Madam Speaker, I did not have an opportunity to respond to any questions during question period today, because the Conservatives have no economic questions.
I am so grateful to the member for Calgary Centre for his question tonight because in fact the Bank of Canada is leading the G7 in interest rate cuts. Canada was the first G7 country to lower interest rates for the very first time. We were also the first country among all of the G7 peers to cut interest rates for the second time, and yes, we were the first G7 country to cut interest rates for the third time.
I will tell the House why this is good news for Canadians. It is helping business owners, those who have loans and those who do not. It is helping Canadians who have a mortgage coming up for renewal, and it is helping people looking to buy a very first home.
What else is helping Canadians buy a first home? It is the reforms that our government just announced. For example, we are expanding eligibility for 30-year mortgage amortization to all first-time homebuyers and also, importantly, to all buyers of new builds. This will help reduce the cost of monthly mortgage payments and help more Canadians buy a home.
What else is helping Canadians buy a first home? It is the first home savings account that we introduced to allow prospective homebuyers to save up to $40,000 completely tax-free in order to put a down payment towards their first home. In fact, 750,000 Canadians have already taken advantage of the program and opened their account.
What else is helping Canadians? For 19 consecutive months, wage growth has outpaced inflation, which means that even taking into account global inflation and even taking into account affordability pressures, Canadians are still better off today than they were five years ago. They are taking home larger paycheques, even taking into account inflation.
Talking about inflation, I must tell Canadians the truth: Inflation is down to just 2%. The fact that my Conservative colleague is bringing up a question he posed last May shows that the Conservatives are not following the inflation numbers. Inflation is exactly at the target rate that the Bank of Canada had set for itself.
The member opposite seems concerned about inflation, but I would remind him that it was 2% in August, which is right in the middle of the Bank of Canada's inflation target range. Indeed, inflation has been within the Bank of Canada's target range all year.
Moreover, wages have outpaced inflation for 19 consecutive months, meaning that Canadian workers are now receiving higher paycheques on average than they were before the pandemic. That is even with taking inflation into account.
Experts also predict that Canada's GDP will grow the fastest among all our G7 peers in 2025. This shows that the Canadian economy is strong and resilient, and it shows that the economic plan we have put in place is fiscally responsible.
While the Conservatives continue to call for cuts to the supports Canadians depend on, our plan will allow the next generation to realize the dream of buying their first home.
On our side of the House, on the Liberal government side, we know that Canada is stronger when everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed.