Bootstraps Need Boots: One Tory’s Lonely Fight to End Poverty in Canada

by Hugh Segal

For more than four decades, Hugh Segal has been one of the leading voices of progressive conservatism in Canada. A self-described Red Tory warrior who disdains “bootstrap” approaches to poverty, he has always promoted policies, especially a basic annual income, to help the most economically vulnerable. Why would a life-long Tory support something so radical? In this revealing memoir, Segal shares how his life and experiences brought him to this most unlikely of places, beginning with his childhood in a poor immigrant family in Montreal to his time as a chief of staff for Prime Minister Mulroney and to his more recent work as an advisor on a basic income pilot project for the Ontario Liberal government. This book is a passionate argument not only for why a basic annual income makes economic sense, but for why it is the right thing to do.

213 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 1, 2019

Reviews

[David Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beat poverty, consign homelessness to Hell.

This is the best report on the ever present problem of a wealthy nation which is hounded by the disgraceful facts of poverty and homelessness for a huge number of Canada’s citizens. A well reasoned and factual presentation of an argument for a guaranteed income for all Canadians.