Senior, CEO of the Canadian Women’s Foundation 

Real commitments to ending Islamophobia

“I live in London, where an Islamophobia-motivated terrorist attack took place not more than three months ago. Within a week, the leaders of every provincial and federal political party attended the vigil, pledging solidarity and promising action. More commitments were made following the National Summit on Islamophobia the next month. The National Council of Canadian Muslims have since released 61 policy recommendations, over half of which are directed at the federal government. Sadly, all of this is not enough to make it an ‘election issue’ from what I see reflected in polling priorities, media coverage, or party platforms.” – James Chan, manager of VERGE Capital 

Building a ‘sustainable blue economy’ 

“Oceans! Canada has the longest coastline in the world by far, which includes three of the five oceans. There is massive untapped potential to build a sustainable blue economy that also tackles climate change and advances reconciliation with Indigenous communities.” – Jeremy Douglas, executive vice president of Ocean Wise

Enabling RRSP and pension contributions to climate action

“It is time to open the door for Canadians to invest in Canada’s net zero transition by incentivizing RRSP and pension contributions that fund solutions to climate change.   Establishing clear standards, disclosures and the right incentives would release a volume of retail investment in our own communities and across the country.” – Andrea Moffat, vice president of the Ivey Foundation 

Better K-12 education for Canada’s kids

“I would love to see Canada’s leaders talk more about our K-12 education and it’s priority in society. The public school system still operates on tenure vs performance and we’re not prioritizing education alongside business during times of crisis. It’s our children who will be paying the debts of today’s political decisions yet we de-prioritize their learning, class size, mental and physical health and teachers performance in favour of business outcomes.” – Kathryn Wortsman, managing partner at Amplify Capital 

What to do about the widening wealth gap

“While the climate emergency will get some attention as a major election issue, it probably won’t get nearly as much as it deserves. However, one of the greatest threats that we’re facing that I wish would become a big election issue is rising inequality. The pandemic has exacerbated our challenges, from an increased wealth gap to reduced access to opportunities particularly for our racialized and indigenous communities. More work needs to be done to deconstruct what building back better looks like if we truly want to create a more just, equitable and resilient economy and society.” – Jason Sukhram, director of impact measurement and management at MaRS

How to boost community and employee owned organizations 

“The importance of community ownership in solutions to the leading election issues of climate change, affordability, COVID recovery, and Indigenous justice. The past 18 months revealed the vulnerability of Canadians under privatized systems, for example, landlord evictions, and mismanaged for-profit LTC homes. At the same time, we also witnessed the resilience of community-led solutions by not-for-profits and co-ops. Not-for-profits and co-ops belong to the communities they serve and are uniquely situated to address complex social issues both during and beyond a crisis.  As we push for investment in sustainable energy, affordable housing, and other infrastructure, we must be intentional about who owns these assets. We believe that community finance can be a powerful force to inclusively engage all Canadians to develop a more equitable and sustainable future for all.” – Mary Warner and Ryan Collins-Swartz, co-executive directors of ​​Tapestry Community Capital

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