From cost of living to tariffs to housing, MyBancroftNow is profiling candidates in our region to learn more about their platforms.
Here are 8 questions we asked conservative incumbent Shelby Kramp-Neuman.
Tell us about yourself.
I am the incumbent Conservative candidate for Hastings-Lennox and Addington-Tyendinaga. Born and raised in Madoc to a small-business-owning family, I continue to live there with my husband, Tadum, and two daughters, Tori and Reese. During my first term as a Member of Parliament, I served in a variety of roles, including as the Conservative Shadow Minister for Seniors, Associate Shadow Minister for National Defence and, most recently, Shadow Minister for Women, Gender Equality and Youth, where I chaired the Parliament’s Standing Committee on the Status of Women. Before entering federal politics, I was a financial advisor and served 15 years on the Centre Hastings Municipal Council. Prior to that, I taught in the Justice Studies Program at Loyalist College and worked as an uncertified occasional French teacher. My earlier professional experience includes serving as a Global Affairs Representative in Seattle, Washington, and as a political assistant to Jim Prentice and Senator Consiglio Di Nino. I also hold a degree in Communications and Political Science from the University of Ottawa.
What are potential solutions to housing affordability and homelessness?
The dream of home ownership is a foundational piece of the Canadian promise. Unfortunately, this dream has fallen further out of reach for too many hard-working Canadians. Rents, down payments and mortgages, have all doubled under the current government. That is why to address the housing crisis, we first and foremost need a real change of leadership at our national level.
A new Conservative government will drive down the price of a home by cutting taxes and reducing barriers to homebuilding. We will provide a complete GST exemption for all buyers of new homes under $1.3 million, saving families up to $65,000 on the purchase of a new home and $3,000 on a yearly mortgage. A Conservative government will also incentivize municipalities to lower development charges by reimbursing 50% of savings for new homebuyers, for up to a maximum of $50,000. In conjunction with our GST exemption, these two policies alone will lower the cost of a new home by up to $115,000. To create even more space to build homes on, we will sell 6,000 federal buildings and thousands of acres of federal land. We will further incentivize municipalities to speed up permitting and free up land to build on so that our hardworking tradespeople can get to work and build the homes we so desperately need.
What would you do about cost-of-living pressures in your riding?
With the costs of food, rent, and fuel continuing to increase faster than anyone can afford, Canadians need policies that will bring them relief. That is why Canada’s Conservatives fought so hard in Parliament pressuring the government to remove the carbon tax, build more homes and fix the budget, while also uncovering the hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money that was misused.
If elected, a Conservative government will cut the income tax by 15%, saving the average worker $900 a year, and a two-income family up to $1,800 a year. While everyone who pays income taxes will keep more of what they earn under a Poilievre government, modest-income Canadians will feel the most savings from this rate cut because it will be on the lowest income bracket. We will also repeal the entire carbon tax law, including the federal industrial carbon tax backstop which Mark Carney has not committed to doing. Removing the tax on Canadian steel, natural gas, food production, concrete, and the other key industries that produce our everyday goods, will lower prices across the board for Canadians. A Conservative government will additionally implement a Canada First Reinvestment Tax Cut to end the tax penalty on reinvestment in Canadian businesses. Adding to this measure, we will introduce the Canada First TFSA Top-Up to increase the TFSA limit by $5,000 each year for investments that support Canadian businesses. These two initiatives will stimulate massive economic growth by releasing billions of dollars for homebuilding, tools, training, technology, manufacturing and small businesses.
What are you hearing when door-knocking?
While door-knocking around our community, time and time again, people are sharing their frustration with a government in Ottawa that has all but forgotten about them. I have had far too many conversations with constituents about the untenable costs at the grocery store, inflated gas prices, and growing concerns that they will never be able to afford a home. The current government has repeatedly shown that they are unable or unwilling to take their incredibly important responsibility of putting Canadians first. That’s why I’m running—because my friends, neighbours, and community deserve a strong voice in a city that has too often overlooked them. Hearing all this frustration at the door, I am more energized than ever to keep fighting for the people of Hastings-Lennox and Addington-Tyendinaga.
What is your position on tariffs and the trade war?
First and foremost, my Conservative colleagues and I believe this trade war is absolutely unjust and unjustified. However, we are nonetheless prepared to stand up to President Trump.
To minimize the impact of tariffs, our next government must work to get them removed quickly. That is why a Pierre Poilievre-led government would immediately propose an early renegotiation of our Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement, including a mutual pause on tariffs during renegotiation. We will draw clear red lines before negotiations when it comes to our borders, our resources, our farmers, our fresh water, and our automotive workers. Above all, a Conservative government will make it clear that Canadian sovereignty is non-negotiable—now and forever.
Acknowledging that President Trump’s behaviour is impossible to predict, my Conservative colleagues and I are equally prepared to protect Canadians through measures such as our Keep Canadians Working Fund. This program will provide up to $3 billion in short-term credit lines and low-interest loans to ensure companies can maintain operations and keep employees working in industries affected by President Trump’s tariffs.
However, we must not overlook that the best way to stand up to President Trump and protect Canada from economic attacks is by being strong at home. Our Country enjoys an abundance of natural resources, and we have the highly skilled and productive workforce to become an economic powerhouse. We need a new government that will realize Canada’s economic potential and reduce our dependence on the U.S. Only a Conservative government will remove the legislation that limits Canada’s ability to become energy-independent, and invigorate our economy by cutting taxes on workers, eliminating capital gains taxes on Canadian reinvestment, and unleashing our industries—building homes, LNG plants, pipelines, mines, and more to create an economic fortress here in Canada.
What do you think is the most important issue for the area and why?
I would like to take a moment to address those who have been among the most affected after the last 10 years under this current government—our seniors. After decades of hard work and valuable contributions to this country, many seniors fear that their retirement is in jeopardy. The increasing cost of living, high taxes, and lack of sufficient support have hit their households particularly hard, forcing some in our community to make tough choices amongst their essential needs. No senior should have to face this kind of financial insecurity in their retirement age.
That is why my Conservative colleagues, and I are committed to implementing measures that protect seniors’ savings and build a Canada where a lifetime of hard work means a secure retirement. In addition to our 15% income tax cut, a Conservative government will protect OAS, GIS & CPP by keeping the retirement age at 65. To ensure that seniors who choose to work are not penalized, we will also allow working seniors to earn up to $34,000 tax-free. We understand that many seniors want to continue to work in their retirement. While some like the extra money and others simply enjoy keeping busy, regardless, we will ensure it is not needlessly punished with clawbacks and taxes. Additionally, to protect seniors’ savings, we will give seniors the option to continue growing their RRSPs until age 73, up from 71, so that they need not sell their investments during this time of market uncertainty.
Why should someone vote for you?
Over the past few years, my Conservative colleagues and I worked tirelessly to ensure that your voices were heard by Justin Trudeau and Mark Carney. We called on them to remove the carbon tax, build more homes, practice fiscal responsibility, and take stronger action to address rising crime.
Now, with Canadians set to judge their track record, the Liberals claim that they’ve changed their stance on their core policies. Meanwhile, the Conservatives remain steadfast in the positions we’ve held for the past ten years—not just the past ten weeks.
A vote for myself and the Conservative Party is a vote for principled leadership, and a vote that ensures the residents of Hastings-Lennox and Addington-Tyendinaga have a strong voice to guide us through the unprecedented national challenges that we face.
Are there any final thoughts on any topic that you would like to share?
As the Conservative Shadow Minister for Women, Gender Equality and Youth, as well as the former Chair of the Parliament’s Standing Committee on the Status of Women, I would like to address a matter that I’ve been closely engaged with: the epidemic of intimate partner violence. Family and intimate partner violence is up 19 percent since 2015. In 2023, 123,319 people aged 12 and older reported intimate partner violence to police. Meanwhile, the current government’s relaxed approach to crime, including its catch-and-release policies, have made it easier than ever for violent offenders to get back into our communities. This is simply unacceptable. Those who commit violent acts against their partners or their children should be put behind bars where they cannot harm anyone else.
My Conservative colleagues and I are committed to tackling the epidemic of intimate partner violence by implementing the strictest possible conditions for offenders, and by strengthening jail time for abusers. Specifically, a new Conservative government will create a new offence of “assault of an intimate partner”, delivering tougher sentences for anyone who abuses an intimate partner. Additionally, we will make the strictest bail conditions for anyone accused of intimate partner violence mandatory, including by using GPS ankle bracelet monitoring, and mandating that any breach of conditions results in immediate imprisonment. A Conservative government will also put an end to the practice of downgrading the murder of an intimate partner to manslaughter, based on it being a so-called “crime of passion”. We will further ensure that the murder of an intimate partner, one’s own child, or a partner’s child will be treated as first-degree murder.
