Debates of Oct. 22nd, 2025

Finance

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, today, the Prime Minister and I will meet to discuss the 10th Liberal budget deficit. Our priority as Conservatives is an affordable budget for an affordable cost of living for the Canadian people. The Prime Minister promised he would spend less, but his deficit spending is 100% more. He promised he would be judged by the prices at the grocery store; they are now rising at two times the Bank of Canada's target, and inflation is now, once again, out of control.

Will the Prime Minister learn from the inflationary and costly failures of 10 years of Liberal government and accept our plan for an affordable budget for an affordable life?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, this budget will get operational spending under control; it will balance our spending over the next three years, but we are not going to stop there. We are going to invest in this country. We are going to have the biggest investment in this country in generations, the largest capital spend in generations and the most ambitious trade diversification in our nation's history. We will do everything to help Canadians get ahead, as they have gotten ahead every single month since I became Prime Minister.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians, according to the Prime Minister, have never had it so good. If someone is a single mother out there walking down the grocery aisle, looking at prices rise before her eyes; if they are a senior choosing between eating and heating; if they are one of the countless Canadians who see that roasted coffee is up 41% since the Prime MInister took office, that nuts and seeds are up 15% and that food price inflation is now double the target; or if they are one of those two million people who are lined up at food banks every single month, the Prime Minister says they have never had it so good.

How is it possible for the Prime Minister to be so costly and so out of touch with reality?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, it is time, once again, for our economics lesson. Getting ahead means people's wages grow faster than inflation. Let us look at the relationship between inflation and deficits. The food inflation rate in Canada is the G7 average, and we have the lowest deficit in the G7. What the government is going to do is use that deficit to grow this economy as has never been seen before.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is saying to that single mother, that small business owner and that senior I just referenced that he needs to give them economic lessons. You are the one out there who is watching prices rise right before—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. member knows to speak through the Chair, and there was a lot of noise, so the hon. member can start from the top.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Battle River—Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is now lecturing Canadians who are lined up at food banks, telling them that they have never had it so good and that, if only they appreciated the many promises he has made, promises he has not even begun to keep, they would then be appreciative of the fact that fresh and frozen beef are up 14%, fresh and frozen cut chucks are up 12%, frozen meat is up 11% and coffee beans are up 40%.

Does the Prime Minister believe that people paying these exorbitant prices should be thankful for his economic lessons?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we promised to cut taxes for every Canadian, and 22 million Canadians have had their taxes cut. We promised to cut taxes for first-time homebuyers, and they have been cut. We promised to cut the carbon tax, and it has been cut. You were not here. It has been cut.

We promised to build this country strong. On November 4, the House will have a choice. Are you with us for those single mothers? Are you with us for those farmers? Are you with us to build this country strong so they can benefit?

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

Again, I will remind hon. members that we speak through the Chair.

The hon. Leader of the Opposition.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I think the Prime Minister meant to say, “Are you with us for the bankers and bondholders, who have been collecting record interest payments on the newly doubled national debt?”

The Prime Minister has literally doubled the deficits that he inherited from the Liberal government, deficits that were already exorbitant and out of control, and inflation immediately started to rise. Two of the four measures are outside of the acceptable Bank of Canada range. All four measures are above the Bank of Canada's 2% target.

The more the Prime Minister spends, the more things cost. Does he acknowledge at least that every dollar he spends comes out of the pockets of hard-working Canadians?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are putting more dollars in the pockets of hard-working Canadians because we cut taxes for 22 million Canadians. Our focus is on putting even more dollars in the pockets of hard-working Canadians. That is why we will have the most ambitious capital investment program this country has ever seen, the most ambitious homebuilding program this country has ever seen, the biggest investment in defence and in our industrial capacity this country has ever seen, and the biggest and most effective climate competitiveness strategy this country has ever seen.

Automotive Industry

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Paccar, a truck manufacturer in Sainte-Thérèse-De Blainville, just laid off 300 more workers after the White House imposed a 25% tariff. This comes six months after the election that brought in this Prime Minister, who was supposed to settle the tariffs and trade negotiations with a snap of his fingers.

Can the Prime Minister assure the workers and the company that jobs and the business will be protected, no matter what it takes?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are very disappointed by the situation at Paccar, Stellantis and GM in the automotive sector.

We already have the best agreement with the United States. We have the lowest tariffs on cars and trucks. Nevertheless, we continue to work and negotiate with the Americans. We will be there to support the workers at Paccar, as the Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade mentioned.

International Trade

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, if that is the best agreement, I would not want to see the worst. It raises a lot of concerns. People need a bit of certainty.

Can the Prime Minister assure us, beyond any doubt, particularly after he scrapped the 3% tax on web giants, that the cultural exemption will be protected in the tariff negotiations? Can he assure us that supply management will be fully protected, including processing, and that the percentages will be respected, without any compromise?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I can assure the House that we will protect supply management in the negotiations. We will always protect Quebec culture and Canadian culture in the negotiations, period.

Forestry Industry

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the word “fully” should be added in there as well.

I want to talk about the forestry industry. We are no longer talking about protecting it; we are literally talking about rescuing it. The crisis hitting our forests and the forestry industries is worse than in 2008. Closures and layoffs are on the rise. Hundreds of jobs have just been lost in Saint-Michel-des-Saints.

Can the Prime Minister guarantee that, in the face of the combined duty and tariff rate of 45%, there will be an immediate and comprehensive economic rescue plan for Quebec's forestry regions?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, there is a plan and there are initiatives.

The Minister of Industry has just announced an initiative that will provide funding for the forestry sector in Quebec and Canada. It is a funding project from the Business Development Bank of Canada.

There is also the strategic renewal fund for the forestry sector. It is a thorough and comprehensive plan.

Carbon Pricing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has tried to deny the existence of continued hidden Liberal taxes on groceries, but Canada's leading food price expert, the food professor, Sylvain Charlebois, has said the exact opposite. He said, of the industrial carbon tax, that the worst part is that it is still there. He was referring to the fact that farmers pay the tax on the steel that goes into their farm equipment, such as combines, tractors and bins, and fertilizer.

Is the Prime Minister really going to expect Canadians who cannot pay their grocery bills to believe that the cost of the carbon tax on our farmers does not get passed on at the grocery shelf?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am going to quote independent research of the Canadian Climate Institute, which finds that the net impact of the industrial carbon tax on food prices is, on average, “around zero per cent”.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister expects us to believe government-funded, so-called experts paid to push his agenda instead of believing in the obvious fact that, when we tax the things that go into making food, we tax all who buy food.

This is a Prime Minister who says he is a great expert, but he told CTV Nova Scotia that Canadians do not use steel anymore. Does he not know that there is steel in farm tractors, farm combines, farm bins and other farm equipment? Does he not think, for God's sake, that those costs get passed on to consumers?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Minister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the folks are feisty over there today.

However, we have been hearing all week, all month, since the beginning of this session, about these imaginary taxes. These are imaginary taxes in the brain of the Leader of the Opposition that no one else seems to manage. I will tell him that there will be a budget. There will be some numbers and some tables that he can read, where he will not find taxes on food.

There is no tax on food. There will never be a tax on food.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, first, we are all disappointed to learn that Liberals think that Canadians who see grocery prices rising at record rates are just imagining things. I am further disappointed to see that the Prime Minister cannot stand in his place and address real questions about the cost of groceries for Canadians.

It is not just the industrial carbon tax. It is also the government's fuel standard, which, according to its own department, is going to increase the cost of fuel by 17¢ on the farmers and truckers who bring us our food. Does he really expect consumers to believe that will not cost them as well?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, what is not imaginary is that Canadians know who they can trust. In fact, time and again, they have seen these Conservatives across the aisle vote against their very interests, whether it is things like the school nutrition program or the early learning and child care. By the way, the average cost of child care is down to $16 a day.

These are real savings for real Canadian families. The only thing that is imaginary is their own perception.

Automotive Industry

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, it is really disappointing the Prime Minister refuses to stand up to debate the real cost of his taxes on Canadian food consumers. It is the same thing with the auto sector. He promised that he would negotiate a win. He promised to get a rapid deal. There is still no win and still no deal. Elbows have gone missing, and so are the jobs.

Today, 300 workers lost their jobs at Paccar in Quebec.

Last week, we saw that it was in Ingersoll at the CAMI plant, and before that the GM plant in Oshawa. Is the Prime Minister selling out the auto sector in his attempt to back down to the U.S. President?