Bill C-15

Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 1

An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on November 4, 2025

Part 1 implements certain measures in respect of the Income Tax Act and the Income Tax Regulations by
(a) expanding the rollover for small business corporation shares;
(b) expanding the list of expenses recognized under the Disability Supports Deduction;
(c) exempting the Canada Disability Benefit from income;
(d) aligning the taxation of investment income and active business income earned and distributed by controlled foreign affiliates with the rules that currently apply to Canadian-controlled private corporations;
(e) extending the deadline for making certain charitable donations eligible for tax support in the 2024 tax year;
(f) increasing the limit under the Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption so that it applies on up to $1.25 million of eligible capital gains, applicable to dispositions that occur on or after June 25, 2024, with indexation of the limit to resume in 2026;
(g) exempting the first $10 million in capital gains on the sale of a business to a worker cooperative and amending the corresponding exemption for sales to an employee ownership trust;
(h) removing the tax-indifferent investor exception to the synthetic equity arrangement anti-avoidance rule;
(i) improving the efficiency of the Home Accessibility Tax Credit;
(j) implementing the Personal Support Workers Tax Credit;
(k) enhancing the SR&ED program by increasing the annual expenditure limit and taxable capital phase-out thresholds for the enhanced 35% SR&ED credit, extending the enhanced credit to eligible Canadian public corporations and restoring the eligibility of SR&ED capital expenditures;
(l) extending the Mineral Exploration Tax Credit for individuals who invest in eligible mining flow-through shares for two years to March 31, 2027 at the current rate of 15%;
(m) expanding the eligibility of the Critical Mineral Exploration Tax Credit to bismuth, cesium, chromium, fluorspar, germanium, indium, manganese, molybdenum, niobium, phosphate, tantalum, tin and tungsten;
(n) amending the Canada Carbon Rebate for Small Businesses;
(o) extending the full credit rates for the Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage investment tax credit to 2035;
(p) expanding the eligibility for the clean technology investment tax credit to support the generation of electricity and heat from waste biomass;
(q) expanding the eligibility for the clean technology manufacturing investment tax credit to investments in eligible polymetallic projects and to additional qualifying materials;
(r) providing a refundable investment tax credit to qualifying corporations and trusts for investments in certain clean electricity property;
(s) amending the alternative minimum tax to exempt certain trusts for the benefit of Indigenous groups;
(t) precluding a corporation from qualifying as a mutual fund corporation where it is controlled by or for the benefit of a corporate group;
(u) extending the period during which agricultural cooperatives can distribute tax-deferred patronage dividends paid in shares to their members until the end of 2030;
(v) narrowing the rules related to reporting by trusts;
(w) providing the Minister of National Revenue with the authority to waive the withholding requirement for payments to certain non-resident service providers;
(x) allowing the sharing of information for the purposes of administering and enforcing the Canada Labour Code as it relates to the misclassification of employees;
(y) reforming Canada’s transfer pricing rules;
(z) reinstating the accelerated investment incentive and immediate expensing for certain qualifying assets;
(z.1) providing an accelerated capital cost allowance of 10% for new eligible purpose-built rental projects;
(z.2) providing immediate expensing for new additions of property in respect of productivity-enhancing assets;
(z.3) introducing a temporary non-refundable tax credit applicable where an individual’s non-refundable tax credit amounts exceed the first income tax bracket threshold; and
(z.4) implementing a number of technical amendments to correct inconsistencies and to better align the law with its intended policy objectives.
It also makes a related amendment to the Excise Tax Act .
Part 2 repeals the Digital Services Tax Act and the Digital Services Tax Regulations and makes consequential amendments to other legislation.
Part 3 amends the Excise Tax Act , the Underused Housing Tax Act , the Select Luxury Items Tax Act and other related texts to implement various measures.
Division 1 of Part 3 implements certain measures in respect of the Excise Tax Act and a related text by
(a) clarifying that supplies of osteopathic services rendered by individuals who are not osteopathic physicians are taxable under the Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax;
(b) extending the Enhanced (100%) Goods and Services Tax Rental Rebate to qualifying cooperative housing corporations and student residences built by universities, public colleges and school authorities; and
(c) allowing input tax credits for redeemed coupons to be available only for payments made exclusively in the course of commercial activities.
Division 2 of Part 3 amends the Underused Housing Tax Act to end the underused housing tax in respect of 2025 and future calendar years. It also subsequently repeals the Underused Housing Tax Act and the Underused Housing Tax Regulations .
Division 3 of Part 3 amends the Select Luxury Items Tax Act to end the luxury tax in respect of subject aircraft and subject vessels. It also makes the Select Luxury Items Tax Regulations to provide greater clarity on the tax treatment of subject items.
Part 4 amends the First Nations Goods and Services Tax Act to, among other things,
(a) establish an opt-in framework for interested Indigenous governments to levy a value-added sales tax, under their own laws, on fuel, alcohol, cannabis, tobacco and vaping products within their reserves or settlement lands; and
(b) make process-type improvements and machinery of government changes to streamline the administration of taxes under that Act.
It also makes consequential amendments to the Excise Tax Act and to the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act .
Part 5 enacts and amends several Acts in order to implement various measures.
Division 1 of Part 5 enacts the High-Speed Rail Network Act , which establishes a legislative framework to facilitate the implementation of a rail network that allows for the carrying of passengers at high speed between Quebec and Ontario. That Act, among other things,
(a) deems the construction of the railway lines that are to be part of the high-speed rail network to have been approved under section 98 of the Canada Transportation Act ;
(b) provides that the construction, operation, decommissioning and abandonment of each segment of the high-speed rail network, and any incidental physical activity, is subject to the Impact Assessment Act ;
(c) permits certain land to be subject to a notice of right of first refusal or a notice of prohibition on work;
(d) amends the expropriation process in relation to the high-speed rail network;
(e) provides that Indigenous knowledge that is provided in confidence in relation to the high-speed rail network is treated as confidential; and
(f) makes certain Parts of the Official Languages Act applicable to certain entities, including those that operate a railway that is part of the high-speed rail network.
The Division also makes a consequential amendment to the Access to Information Act .
Division 2 of Part 5 amends the Canada Post Corporation Act to repeal the power to make regulations prescribing rates of postage and the terms and conditions related to the payment of postage and instead provide the Canada Post Corporation with the authority to establish those rates and terms and conditions and provide for exceptions.
Division 3 of Part 5 provides, among other things, that an aggregate amount not exceeding $11.5 billion to fund the operations and activities of Build Canada Homes and an aggregate amount not exceeding $1.515 billion as a contribution of capital to, or to purchase shares in, Canada Lands Company Limited may be paid out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
Division 4 of Part 5 amends the Canada Infrastructure Bank Act to increase the aggregate amount that the Minister of Finance may pay to the Canada Infrastructure Bank to $45,000,000,000.
Division 5 of Part 5 amends the Red Tape Reduction Act to, among other things, authorize, subject to certain conditions, ministers to grant temporary exemptions from the application of provisions of certain Acts of Parliament and instruments with the aim of facilitating the design, modification or administration of regulatory regimes to encourage innovation, competitiveness or economic growth in the clean technology or financial technology sector.
Division 6 of Part 5 amends the Public Service Superannuation Act to, among other things, expand the eligibility for early retirement available to certain contributors employed in operational service to new groups of contributors.
Division 7 of Part 5 amends the Public Service Superannuation Act to authorize certain contributors to exercise a temporary early retirement option during a period for which a workforce reduction initiative is in effect. It also makes a related amendment to the Income Tax Regulations .
Division 8 of Part 5 amends the Farm Credit Canada Act to, among other things, provide for a review of the provisions and operation of that Act within five years after the day on which the amendment comes into force and every 10 years after that.
Division 9 of Part 5 repeals the Consumer-Driven Banking Act and enacts a new Consumer-Driven Banking Act to ensure that individuals and businesses can safely and securely share their data with the participating entities of their choice. That Act addresses, among other things, accreditation, national security, data sharing, security safeguards, consent, authentication, liability, complaints, administration and enforcement and screen scraping. The Division also makes related amendments to the Access to Information Act , the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada Act and the Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1 .
Division 10 of Part 5 amends the Trust and Loan Companies Act , the Bank Act and the Insurance Companies Act to extend the period during which federal financial institutions governed by those Acts may carry on business.
Division 11 of Part 5 amends the Trust and Loan Companies Act , the Bank Act and the Insurance Companies Act to, among other things, modernize prudential limits by repealing certain provisions that impose limits on federally regulated financial institutions with respect to debt obligations and borrowing, consumer and commercial loans and investments in real property and equity.
Division 12 of Part 5 amends the Bank Act , the Trust and Loan Companies Act and the Insurance Companies Act to allow for the electronic delivery of certain documents to shareholders, members and policyholders without their consent, while ensuring that they receive paper copies if they request them.
Division 13 of Part 5 amends the Trust and Loan Companies Act , the Bank Act and the Insurance Companies Act to increase the equity threshold related to the public holding requirement from $2 billion to $4 billion and to make changes to other provisions that include that threshold.
Division 14 of Part 5 amends the Trust and Loan Companies Act , the Bank Act , the Insurance Companies Act and the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Act to, among other things,
(a) clarify the powers of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions in respect of the adherence by federally regulated financial institutions to their policies and procedures to protect themselves against threats to their integrity or security;
(b) provide the Superintendent of Financial Institutions with powers to issue directions of compliance in respect of unsafe or unsound practices in the conduct of the affairs of those financial institutions; and
(c) provide that the Superintendent of Financial Institutions is not prevented from disclosing information to any federal government agency or body for purposes related to the Superintendent’s regulation or supervision of financial institutions.
Division 15 of Part 5 amends the Bank Act to raise the amount of funds that can be withdrawn immediately from a retail deposit account after the deposit of a cheque or other instrument and to remove the delay for the withdrawal of funds deposited by a cheque or other instrument that is not deposited in person.
Division 16 of Part 5 amends the Bank Act to, among other things,
(a) prohibit the activation of certain capabilities for a personal deposit account in Canada without the express consent of the natural person in whose name the account is kept;
(b) permit a natural person in whose name such an account is kept to deactivate certain account capabilities;
(c) permit a natural person in whose name such an account is kept to adjust certain transaction limits on the account;
(d) require institutions to establish policies and procedures for detecting and preventing consumer-targeted fraud and mitigating its impacts; and
(e) require institutions and the Commissioner of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada to prepare annual reports on consumer-targeted fraud.
Division 17 of Part 5 amends the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation Act , the Bank Act and the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada Act to support the growth of federal credit unions, including by way of amalgamation or asset acquisition and by permitting them to engage in motor vehicle leasing in certain circumstances.
Division 18 of Part 5 amends the Special Economic Measures Act to, among other things,
(a) provide that the Minister of Finance must be consulted before an order or regulation identifying certain persons is made under subsection 4(1) of that Act;
(b) authorize the Governor in Council to make regulations requiring financial institutions to provide to the Minister of Finance information on property that is in their possession or control and that is owned, held or controlled by a person, including a foreign state, identified under that Act and information on profits realized from such property; and
(c) authorize the Minister of Finance to make an order directing a financial institution to pay such profits to the Receiver General.
It also makes related and consequential amendments to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act .
Division 19 of Part 5 amends the Pension Act to, among other things,
(a) set out in a schedule to that Act the amounts of the basic pension payable during the period beginning on April 1, 1985 and ending on December 31, 2025;
(b) authorize the Governor in Council to amend that schedule;
(c) define the term “province” for the purposes of paragraph 75(1)(b) of that Act; and
(d) update certain regulation-making powers.
It also amends the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act to provide that, beginning on January 1, 2027, certain benefits are to be adjusted only on the basis of the Consumer Price Index.
Finally, it amends the Department of Veterans Affairs Act and the Veterans Health Care Regulations to retroactively clarify the meaning of the term “province” with respect to the calculation of the accommodation and meals charge for the recipients of intermediate and long term care.
Division 20 of Part 5 retroactively amends the Veterans Well-being Regulations to specify that the first annual adjustment to certain amounts used in the calculation of the earnings loss benefit is to be prorated to the number of days remaining in the calendar year. It also authorizes the Governor in Council to make regulations respecting the earnings loss benefit under the Veterans Well-being Act , as it read from time to time before April 1, 2019.
Division 21 of Part 5 amends the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act , among other things, to specify that claims for awards made under Part II of that Act are to be dealt with and determined by the Minister who administers the Pension Act . It also enacts related provisions.
Division 22 of Part 5 enacts the Canada Development Investment Corporation Act , which continues the Canada Development Investment Corporation and sets out its purpose to assist in the creation and development of businesses, resources, property and industries of Canada by providing advice and support to the Government of Canada and by making investments and managing assets that advance Canada’s economic growth and development. The Division also makes a consequential amendment to the Access to Information Act .
Division 23 of Part 5 amends the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act to require that an organization disclose to another organization an individual’s personal information, at the individual’s request, if both organizations are subject to a data mobility framework.
Division 24 of Part 5 amends the Broadcasting Act to provide that it is to be construed and applied in a manner that is consistent with the right to privacy of individuals.
Division 25 of Part 5 amends the Human Pathogens and Toxins Act to, among other things, reaffirm that security of the public is a key purpose of that Act, provide that the Minister of Health must establish and update a registry that will replace Schedules 1 to 4, add requirements for persons who carry out activities in relation to high risk human pathogens and toxins, increase the maximum penalties to which a person who commits an offence under that Act is liable and establish an administrative monetary penalty regime for certain contraventions of that Act or its regulations.
Division 26 of Part 5 amends the Customs Tariff to amend the definition “obsolete or surplus goods” to allow for the refund of duties paid in respect of certain goods that are donated to a registered charity.
Division 27 of Part 5 amends the Export and Import Permits Act to authorize the Governor in Council to add articles to the Export Control List and the Import Control List for reasons related to Canada’s economic security interests.
Division 28 of Part 5 amends the Aeronautics Act to, among other things,
(a) authorize the Minister of Transport to make interim orders that give effect to international standards, agreements, conventions and arrangements;
(b) extend the effective period of interim orders;
(c) modernize regulation-making powers respecting the development of, and compliance with, systems, processes, procedures, programs, plans and documents in relation to aviation safety and security;
(d) provide that air traffic service providers and certain maintenance organizations may be found vicariously liable for offences or violations;
(e) authorize the electronic service of documents;
(f) prohibit interference with the operation of a remotely piloted aircraft system unless authorized by the Minister;
(g) modernize the administrative monetary penalties framework and increase the maximum amounts for penalties and fines; and
(h) establish a regime for the voluntary provision of information related to aviation safety and security and set out limits on the disclosure and use of information provided under that regime.
It also makes a consequential amendment to the Access to Information Act and a related amendment to the Budget Implementation Act, 2019, No. 1 .
Division 29 of Part 5 amends the Canada Transportation Act to provide the Minister of Transport with the authority to make interim orders to give effect to international standards or ensure compliance with Canada’s international obligations.
Division 30 of Part 5 amends the Judges Act to increase the number of salaries authorized for judges of the Court of Appeal for Ontario and judges of unified family courts in the provinces. It also reduces in a corresponding manner the number of salaries authorized for judges of superior courts in the provinces other than appeal courts.
Division 31 of Part 5 amends the Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada Act to create a Schedule 2 to that Act, allow the Minister of Justice to add territorial bodies to that Schedule and to allow the Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada to provide support services and facilities to those bodies.
Division 32 of Part 5 amends the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 to provide for the establishment of the Environmental Protection Tribunal of Canada and the transfer of the functions of the Chief Review Officer and review officers to that Tribunal. It also amends the Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada Act to enable the Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada to provide the Tribunal with any necessary support services and facilities and makes consequential amendments to other Acts.
Division 33 of Part 5 authorizes the taking of various measures with respect to the divestiture and dissolution of all or any part of the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation. It also makes consequential amendments to other Acts and repeals the Freshwater Fish Marketing Act .
Division 34 of Part 5 repeals section 16 of the Government Annuities Improvement Act .
Division 35 of Part 5 repeals sections 195 and 196 of the Naskapi and the Cree-Naskapi Commission Act .
Division 36 of Part 5 amends the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act to deny the provision of financial assistance to qualifying students in relation to designated educational institutions outside Canada that are private and for-profit and offer courses at a post-secondary school level. It also amends that Act to empower the Minister of Employment and Social Development to suspend or deny the provision of financial assistance in certain circumstances in order to align with a provincial suspension or denial.
Division 37 of Part 5 amends the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act to
(a) clarify that all regulations made under that Act are to be made on the recommendation of the Minister of Finance;
(b) clarify that paragraph 36(3.01)(b) of that Act applies to donations that are not charitable donations; and
(c) prohibit the disclosure of reports, or the information contained in them, related to discrepancies in information discovered in the course of verifying the identity of persons having beneficial ownership or control of an entity.
It also amends the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Regulations to
(a) clarify that paragraph 138(5)(b) of those Regulations applies to donations that are not charitable donations; and
(b) clarify the application of those Regulations to mortgage administrators, mortgage brokers and mortgage lenders.
Finally, it makes a consequential amendment to the Access to Information Act .
Division 38 of Part 5 amends the Borrowing Authority Act to increase the maximum amount of certain borrowings.
Division 39 of Part 5 amends the Canada Business Corporations Act , the Canada Cooperatives Act and the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act to provide an additional ground on which the Director appointed under the Act in question may dissolve a corporation or a cooperative, as the case may be, namely, when the Director is notified that it is a “listed entity” as defined in subsection 83.01(1) of the Criminal Code .
Division 40 of Part 5 amends the Building Canada Act to add to the information that must be included in the public registry of national interest projects the extent to which each project can contribute to clean growth and to meeting Canada’s objectives with respect to climate change.
Division 41 of Part 5 amends the Canadian Energy Regulator Act to set the maximum duration of licences for the exportation of liquefied natural gas at 50 years.
Division 42 of Part 5 amends the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 to, among other things, remove the mandatory five-year limit for agreements made under subsection 9(5) or 10(3).
Division 43 of Part 5 amends the Competition Act to remove the requirement that the substantiation of representations about the environmental benefits of businesses or business activities must be done in accordance with internationally recognized methodology. It also amends that Act to exclude the application of the provision respecting those representations from proceedings before the Competition Tribunal that are initiated by a person other than the Commissioner of Competition.
Division 44 of Part 5 enacts the National School Food Program Act , which sets out the Government of Canada’s vision for the National School Food Program. That Act also sets out the Government of Canada’s commitment to maintaining long-term funding to be provided to the provinces, the territories and Indigenous peoples for the ongoing implementation and maintenance of the Program.
Division 45 of Part 5 enacts the Stablecoin Act , which imposes duties on persons that create stablecoins and make them available for purchase, directly or indirectly, by persons in Canada. That Act sets out the objects of the Bank of Canada in respect of stablecoin and requires the Bank to maintain a public registry of stablecoin issuers. That Act also addresses, among other things, the redemption of stablecoins by issuers, the reserve of assets that issuers must maintain to fulfill their redemption obligations and the policies that they must establish. The Division also makes consequential and related amendments to the Access to Information Act , the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act and the Retail Payment Activities Act .

Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 1

[Connie Cody, Conservative, Cambridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, what does the member feel that Canadians feel about the government prioritizing debt payments to make bankers and bondholders rich instead of addressing the crisis in our health care system?

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent—Akiawenhrahk, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for her hard work in the House and in her riding. By the way, she is among the few people who unseated a Liberal MP. I am very proud of that.

The question raised by the member is very important because we are talking about where the priority of the government is. Does it want to put more money in the banking system or in directly helping Canadians? This is why we will fight. Our job is to fight through some difficulties that we will address, but in this situation, what we see is the government putting too much money in the deficit, and they live over the—

[The Deputy Speaker, Tom Kmiec]

Resuming debate, the hon. member for Regina—Wascana.

[Michael Kram, Conservative, Regina—Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour and a privilege to rise today, but before I get too far into the details of the budget implementation act, I would be remiss if I did not provide the House with at least a bit of an update on the Saskatchewan Roughriders Grey Cup celebrations, which have been going on all week in Regina and right across Saskatchewan.

Fans of the green and white poured into the streets on Sunday evening to celebrate the 25-17 Grey Cup victory over the Montreal Alouettes. I am sure that, from now until Christmas, Grey Cup champion merchandise will be flying off the shelves at the Rider team store.

As exciting as Grey Cup Sunday is, it is important to remember that a Grey Cup championship does not just happen by luck on one day of the year. It is the result of hard work and tough decisions that began weeks or months, and sometimes years, in advance. Every time a football team starts with a good field position, makes a consistent drive down the field and then finishes the drive with a touchdown, that success was the result of strong leadership, which includes recruiting the right players and coaches and coming up with the right playbook.

On the other hand, when a team has poor leadership for many years, eventually that poor leadership manifests itself on the field in the form of costly penalties and giving up quarterback sacks. That is exactly what the budget feels like to me. There are too many penalties, a bad field position and a lot of talk about future touchdowns that never seem to happen on the field.

Let us take a closer look at what is in the budget. It shows a deficit of $78 billion this year, a record outside the pandemic. The total accumulated debt is $1.3 trillion, which is also a record, and interest payments on the debt have skyrocketed to $56 billion a year. That is also a record, and $56 billion per year in interest payments is such a huge number that it is difficult for people to visualize just how much money that is.

Let us take a look at how much money that is on a per household basis. When we divide $56 billion by the number of households in Canada, we get about $3,400 per household per year. That is the amount of money that leaves Canadian households, not because of anything they did wrong and not because of anything they purchased but because the federal government spends more money than it has.

What could a Canadian family do with that $3,400 per year? That is where the reality of this burden becomes clear. For some families, $3,400 is a month's mortgage payment. For others, it is groceries for two months. For others, it is a used vehicle for their teenage son or daughter who needs to get to work. For a family with kids, it could be an entire year of RESP contributions.

In football terms, this is like starting every offensive drive with a quarterback sack. Before the quarterback even has a chance to call a play, and before a Canadian family can plan their household budget, they are getting team tackled by the record-high cost of the government's debt servicing.

As football fans in the rest of Canada watched the Roughriders win the Grey Cup last Sunday, many of them probably said to themselves that there is always next year, that maybe their team will have better luck next season. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for interest payments on the federal debt. That is because, according to the government's own numbers, interest payments next year are expected to be higher than they were this year. Interest payments the following year are expected to be higher still. In fact, interest payments on the debt are projected to break a new record every year for the rest of the decade, according to the budget.

In football terms, if a quarterback was tackled by a 300-pound defensive lineman this season, they can expect to be tackled by a 400-pound defensive lineman next season. The following season, they will have a 500-pound defensive lineman tackling them. That is what these interest payments on the debt are doing to Canadians.

Canadian families are doing their part. They are budgeting, they are cutting back and they are sacrificing. Many of them are turning to food banks. However, the Liberal government, with the team's coaching staff and general manager, keeps calling plays that make life harder. For 10 years now, under two Liberal prime ministers and four Liberal finance ministers, we have seen the same pattern: more spending, more borrowing, more debt and more interest payments.

While the Prime Minister likes to say that the Liberals are “spending less to invest more”, the reality is they are spending more, lots more. According to the budget's own numbers, the government is projected to spend more money every year for the rest of the decade. Sadly, in many cases, when the Liberal government chooses to spend, it is often not for valid fiscal reasons, but for ideological ones.

For example, the budget highlights the importance of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council because of its “important role in advancing the government's growth agenda by advancing research and attracting top international research talent”, but the budget document provides very little detail about what types of projects the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council is going to fund. Let us take a look at some of the projects it has funded recently.

It spent $20,000 to study the gender politics of Peruvian rock music. I do not know why we needed to spend $20,000 on that, but the Liberals seemed to think we did. The Liberals funded another study about online selfies, including fat fashion photography on Instagram, social justice selfies and selfies that violate social norms. That one cost us $94,000. They also felt the need to come up with a gender-inclusive and intersectional piano curriculum. That was to the tune of $17,000. Pardon the pun. There was one study that focused on grocery carts, but sadly, it did not have anything to do with the rising cost of groceries that people put into carts, only people's feelings about the grocery carts themselves. In any case, that study has cost Canadian taxpayers over $100,000 to date.

Canadians deserve better from their government. There were some very practical solutions to the rising cost of living that Conservatives suggested be put into the budget, such as cancelling the industrial carbon tax, the federal fuel standard and regulations on plastic food packaging, all of which drive up the cost of groceries and the cost of living. Unfortunately, the Liberals refused.

I have no doubt that the Liberals will say that I am being negative, but I am not. I am just being honest. There is no message more positive and hopeful than this: Canada can do better than what we have seen from the Liberals over the last 10 years. Canadians should be able to move out of their parents' basements and put roofs over their heads. They should be able to feed their families without resorting to food banks, and they should be able to have a comfortable future without drowning in more and more debt every year.

If the government wants to learn from the Grey Cup champions, here is a quick film review: end inflationary deficits, restore fiscal discipline and deliver immediate relief on the things Canadians buy every week. That is the way to turn a cellar-dweller into a champion.

[Claude Guay, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for expressing himself on the budget, but I suggest he may want to stick to football as opposed to the economy as a topic.

As it relates to the economy, let us talk a little about the future. I have been wrestling with all these Conservative comments. A portion of the budget is expenses and a portion is investment, and the biggest portion of the budget is investment. How does investment tie into inflation? That is what I would like the member to explain to me.

[Michael Kram, Conservative, Regina—Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, what I have found so troubling about the Liberals over the years is they constantly want to play a shell game when it comes to the budget. It used to be that they were going to balance the budget come hell or high water, when Paul Martin was prime minister, and then they changed their tune to say that it was not going to be balanced but was going to be a portion of the debt-to-GDP ratio. Now they are saying they are going to balance the operating budget but will keep spending and spending on interest payments on the debt and on infrastructure investments. It is important to understand that money is money and spending is spending, and Canadians will have to pay it back with interest, which is something the Liberals either do not understand or do not seem to care about.

[Alexis Deschênes, Bloc, Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Listuguj, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to commend my colleague's speech.

The Bloc Québécois shares some of his views, including on the fact that the deficit is very high and that public funds must be used wisely.

One of the expenditures in this budget is subsidies for the oil industry. Roughly $9 billion a year is given to the oil industry. It seems to me that if there is one sector of the economy that should be able to function without subsidies, it is the oil industry.

How can my colleague reconcile his desire for a well-managed budget with subsidies for the oil industry?

[Michael Kram, Conservative, Regina—Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the benefits to society from our natural resource sector far outweigh the costs. I would like to point out that the Government of Saskatchewan's annual budget gets 10% to 15% of its revenues every year from natural resource royalties. If my hon. colleague is suggesting the federal Liberal government should have less to do with oil and gas companies and should get out of the way, I would be 100% in agreement with that.

I would love to see the Liberals repeal Bill C-69, the “no more pipelines” bill. I would love to see them repeal Bill C-48, the west coast tanker ban. That way we could extract all of the resources that are literally underneath our feet and export them around the world. It is unfortunate that the Liberals always seem to get in the way.

[Jeff Kibble, Conservative, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the member clearly threw a touchdown with his excellent speech, and I thank him for his honesty and positive suggestions.

People in my riding on Vancouver Island tell me every day that they are struggling to afford groceries, gas and rent. They are going hungry and are losing their homes. These are all signs of a failing economy, among so many others.

Perhaps my colleague could speak to how this budget will deal with the continued failing of our economy. Does he see it as a budget that is going to make it better or continue to make it worse?

[Michael Kram, Conservative, Regina—Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, we are seeing more of the same from the Liberals on this budget, which is the continuation of 10 years of poor leadership. This is, of course, going to lead to higher costs at the grocery store and higher costs for Canadians who are struggling to make ends meet.

I would like to quote our former prime minister, Justin Trudeau, if I may, from just five years ago. He said, “Interest rates are at historic lows, Glen.... And as we move forward, because of historically low interest rates, the debt servicing costs will be low.” We can see now that leadership from the Liberals was totally misguided. Canadians are paying more and more on debt servicing charges from the deficit.

[Vince Gasparro, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Secretary of State (Combatting Crime)]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Bay of Quinte.

We are facing the greatest threat to our sovereignty in generations. Unjustified tariffs are hurting Canadian businesses, workers and families, while global instability is disrupting our supply chains and driving uncertainty to levels we have not seen in decades. We are being confronted with a new and evolving set of challenges. The fact is, the world has changed and Canada must change with it. Budget 2025 is a call to action to protect what we have, build the Canada of the future and empower Canadians to drive this change.

History shows us the way. In a time of global crisis, C.D. Howe transformed Canada from an agricultural economy into a modern industrial powerhouse. Under Howe's tenure, Canada quadrupled our national industrial production, built the St. Lawrence Seaway and modernized Canada's largest cities. At the time, we created the department of defence production to streamline procurement, turning Canada into the fourth-largest producer of war materials in the allied forces even though we had one of the smallest populations. Howe understood that transforming Canada's economy required significant investment to jump-start factories and to modernize Canada's infrastructure.

We do not have to look abroad when our own history offers a clear blueprint to build Canada strong. Just as Howe responded to the existential threat of global war with industrial might, we must respond to today's economic threats with the same ingenuity, resolve and conviction. He knew then, as we know now, that we cannot cut our way to growth; we must invest.

The era of relying solely on deeply integrated trade with the United States is over. Our country cannot be subject to the whims of any foreign leader, and we must build infrastructure, industry and sustainable development projects at speeds that we have not seen in generations.

We are investing over $60 billion in capital investment for the infrastructure of the future, including nuclear power, carbon capture, critical minerals, offshore wind and high-speed rail. The new Major Projects Office will fast-track these nation-building projects and coordinate financing to help build projects faster. These projects will connect our country, attract needed capital and create high-paying jobs.

Beyond the Major Projects Office, we are making investments in research and development to foster innovation and increase productivity. We are cutting red tape that slows private investment, and our government has already passed the One Canadian Economy Act, which removes federal trade barriers.

Our buy Canadian policy will catalyze our vast natural resources so that we can be our own best customer. When we build, we will do so first with Canadian goods and suppliers. We will build our country with Canadian steel, Canadian aluminum, Canadian lumber and Canadian workers.

I have a background in climate finance, and the importance of building a low-carbon economy in the face of mounting climate risks cannot be overstated. By leveraging strategic tax credits to spur private investment in clean technology and carbon capture, we will position Canada at the forefront of clean energy and advanced manufacturing, turning innovation into sustainable growth.

Budget 2025 also invests in the technology of the future, with dedicated funding for advanced robotics, quantum computing and AI infrastructure that will firmly establish Canada's place as a global leader. These technologies will power the next generation of Canadian industry, from clean energy to precision agriculture, and will turn growth into jobs for Canadians.

However, to build prosperity, we must protect what we have. As foreign conflicts and economic instability increase the risks we face, we must enhance our existing strengths and build new ones.

Our new government is investing $81.1 billion in national defence, which represents the largest increase in defence spending in generations. Our defence industrial strategy will strengthen our industrial capabilities, will give us the tools we need to meet our defence requirements and will confront the crises of the 21st century.

To this end, our new government has created the Defence Investment Agency, which will overhaul and streamline Canada's defence procurement. This new agency will build domestic manufacturing and supply chains so the Canadian Armed Forces have the world-class equipment they need and deserve. These investments will help Canada realize its NATO commitments and enhance our collective security.

Our new government is also taking measures to protect Canadians here at home through the toughest anti-trafficking and border protection laws in Canadian history, protecting our communities from gun trafficking and illegal drugs like fentanyl. To support this initiative we are hiring 1,000 new RCMP personnel and 1,000 new CBSA officers to enforce these laws and keep our country safe, while stricter bail and sentencing laws will ensure that repeat violent offenders are behind bars.

Finally, budget 2025 will make life more affordable by spending less on government operations so we can refocus investment to grow our economy and protect the programs that make life more affordable for Canadians. We have already cut income taxes for 22 million Canadians and launched automatic federal benefits for the 2026 tax year, which will reach up to 5.5 million low-income Canadians to ensure they receive the critical government benefits they qualify for.

We have removed the HST for first-time homebuyers, helping more young Canadians achieve the dream of home ownership. Build Canada Homes will catalyze the creation of an entirely new Canadian housing industry that uses modern methods of construction to boost productivity and at scale, which will help add more housing and a diversity of housing for more Canadians.

Our government is also protecting the programs that matter most to Canadians, programs such as pharmacare, dental care and child care. Canada's social safety net is the envy of the world and we will protect the programs Canadians rely on. This is a nation-building moment. Just as in C.D. Howe's time we built the railways, the seaway and the transcontinental highway, our new government is building the digital, energy and transportation networks that will power Canada into the 21st century. These investments will connect Canadians, strengthen our economy and protect our sovereignty. Budget 2025 is a blueprint for a stronger, more resilient Canada, a Canada better positioned to manage the challenges of this new age of instability.

We do not choose the times we live in, but we do choose how we respond. Budget 2025 is a part of our answer. We will build big. We will act fast, and we will build a Canada that stands strong, sovereign and united because we believe in Canada.

[Tako Van Popta, Conservative, Langley Township—Fraser Heights, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have sat through five or six of these Liberal budget speeches over the years and every one of them promises that finally we are going to tackle Canada's productivity challenges. We are doing it again. Here is a headline in today's The Globe and Mail, “Canada is stuck in a 'vicious circle' of low productivity, Bank of Canada says”.

Why should Canadians be at all confident that the Liberal government is finally going to tackle this productivity problem when it has been promising it for years and it is still lagging? What is different today?

[Vince Gasparro, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the biggest change is that we have a new Prime Minister and new members of Parliament who come from the private sector. Our new government has laid out a plan that is focused on rebuilding our economy to deal with the challenges of the 21st century.

I listed in my speech a series of investments our new government is making. A lot of it is built around improving and increasing the productivity of our country. Investing in productive assets that generate revenue and that improve the productivity of the nation is very different from spending money on operating expenses.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today we are talking about the budget implementation bill, which has been voted on. The Bloc Québécois had very specific, reasonable and well-thought-out demands for this budget to address the needs of Quebec. I think we have to strike a balance between the need to control public finances and the need to help people who need help.

I will come back to the request we made to ensure fairness for all seniors aged 65 and over in terms of the pension benefits they receive. We want to end the two-tiered system where people aged 65 to 74 receive a different amount than people aged 75 and over.

Last week, during the break week, I got a call from Mr. Poulin of the AQDR, the Association québécoise de défense des droits des personnes retraitées et préretraitées, a Quebec association promoting the rights of people who are retired or nearing retirement. We had a long talk. His members want fair treatment. At the start of the week, while I was on the road, someone from FADOQ called me to ask how we planned to revive this file. The Liberals downright forgot about seniors in the last budget, and people are counting on the Bloc Québécois.

What does my colleague have to say about that?

[Vince Gasparro, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I only heard part of the question, but I will try to answer it as best I can.

What I can say to the hon. member is that this budget takes, first of all, a pan-Canadian approach. Secondly, it tries to address the challenges that Canadians are facing as a whole. The seniors who helped build this country deserve the utmost respect and care for their hard work and the sacrifices they have made over decades in this country.

I respect the hon. member's question in regard to what this budget does, but when we are creating jobs and we are investing in assets—