‘If you get the grades, you get to go,’ Ignatieff
Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff is preparing to campaign on education, Postmedia is reporting. With a “pan-Canadian learning strategy” and a slogan that states “if you get the grades, you get to go,” the Liberal leader appears to be testing to see if Canadians will be receptive to a platform that includes addressing the cost of education, investing in early childhood education, training programs and aboriginal education.
Speaking to his caucus recently, Ignatieff said: “We’ve got to be there for them when they’re saying, ‘How am I possibly going to afford post-secondary education?’ Especially in Aboriginal communities, especially in immigrant communities, especially in those working-class families that have never had any member of their family go to college or university before.” However, the Liberals have been vague on the specifics of any education platform.
John Wright, a senior vice-president for pollster Ipsos Reid, told Postmedia that if the Liberals pair education policies with a job creation plan, it could be successful.”It’s a provincial matter, so it’s not top of mind that Canadians associate the federal government with the funding of post-secondary education,” he said. “It might be one of the things that they put together as part of their platform but in and of itself, it’s not something that lights a fire under people.”