Mr. Speaker, I am sure my colleagues on the other side will appreciate that we have a plan. We started by reducing taxes in December. We are going to put the Canada child benefit program in place in the next budget, and we are going to make historical investments in our infrastructure. That is the plan we have.
I criss-crossed the country. I am sure hon. members know that. We went from Moncton to Yellowknife to listen to people. I can assure them that what Canadians expect from us is to invest in our economy.
This is a turbulent time for the global economy, a time when the Bank of Japan is resorting to negative interest rates, China is facing a slowdown, the collapse of commodity prices is more than just a blip, and mediocre growth is the new norm. That is how Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund, recently spoke about the mediocre growth around the world.
This is a time when Canada needs decisive measures and a firm hand. It requires leadership in order to make smart investments and tax measures to put our economy on track for growth. That is what Canadians expect from us.
Our government is ready to rise to the challenge. After 10 years of slow economic growth, our government was elected to bring in an ambitious economic program to boost our economy. We are taking meaningful action to manage our economy. We are building a more sound economic foundation by providing tax relief to middle-class Canadians and investing in key economic sectors.
That is what people were asking us to do when I was criss-crossing the country during our prebudget consultations. People want us to invest in innovation, productivity, and in our infrastructure. They want us to diversify our economy and promote our exports.
Our government understands that infrastructure can and will go a long way toward solving our problems in the short term and ensuring prosperity in the long term. We know that investing in public infrastructure is the smart thing to do.
In the fall, we finished a very long election campaign during which Canadians voted for real change in Ottawa. They voted for a clear promise to help the middle class and invest in our country to create economic growth and good jobs.
Canadians made their voices heard. They said that it was time to come up with a new plan and a new economic approach. It is time to invest in our communities and in the things that are part of people's everyday lives, such as public transit, roads, clean energy, housing, and child care.
We need to grow our economy's infrastructure to move forward and prosper. As many members know, infrastructure is much more than just structures. It is more than concrete, water pipes, roads, bridges, buses, and railroads. As my colleague, the member for Edmonton—Mill Woods—Beaumont, pointed out, infrastructure is really about people. It is about what enables Canadians to connect in their communities and to play an active role in society and the economy.
When we were doing our cross-country pre-budget consultations, people talked to us about infrastructure, but they also talked about digital infrastructure. They talked about Internet and cell phone connectivity. My colleagues across the way talk about Alberta, but I am from a region that has seen major job losses, like in Shawinigan. Today, people are asking us to make smart investments in infrastructure so that they can participate fully in the economy.
Everyone in the House of Commons is well aware of the significant economic benefits that come from investing in public infrastructure in both the short term and the long term. However, we are also well aware of the power that infrastructure has when it comes to building communities and creating places where we want to live, work, and prosper. During the election campaign, we presented an ambitious platform, and that is the platform that Canadians voted for.
We have committed to doubling federal investments in infrastructure over the next decade. We are betting on and investing in Canadians, and specifically the middle class, in order to stimulate and diversify Canada's economy.
We have committed to investing new funds in three sectors, and they are public transit, green infrastructure, and social infrastructure. We are all familiar with the economic challenges we are currently facing, but strategic investment in infrastructure can stimulate the economy and help build strong, sustainable, and inclusive communities.
That is why the government is committed to working closely with its local partners. We have confidence in their expertise when it comes to establishing priorities in their own communities.
In order to build the infrastructure that Canada needs most, co-operation will be crucial to our success. That is why we have taken the time to go out and meet with Canadians across the country. We went from coast to coast to coast. I even went to Yellowknife to hear the voice of every Canadian. We visited more than 20 towns and cities right across the country, precisely to make sure that the programs we are bringing in are good for Canadians.
In this spirit of collaboration, the Minister of Finance and I held the most comprehensive pre-budget consultations in recent history. More than 146,000 Canadians participated in this process, and this number will continue to increase as online consultations are ongoing.
On January 11, the minister and I went on a six-day tour in order to speak with as many Canadians as possible. We hosted 26 separate meetings and round tables with stakeholders and Canadians all across the country. In addition to these meetings, the minister spoke to capacity crowds at the Halifax Chamber of Commerce, the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations, and the Surrey Board of Trade, with a total attendance of over 1,500 people. Those Canadians who were not able to meet with the minister or myself in person can continue to share their ideas on the Department of Finance website. We have already received more than 3,000 submissions from Canadians. This evening I will be in the riding of Ottawa Centre to hold pre-budget consultations with my colleague, the Minister of Environment .
As part of our pre-budget consultations, we are talking to Canadians to get their input on how the government can best support the middle class, meet infrastructure needs and help grow the economy, protect the environment, and meet local needs, as well as ensure that the most vulnerable members of our society do not get left behind. It is an ambitious list, to say the least, but one that respects Canadian values of honesty, hard work, fiscal prudence, and generosity.
Canadians will be able to see their contributions when the 2016 budget is tabled. I want to assure Canadians that we are listening and we hope that this renewed interest by Canadians will make a better country for all of us, for our families and for our communities.
No one will be surprised to hear me say that the economy is going through a very difficult period. However, in the face of this real challenge, there is also real opportunity to put in place the conditions to create long-term growth. Canadians asked us to make smart choices, and that is exactly what we are going to do. This growth will create good jobs and help our middle class, the lifeblood of our economy, to prosper. We have a plan to grow the economy, and we have already begun to implement it by focusing on investments that promote economic growth while maintaining a commitment to manage the country's economy responsibly.
We will improve economic prospects for our middle class, which is the backbone of our economy.