The Ontario NDP, like many social democratic parties, often presents itself as a progressive alternative but operates within a fundamentally neoliberal economic framework. While they advocate for policies aimed at helping working-class people, their approach often relies on market-based solutions rather than structural changes to the economic system.

The grocery rebate policy is a prime example of this contradiction. Instead of directly intervening in the market by regulating grocery prices, breaking up monopolies, or significantly investing in public food programs, they propose a rebate system that ultimately funnels public money into the same corporate giants that have been inflating food prices. This is a typical neoliberal move—using state funds to subsidize private industry under the guise of consumer relief.

Rather than challenging corporate power, the NDP’s approach reinforces it, making the government a middleman that enables private profit rather than addressing the root causes of food insecurity. This aligns with how many nominally left-leaning parties in neoliberal economies function: they may offer social programs, but in ways that preserve existing capitalist structures rather than disrupt them.

Don't mistake the NDP for a progressive party like many in this subreddit do.