In a moment when all sectors at all scales are working toward “nation building projects,” the ACT BIG conference (Advocating Canada Towards a Basic Income Guarantee) could not have been more well-timed. I was honoured to attend and to present with partners in Newfoundland & Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick on the origins, impacts, and aspirations of Basic Income NOW Atlantic Canada.
Immaculately hosted by the Women's Network PEI, the event let us laugh, learn, and be in community with people who are generating stories, data, and a groundswell of local support for a Basic Income Guarantee (BIG). These efforts are necessary to provide people in Canada with financial capital sufficient to secure food, housing, and other basic needs, and to create a system that supports dignity, choice, and economic participation.
It was a chance to ground in the moral and human rights rationales for a BIG, and in the evidence for how an income guarantee would stimulate economic growth and resiliency for individuals, families, communities, and our country.
It was also a chance to hear Senator Kim Pate speak about her efforts to pass legislation creating a Canada-wide framework for the implementation of a BIG plan (Bill S-206) as well as her unwavering support of a BIG demonstration project in PEI.
PEI has made historical strides toward ending poverty by committing to a BIG plan in partnership with the federal government. Since 2020, PEI’s government and all legislative parties have voiced support for a BIG plan. After more than two years of dedicated work by economists, policymakers, and advocates, a comprehensive and affordable proposal for a PEI BIG demonstration project is ready to be implemented. In September 2024, a federal-provincial working group was established to explore a five to seven-year BIG demonstration project for PEI. For more information on a basic income guarantee, check out this short blog.
A few weeks out, three ideas and a practical, critical call to action stick with me.
ACT BIG opened with Tracey Smith-Carrier (and Parul Kanwar and others) grounding us in research. I couldn’t help but share this evidence with 14 (!) partners, friends and colleagues. Among them were financial advisors, social workers, artists, educators, climate activists, and community safety professionals.
Such diverse partners came to mind because a BIG will catalyze progress across a range of sectors, disciplines, and goals. It will accelerate:
And we could pay for a BIG if we changed policies that shape our taxation and wealth inequality realities. Some may argue that implementation costs are too high, but studies – such as those from the Community-University Institute for Social Research – show that even conservative estimates of Social Return on Investment (SROI) suggests the long-term benefits significantly outweigh the initial costs.
Tamarack works alongside communities in all provinces and territories on a BIG, including communities in Atlantic Canada. ACT BIG – and the thoughtful preparation that the Basic Income Now Atlantic Canada team did leading up to our workshop – was full of examples of community-driven efforts.
Prince Edward Island has championed BIG advocacy for over 20 years and has made historic progress by partnering with the federal government to pursue a BIG. Since 2020, all legislative parties in PEI have supported the initiative, and – after more than two years of work by economists, policymakers, and advocates – a comprehensive and affordable demonstration project proposal is ready. In September 2024, a federal-provincial working group was formed to explore a five to seven-year pilot in PEI.
Newfoundland and Labrador's advocacy traces back to the 1990s. Since 2020, Basic Income NL has propelled major milestones: an all-party committee, Health Accord NL recommendations, youth and senior basic income programs, and a provincial poverty reduction plan. The final committee report is pending.
Nova Scotia's Basic Income movement began in 2015. Basic Income Nova Scotia has built partnerships across sectors and stewarded six provincial conferences. Sixteen councils –representing 80% of the population – have passed supporting resolutions. BIG bills were tabled in 2024 and 2025.
New Brunswick has mobilized grassroots and municipal action. Basic Income NB joined the Atlantic Basic Income Coalition, which presented to the Council of Atlantic Mayors and gained widespread municipal backing.
Regional Action: All four provinces have:
I want to share my gratitude to leaders in these places including Marie Burge, who was awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal at ACT BIG, for shaping this movement. For more on these communities’ work, please have a look at this blog on basic income guarantees.
As noted by Senator Kim Pate and many others, “basic income is not a new idea.” BIG aligns with Indigenous and African ancestral ways of knowing, reflecting principles of mutual aid, collective well-being, resource-sharing, and economic justice. BIG has taken root in Finland, Germany, Kenya, and parts of the US, Manitoba, British Columbia, and beyond. The policy has broad support across sectors, political parties, and geographies.
One of the last messages I sent was to a financial advisor. I shared Dr. Smith-Carrier’s statement that “money is a population health measure that affects all of society.” The advisor and I have different daily experiences (which inform different perspectives on how our capital markets need to evolve). But we are completely aligned on the value of BIG. Which makes me think that a BIG could be a way to come together across geographies, sectors, and experiences around a meaningful goal.
Communities advocating for a BIG in Atlantic Canada - and across the country - demonstrate that there are spaces for everyone in this movement. Policy change can’t happen without local place. And in systemic change work, we can’t know what the path to our goal will be.
The key visual in our workshop was a drop of water falling into a pool. Water meeting water creates ripples in unexpected ways. Local action ripples too: with the right supports, it catalyzes new thoughts and actions in other people and in other local places. It changes who we are as we work in our communities. It scales up and takes hold across regions, provinces and territories, and our country.
We can’t know at the start what the ripples in self, local community, regions, and country will be, but we can know that with intentional catalysts, they will be profound.
If you’d like to get involved, check out the consensus statement, use the toolkits to host discussions with your family, neighbours, and municipal leaders to share why BIG matters to you, contact your representatives to support S-206, and lend your voice to support PEI’s demonstration project.