NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh hosts town hall in London

The leader of the federal New Democratic Party paid a visit to London, Ont., on Tuesday.

Jagmeet Singh made his way to the Forest City to host a town hall at the Goodwill Centre on Horton Street.

Singh had competitive company in the city, with People’s Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier also holding a rally in London on Tuesday night.

The NDP leader stressed health care and housing as priorities for his party during the packed event.

Singh spoke about his party’s plan to tax the rich to help pay for a plan to expand Canada’s free medical services to include dental care, prescription drugs and mental health services.

“For those who have a fortune of over $20 million, we’re going to ask for one per cent on their fortune. … The Parliamentary Budget Office has announced that’s going to raise, in the first year alone, close to $6 billion,” Singh said.

The MP also expressed support for students, saying the NDP would look to eliminate interest on student loans.

Singh added that the NDP’s plan to phase out student loans altogether would eventually hit a point at which Canada was able to offer free tuition to all Canadians.

Another promise that targets a wider base of Canadians is the aim to make cellphone plans more affordable.

“We would immediately put a price cap in place and say, ‘You’re not allowed to charge us more than a certain fair amount.’ Second thing we’re going to do is we’re going to put in place mandatory unlimited data plans,” Singh said.

Singh will be staying in London on Wednesday morning to officially launch the NDP campaign.

The launch is slated for 10:15 a.m. at the Goodwill Centre, the same location as Tuesday’s town hall.