Literally what Canada did under Harper, and then grew substantially larger under Trudeau.

End result is that Canada's child poverty rate was cut in half over the aughts.

https://x.com/trevortombe/status/1100416615202533377

And yes, it hit the same political hurdles you'd expect. A Liberal-party aide helped lose the 2006 selection by saying parents would burn it on "beer and popcorn". He's still around as a consultant and professional trash-talking commentator. This is ironic considering how the party championed it's success after they (rightly) expanded the program.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/liberal-apologizes-for-saying...