Debates of Oct. 8th, 2025

International Trade

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister would know all about driving investment out of Canada and into the United States, given that he has already managed to drive $54 billion in investments to the United States, killing 86,000 jobs in the process. These jobs represent families, who are now sitting around the table, wondering how they will pay their bills.

When he came to power, he promised to get rid of U.S. tariffs. Since then, however, the tariffs on softwood lumber have doubled.

I will repeat my question. After handing over a $1‑trillion gift, did the Prime Minister get an end to the softwood lumber tariffs, yes or no?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, here is where things stand at the moment. Our agreement with the Americans is the best in the world.

We are continuing negotiations in major sectors, including softwood lumber. We will accept nothing less than the best deal for softwood lumber.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, we now know why the U.S. President wanted the Prime Minister in power so badly. He wanted a weak leader whose high taxes and anti-development laws are sending billions of dollars and thousands of jobs out of this country. There have been 86,000 jobs lost.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister promised the President that he would increase Canadian investment in the U.S. by $1 trillion if he gets the agreement that he expects to get.

In exchange for $1 trillion in job losses in Canada, will the Prime Minister at least get an end to the U.S. auto tariffs that are killing jobs for our workers in Ontario?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have the best deal in the world with the Americans. That is my first point.

My second point is that the President of the United States and I had a meeting of minds yesterday with respect to the future of the steel sector, the aluminum sector and the energy sector in co-operation, which is why our teams are negotiating the terms of those deals.

We are also working, as the President himself said in the Oval Office, on the modalities of an auto agreement.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, he just confirmed that he is selling out our auto workers.

Let me tell him what it means when investment leaves this country. He has forced a record amount out in his seven months in power. The 700 workers at the GM plant who lost their jobs in Oshawa can tell him about investment that has left. They are sitting around the dinner table wondering how they are going to pay their bills, while GM announces $4 billion of new investment south of the border.

While the Prime Minister promises yet another $1-trillion gift to President Trump, why does he not look those workers in the eye and explain why he betrayed them?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, what this government is doing for the auto sector is an unprecedented investment in the Canadian auto sector. We look the Canadian auto workers in the eye. We have $5 billion in the strategic response fund. We have $10 billion for liquidity management. We have worker retraining. We are striking deals with countries around the world. We have the best deal already with the Americans, and it will be even better.

The Economy

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, we will go soft on him today, because I know he is recovering from surgery to have his elbows removed. Do we remember that promise? He was dancing around with his elbows in the air. We have not seen those elbows since the election, after which $54 billion of investment went to the United States; 86,000 jobs are gone, and American tariffs on Canada have doubled.

As to the best deal in the world, why is it then, if we have the best deal, that Canada has the fastest-shrinking economy in the G7 and 86,000 people are without a job?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, there are three things that are true. The first is that I realized long before the Leader of the Opposition did, long before the last election, that our relationship with the United States would never again be what it was. Do we remember the last election? The second thing that is true is we have the best deal with the Americans, and the third thing that is true is we will get an even better deal, because we are negotiating.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians do remember the last election, when the Prime Minister promised to put elbows up. It was not a promise; it was the promise he ran on. Now those elbows have come down. The American tariffs have doubled. We have by far the weakest economy in the G7, 86,000 people have lost their jobs, and, pathetically, the Prime Minister went to the White House to offer a $1-trillion gift, bowing before the president in weakness.

Speaking of the last election, where in his platform did he promise to give a trillion of our investment dollars to the Americans?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to inform the Leader of the Opposition there is a thing called the private sector. The private sector makes decisions about investment. The private sector makes decisions about jobs. With the best deal in the world, we will invest in this country, and we will build Canada strong.

International Trade

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

Mr. Speaker, wow. The Prime Minister was not scolded. That was the bar—to avoid getting attacked by the U.S. President with the whole world watching. That was the bar, and he certainly cleared it. Better yet, he got told that he was good and strong.

The Prime Minister was supposed to get more and speak less. We are getting the opposite of what we got with his predecessor.

Does the Prime Minister think a meeting and some nice words from the U.S. President are enough to resolve the trade crisis?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that the U.S. President and I had a conversation on moving forward with an agreement for the steel, aluminum and energy sectors. That is why our teams are working on this issue at this very moment.

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

Mr. Speaker, that is not what we were told during the election campaign. It was supposed to be so much better. The truth is that the Prime Minister has come back empty-handed. He got zip, nada, zilch, nothing at all. To make matters worse, there are new tariffs on trucks and higher tariffs on softwood lumber. The great negotiator keeps striking out.

When is he going to hit a home run?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again, on July 31, the President of the United States himself signed the best trade deal in the world between the United States and Canada, which means that 85% of our trade with the U.S. is tariff-free.

We continue to work on the aluminum and softwood lumber sectors.

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

Mr. Speaker, the “best deal in the world” does not seem to be working for the aluminum or forestry sectors. Spouting nice words seems to be enough for the Prime Minister.

A gentleman named Jean de La Fontaine wrote The Fox and the Crow, which says, “Flatterers thrive on fools' credulity.”

Does the Prime Minister think that Quebeckers will be satisfied with the sly fox's words for much longer?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, right now, the people on our team, including the Minister of International Trade, are negotiating on behalf of the aluminum sector. This is about more than just words and figures. We are going to have an agreement.

Employment

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister assured Canadians that he would secure a victory, but there is none. The tariffs he said he would get rid of have actually doubled. He is now promising to ship a trillion dollars of investment to the U.S. with nothing in return. That is not a strategy. It is a clearance sale on Canadian jobs, paper mills in B.C. closing while Washington state cuts the ribbon, factories in Ontario going dark while Michigan lights up.

Why did the Prime Minister trade away Canadian paycheques for an applause line in Washington?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, the Prime Minister is focused on protecting jobs and businesses, first by stabilizing supply chains through initiatives such as our strategic response fund, including on steel, aluminum, manufacturing, auto and agriculture, and by continuing to build supply chains while maintaining a strong domestic economy and the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7 and while negotiating a strong bilateral relationship and diversifying our supply chains.

We will build Canada strong.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, with that kind of answer, if someone who measures their wealth by a stock index, that is their guy, but if it comes from a paycheque, they are his sacrifice.

Canadians trusted the Prime Minister to fight for their jobs and to fight for their paycheques. Months after he vowed to get a deal, there is still none.

There are 86,000 fewer Canadians working. He doubled the deficit at home; $54 billion of investment fled south, with the promise to make it a trillion.

In what world is a trillion-dollar gift to Donald Trump considered a win?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, businesses from all over the world are choosing Canada. That is why, once again, we are ranked as one of the best countries in the G20 for doing business. We are deepening our partnerships in Europe, in the Indo-Pacific and in Africa, to create opportunities here at home.

That is why we have just signed a historic deal with Indonesia, to create jobs and to diversify supply chains.

These are more than just agreements. They are the resilience of Canada's economic future.

We will build Canada strong.

International Trade

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, it is a good thing that we do not need elbows to come home empty-handed. Yesterday, we found out why Donald Trump wanted this guy to be Prime Minister so bad; it is because Trump knew he would get everything he wanted from the Prime Minister.

In addition to keeping all the Trudeau-era policies that are already chasing away jobs and investments, the Prime Minister decided to offer a $1-trillion gift of Canadian investment dollars flowing to the U.S.

That means mines built in the U.S., factories built in the U.S., sawmills built in the U.S., all with Canadian investment dollars.

In exchange for this generous sacrifice, did the Prime Minister get an end to all U.S. tariffs once and for all?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Finance and National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, we will take no lessons from the Conservatives. Members on this side of the aisle, and all Canadians, believe in this country. Canada is the place where we attract talent. Canada is the place where we build ships, we build cars and we build planes. Canada is the place where we have critical minerals. Canada is the place where we have energy. Canada is the only country in the G7 with free trade with all other G7 nations. We are going to build Canada strong. We are the true north, strong and free.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the minister said the Liberals believe in Canada. The Liberal Prime Minister will not even pay taxes in Canada. Once those investment dollars go to the U.S., they do not come back.

Let us just look at TC Energy. That used to be called TransCanada, until the Liberals had to drop the word “Canada” because they cannot get anything built in this country. They just put $8.5 billion to work in the U.S. The Prime Minister said during the election that anyone who worships at the altar of Donald Trump will kneel before him, not stand up to him. Yesterday, he knelt like a pylon while the president skated around him.

Did the Prime Minister get an end to U.S. tariffs in return?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Finance and National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, I have even more good news for the Conservatives. On November 4, we will present a budget with generational investment that is going to make Canada the strongest economy in the G7. We will invest in our people. We are going to build this country. We are going to empower Canadians. We are going to build Canada strong, and we are going to do it with all Canadians.

Employment

[Arpan Khanna, Conservative, Oxford, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Prime Minister promised to fight for our workers, but under his watch, Canada has lost over 86,000 jobs. We have the fastest-shrinking economy and the second-highest unemployment rate in the G7. The Liberal decision to buy American to appease Trump has cost CAMI over 900 jobs in my riding.

The Liberal Prime Minister continues to sell out our workers. He is handing over their jobs to the United States and driving a trillion dollars' worth of investment down south. Why?