Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Obviously, today is a big election day for our American friends and neighbours, so I think it's appropriate to quote former president Harry Truman, who addressed the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa on June 11, 1947. He said:
Canadian-American relations for many years did not develop spontaneously. The example of accord provided by our two countries did not come about merely through the happy circumstance of geography. It is compounded of one part proximity and nine parts good will and common sense.
The common sense has gone out of the Conservative Party when I look at the discussions we've had here around the table. This transaction is saving Canadian taxpayers $7.4 million. Every year, the cost of the new residence will save Canadian taxpayers $115,000 per month. Also, because we knew the old residence required major renovations, moving to the new residence saves taxpayers about $2.6 million in renovations. Again, the new residence is smaller, is less expensive and saves taxpayers $7.4 million.
In addition to that, the residence of the consul general, on average, hosts about 50 important meetings every two years. Not only is this new residence cheaper, saving taxpayers $7.4 million, but it's more effective for hosting meetings, round tables, discussions and events. Furthermore, it is more accessible to more people.
In addition to saving taxpayers $7.4 million, we've heard, from the very beginning, that the process was independent and rigorous. There were 21 properties appraised, and the residence that was selected was pretty much the least costly of all 21 properties that had been examined. A roughly 100-page analysis was conducted on the property by officials independent of any political elected officials.
The third and most important point, which goes back to President Truman's quote and the testimony we heard from Minister Joly today, is that this is an investment that strengthens the most important bilateral relationship Canada has, and that is the relationship with our friends and neighbours in the United States. That consular office nurtures and grows $200 billion worth of trade between our two countries, including five U.S. states.
That's the impact it has. I mean, that is a huge number, but it's important to break it down, because that trade and that relationship impacts all of our communities. All the communities we represent around this table are impacted.
I look at my community in Windsor—Essex, and I look at the fact that we landed an EV battery plant that has already created 2,000 jobs for local Canadian workers who are building the plant and that will create 2,500 full-time, unionized, local jobs for local Canadian workers. Hundreds have already been hired and are being trained, as we speak, to build batteries. The first battery came off the line just two weeks ago. For the majority of those batteries, the destination will be factories in the United States.
We have, in Windsor—Essex, the largest tool and die sector cluster in all of North America. Again, where does 90% of what we manufacture go? It goes to the United States. It's our number one client and destination. Those are jobs that we're talking about. They are real people who rely upon us to strengthen relationships with our American partners.
What we're hearing from the Conservatives is that they want to do that relationship on the cheap and to underinvest in our relationship with the United States, which is exactly what they did, over and over, when they gutted the defence department. Five years of consecutive cuts—