Finance Committee on Feb. 5th, 2026

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

It's not that I don't answer. It's that you don't like the answer. That's very different—

[Pat Kelly, Conservative, Calgary Crowfoot, AB]

No, that's not an answer.

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Canadians who are watching at home agree, and they understand that.

[Pat Kelly, Conservative, Calgary Crowfoot, AB]

The answer would be a year: Give me the year. If you don't know the answer, that's okay too. You can say that you don't know, and then we'll move on to another question.

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Well, I would say that I speak to people in the industry and they see Canada, with the Major Projects Office and what we've done, as an enviable jurisdiction for them to make investments in. That's what I would say.

If you talk to the people.... I was with the CEO of Trans Mountain recently. This is a pipeline in operation. It was built. I think that in a way you should recognize that at least: It was built, and it's in operation.

[Pat Kelly, Conservative, Calgary Crowfoot, AB]

I would say that's no thanks to your government. You chased out the private builder that would have built the thing already. That's a distraction, not an answer to the question.

You mentioned the Major Projects Office. When will it announce a pipeline approval, and when will construction begin?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Well, the Major Projects Office has a list of projects that are ongoing, and I can tell you discussions we have had with a number of oil companies.... They're looking at interesting projects in Canada in the oil and gas sector. People realize that the framework we have put together is an interesting one for them to invest in.

[Pat Kelly, Conservative, Calgary Crowfoot, AB]

Are there any pipelines on that list?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Listen, as I said, Canada is recognized now as an energy superpower—

[Pat Kelly, Conservative, Calgary Crowfoot, AB]

Okay, so that's no.

On what date, in what year, through whatever means possible, can Canadians expect a pipeline to begin construction?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

I'm trying to explain to you that you should ask the proponents that. The proponents are the ones who put projects forward. What I'm saying to you is that we have good discussions—

[Pat Kelly, Conservative, Calgary Crowfoot, AB]

No proponent is going to put anything forward, because they don't know what the rules are. They know you've given yourself the power to cherry-pick which projects, but they don't know the rules you have put in place that would otherwise preclude construction. In what year do you think it's reasonable for Canadians to expect a pipeline to be built?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

I'd say that's not what we hear from CEOs. I would invite you to talk to global CEOs of major oil companies and oil and gas companies. That's not what we hear from them. I was with a number of them recently. That's not what we hear from them. That's the only thing I can share with you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Karina Gould]

Thank you, Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Kelly.

We'll continue with Mr. Leitão for five minutes, please.

[Carlos Leitão, Liberal, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I will make sure I have time to continue my very good discussion with the Minister of Finance.

Minister, we started talking about fiscal capacity. To put my esteemed colleague Mr. Lefebvre's comments into perspective, I will say that fiscal capacity often—primarily—depends on context. Things were very different in 2014 from what they were in 2025.

Let's talk about Canada in 2025. Minister, in the budget you tabled in November, you anticipate that the government will be able to unlock $1 trillion worth of investments. Just so we're clear, “billion” in French means “trillion” in English. Sometimes it can be confusing. Of course, that's not just public money.

I have a two-part question.

First, can you tell me what the public portion of that $1 trillion is?

It seems that the focus is mainly on private investment. In other words, the government wants to be able to attract private investors from Canada and abroad.

Can you give us a summary of what has already been done in this regard? The Prime Minister made a number of trips abroad, during which he spoke to a number of institutional investors.

What is our capacity to attract that investment here?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

You're right, and you did a good job of describing the current context, which is kind of unprecedented, certainly in our generation, in terms of the level of uncertainty. As a reminder for my opposition colleagues, if we compare what’s known as the World Uncertainty Index, which is published by the International Monetary Fund, to where it was at the time of the financial crisis, it has pretty much doubled. That captures the current context. That's not Department of Finance data; it's from the International Monetary Fund.

We are therefore operating in a highly uncertain international context. However, as I often said when I chaired the G7 finance ministers' meeting, we cannot let uncertainty become the new certainty. We need to invest.

Mr. Leitão, you certainly experienced this when you were the finance minister, just as Mr. Garon did as an economist. When we look at Canada's position within the G7, we're well received at the G7 table because we have an enviable position. There are five reasons for that.

First, we attract talent. Canada is a magnet for global talent.

Second, Canada is one of the few G7 countries with a strong industrial base. We manufacture planes, cars and ships.

Third, we have the critical minerals that are going to drive the 21st-century economy.

Fourth, we have an abundance of energy.

Fifth, we're the only G7 country that has a free trade agreement with each of the others.

For those reasons, I told my counterparts to think of Canada not as a country of 40 million people, but as a country that gives them preferential access to 1.5 billion consumers.

In a very uncertain world, Canada offers stability, predictability and the rule of law. These things are in great demand, as you know. You also know that they're in short supply. I was saying earlier to my Conservative colleague that, according to the CEOs of international groups, Canada is truly unique. For those who want to invest in mining, in energy, in electricity, in new AI technologies, in cybersecurity or in quantum computing, Canada is definitely a major player.

It's no coincidence that the Prime Minister of Canada has had a number of meetings over the past few months. In the last six months, we've signed a dozen or so strategic agreements on four continents. That gives us a sense of how interested other countries are in Canada.

Our goal is to double our overseas exports within 10 years, from $300 billion a year to $600 billion a year. Canada will always have a privileged trading relationship with our neighbour to the south. That said, we have a lot going for us to enable Canadian businesses to export and create economic growth at home.

[The Chair, Liberal, Karina Gould]

Thank you, Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Leitão.

Mr. Garon, you have the floor for two and a half minutes.

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

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Good morning, Minister.

We've been seeing a lot of each other lately. You're like God. You're everywhere, but you perform slightly fewer miracles.

I would like to know more about the proposed stablecoin legislation. We know that the payment environment has evolved. We need stablecoins. We understand the importance of blockchain technology. We also understand the Prime Minister's caution and his need, as a former governor of a central bank, to fully understand these matters.

I would like to ask you two questions.

First, do you consider it to be a currency or a security? How will you operationalize this in future regulations?

Part of the answer probably lies in the fact that the legislation stipulates that there can be no return on these stablecoins.

Secondly, if there can be no return, because I imagine that would be a matter for the provinces, will we still be able to compete in this market, attract innovators and still have a competitive cryptocurrency, given these restrictions?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

That is a very good question, Mr. Garon. Thank you for your introduction. I am humbler than that, but I am pleased to be with you so often.

You are right, we considered that it would be a currency. So that is my answer to your first question. I think that this is widely accepted by our fellow finance ministers across the country. That is why we said that the Bank of Canada would have a supervisory role. All of our colleagues respect that institution.

There is a reason for that, as you mentioned. We had to act because there was a certain risk that these cryptocurrencies would ultimately be based on the U.S. dollar, at least in North America. Indeed, the United States has currently taken the lead in this area. It was therefore important to provide an alternative for those who want to use this type of currency.

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

If I may, I would like to ask you another question. I don't have much time left.

These stablecoins are often backed by treasury bills rather than currencies.

Do you think this will significantly increase domestic demand for treasury bills?

Do you think that, in the short term, this could have an impact on the government's financing costs?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

I have not seen any studies that would support your claim.

Deputy Minister, would you like to add anything to that?

[Nick Leswick]

Thank you for the question.

[The Chair, Liberal, Karina Gould]

Be very quick.

[Nick Leswick]

I think that's both the threat and the opportunity. Is it a form of payment? Is it a form of money? To what extent does it draw demand for—

[The Chair, Liberal, Karina Gould]

Thank you, Mr. Leswick. I'm sorry. We will have to pause there.

Mr. Hallan, you have five minutes, please.