Bill C-4

Making Life More Affordable for Canadians Act

An Act respecting certain affordability measures for Canadians and another measure

Part 1 amends the Income Tax Act to reduce the marginal personal income tax rate on the lowest tax bracket to 14.5% for the 2025 taxation year and to 14% for the 2026 and subsequent taxation years.
Part 2 amends the Excise Tax Act and other related Regulations to implement a temporary GST new housing rebate for first-time home buyers.
Part 3 repeals Part 1 of the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act and the Fuel Charge Regulations .
Part 4 amends the Canada Elections Act to make changes to the requirements relating to political parties’ policies for the protection of personal information.

Sitting Resumed

[Bienvenu-Olivier Ntumba, Liberal, Mont-Saint-Bruno—L’Acadie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague is always fearmongering.

Since his colleague did not have an opportunity to answer the question, can he tell us today whether his party is going to support this bill in the House?

[Éric Lefebvre, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as I said in my speech, we made some proposals to the Liberal government to take it a step further. We need to cut taxes even more so that we can put money back in the pockets of Canadians. That is what we are going to propose.

We also wanted to eliminate the industrial carbon tax. We made some proposals on this side of the House. The ball is now in the Liberals' court.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this bill is poorly thought out. The government is offering a tax cut, but at the same time, this means higher taxes for some seniors and some people with disabilities.

What does my colleague think about these flaws in the bill?

[Éric Lefebvre, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as everyone knows, members on this side of the House want to significantly reduce taxes so that all Canadians will have more money in their pockets to help them cope with the cost-of-living crisis.

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Swift Current—Grasslands—Kindersley, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I was reading in the Parliamentary Budget Officer's report about the tax break the Liberals are supposedly giving to people. For a couple with a child, if they are both in the first income tax bracket, it would amount to only about $20 a month in savings for that family. When I look at the cost of groceries, I see that the cost of butter alone is up two dollars. If people are using butter for cooking and different things, they would eat into the $20 savings pretty quickly. A person could spend that amount just on butter alone in a year.

I am wondering what my colleague has to say about the cost of living and about how the so-called affordability bill would not actually go far enough to help Canadians with the affordability crisis.

[Éric Lefebvre, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, that is exactly what we proposed.

Currently, Bill C‑4 does not go far enough to put more money back in taxpayers' pockets. The proposed tax cut amounts to about $400 per year, which is not enough. We need to go further to put more money back in taxpayers' pockets. That is what the Conservatives will propose.

[Kody Blois, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I heard my colleague talk about the importance of agriculture, agri-food and our farmers. However, I was a bit surprised because there was absolutely nothing in the Conservative Party's platform last April for farmers across the country. My colleague represents a rural riding in Quebec. He can influence the Leader of the Opposition and the Conservative Party to include more measures for farmers in their platform for the next election. That is crucial for the country.

[Éric Lefebvre, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question, and I also want to thank him for making the effort to ask it in French. I really appreciate that.

I want to reassure my colleague that when it comes to supply management, the Conservatives and the Quebec Conservative caucus will be there to protect farmers and support them in the future. To reiterate what I say in every one of my speeches, agriculture is about what we put on our plates morning, noon and night. I would like to take this opportunity to thank farmers, who work 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, to feed Canada.

[Julie Dzerowicz, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Beauport—Limoilou.

I rise today to speak to Bill C-4, the making life more affordable for Canadians act.

For over a decade, I have had the enormous privilege and honour of representing the amazing people of my constituency of Davenport. It is a riding in the heart of downtown west Toronto, and it is home to 120,000 residents. It is a community that I love deeply. It is vibrant, diverse and hard-working. It is home to Canada's largest Portuguese community. It is also home to artists, entrepreneurs, newcomers and families whose roots stretch back generations. It is from their kitchen tables, their small businesses and their community centres that I draw both my purpose and my perspective.

We are living through what our Prime Minister has rightly called a rupture. It is not merely a transition, but a sharp change in a short period of time. The global order that has shaped our prosperity for decades is shifting beneath our feet. Trade relationships are being rewritten, alliances are being tested and our citizens are feeling the pressure. As the Prime Minister said in a pre-budget address, “if we don’t act now, the pressures will only grow.”

Bill C-4 is one of the many ways our government is acting. It is how we are responding to this moment: not with half measures, but with meaningful relief that puts money back in the pockets of Canadians who need it most.

I want to be direct about the reality Canadians are facing. According to Abacus Data polling from just last week, 64% of Canadians now name the cost of living as their number one concern, which is the highest level recorded this year. Some two-thirds of Canadians worry about affording the basics in the next six months. As the Abacus CEO put it, “the cost of living continues to be the dominant lens through which Canadians evaluate politics and policy.” We hear Canadians and we are responding, not just via Bill C-4, but through the plan and the numerous measures found in budget 2025.

Let me tell members what these national numbers look like in my riding of Davenport. The median household income is $85,000, which is close to the Toronto average, but 41% of our renter households spend more than 30% of their income on shelter. That is the definition of housing stress. More than 10% of the residents in my riding live in low income housing. Nearly half of my constituents rent their homes, many of which are in buildings constructed more than 60 years ago.

Davenport is also profoundly shaped by immigration, as 43% of my constituents were born outside of Canada. Another 30% are second-generation Canadians. They came here, as my family did, believing in the promise that hard work would lead to a better life. That promise must continue to mean something. Bill C-4 would deliver on that promise through three concrete measures.

First, we would cut taxes for the middle class. The lowest federal income tax bracket would drop from 15% to 14%. It would drop to 14.5% for 2025 and then to 14% permanently. This would benefit nearly 22 million Canadians. For a two-income family, that would mean up to $840 more in their pockets every single year. In my riding of Davenport, where 77% of our population is of working age, this would be direct relief for the people who power our economy.

Second, we would make home ownership possible again. The first-time homebuyers' GST rebate would eliminate GST on new homes priced up to $1 million and provide partial relief on homes priced up to $1.5 million. For a young couple in Davenport dreaming of their first home, this would mean savings of up to $50,000. In a city where housing has become a barrier to building a life, we are opening a door.

Third, we are lowering everyday costs. By permanently removing the consumer carbon price, we are reducing what Canadians pay at the pump and to heat their homes. For the seniors in Davenport living on fixed incomes, and for the small business owners watching every dollar, this is real, immediate relief. It started earlier this year, on April 1, and will continue to provide ongoing savings.

I want to speak to why these measures matter beyond the immediate dollars and cents and why strengthening our middle class is a matter of national security.

Just over a week ago, I had the privilege of attending the Halifax International Security Forum, alongside defence ministers, parliamentarians, security experts and others from around the world. The theme this year was dialogue, decency and democracy, and the message that echoed through every session was clear: Democracy has everything to do with international security. We heard that the foundations of democracy are showing cracks. We heard that democracies cannot meet external threats unless they are working internally, and we heard a truth that has been understood since Aristotle wrote his seminal book, Politics, more than 2,000 years ago: A strong middle class is the bedrock to a stable democracy.

This is not abstract political theory. The OECD has documented that thriving middle classes are the backbones of democratic societies and strong economies. Through their consumption, their investment in education and housing, their support for quality public services, their intolerance of corruption and their trust in democratic institutions, the middle class provides the very foundations of inclusive growth. Aristotle himself observed that democracies are safer and more permanent when they have an abundant or numerous middle class with a greater share in government. When there is no middle class, he warned, trouble arises and the state soon comes to an end.

Canada has always understood this. We have always invested in our middle class, not as a luxury but as a necessity. We have always ensured that those working hard to get ahead are given more than just hope. They are given opportunity. They are given a fair chance. Bill C-4 would continue that proud tradition.

Let me be clear: These three measures alone would not solve every challenge. Budget 2025 contains a comprehensive suite of investments in housing, in skills, in innovation and in defence that together would move us forward. Bill C-4 is a critical piece of that plan, with direct, immediate relief that would reach Canadians where they need it most. It is how we would ensure that Canadians have the resources to participate fully in our democracy and in our economy.

I am acutely aware that what we say in this chamber is recorded for history. Students will one day study this period, this moment of rupture and response, and they will ask whether we rose to meet the challenges of our time. I believe Bill C-4 is one of the many parts of how we answer “yes”. In my community, I think of Adelina, someone who lives on my street. She is a senior on a fixed income. She lives in Little Portugal, and she is going to be seeing lower heating costs this winter. I think of Carlos and Ana, second-generation Canadians saving for their first home, who will now be able to afford the down payment they never thought possible. I think of the small business owner in Dundas West who will keep more of what she earns to invest in her shop and her employees. I think of the young family in Junction Triangle, newcomers who chose Canada because they believe in its promise and who deserve a government that delivers on that promise.

I will be supporting Bill C-4 and I encourage all members of the House to do the same.

In my constituency of Davenport, we have a saying.

[Member spoke in Portuguese]

[English]

It means, together we are stronger. Let us be stronger together.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Mr. Speaker, this bill would reduce taxes for people, yes. We have already heard it is probably like $20 a month, so it is not a really big deal. If this government was truly serious about saving money and saving taxpayer money, I wonder if the member would consider changing the federal interim health benefits that asylum seekers get when they are denied asylum in Canada but are trying to stay on by appealing that decision. I mean benefits like vision care, urgent dental care and dental exams, dentures, nursing visits and emergency ambulances. Of course they would get basic health coverage, which we would agree with, but these extra benefits that asylum seekers who have been told to leave the country get are a way this government could save a significant amount of money and pass those savings on to Canadian citizens.

I am wondering why the government does not do that.

[Julie Dzerowicz, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for his great work on the citizenship and immigration committee. He started off by saying that there is minimal savings through our middle-class income tax cut. I completely disagree with this statement. For a two-income family, it is $840 more in their pockets every single year. As someone who grew up in a working-class family, $840 extra a year would be a life change for us. It would mean a lot. It would actually buy us a lot more. If there was ever a family that knew how to use its dollars and put them to use effectively, it would be a working-class family or a middle-class family in Canada.

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister promised in March to provide first-time homebuyers with a GST rebate on new homes. When we came back to Parliament after he was elected, he made the GST rebate effective only as of May in the original version of Bill C-4, which meant that thousands of homebuyers who believed what the Prime Minister said were ineligible for the GST rebate. The Bloc Québécois proposed amendments to the bill, but the Liberals opposed those amendments. They rejected them. We made our case to the Speaker and, finally, thanks to the Bloc Québécois, thousands of first-time homebuyers will get their GST rebates.

Can my colleague tell me why the Liberal Party of Canada opposed, both in committee and here in the House, before the Speaker, GST rebates for thousands of first-time homebuyers on new homes? We are talking about Canadians who are having a hard time getting into the housing market.

[Julie Dzerowicz, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the first-time homebuyers' GST rebate in Bill C-4 would help thousands of people who want to buy their first home, and it would be a very effective tool.

I will also say that in budget 2025, we are investing an additional $25 billion. We are determined to increase housing supply in this country, and we are trying to increase housing supply across the whole spectrum of housing. With this period of heavy investment at all levels of government, home ownership or being able to live affordably in this country will soon be a possibility for every single Canadian.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, within Bill C-4 is a tax break for over 22 million Canadians. It deals with the consumer carbon tax by getting rid of it. It also provides a tax exemption for first-time homebuyers. All of these are wonderful measures dealing with issues like affordability.

I am wondering if my colleague could provide her thoughts on how important it is that we pass this legislation. Would it not be nice to have it pass before Christmas?

[Julie Dzerowicz, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yes, I truly believe that the three measures contained in Bill C-4 would be very beneficial for all Canadians because they would provide direct, immediate relief that will reach Canadians where they need it most. It would be an early Christmas gift that we could provide to all Canadians.