Mr. Speaker, I appreciate this opportunity to take part in today's debate and to provide a few facts that are grounded in reality.
This debate is taking place at a time of unprecedented upheaval and readjustment in the global trading system, and it is irresponsible for an opposition political party to try to ignore this and bury its head in the sand.
We know that the world is changing. Accordingly, Canadians expect their government to react appropriately. The debate we are having today goes beyond the walls of this Parliament. It is happening all over Quebec and Canada, including in my riding, Trois-Rivières, in kitchens, living rooms, at Tim Hortons, in meeting rooms and at workplaces from coast to coast. Canadians and Quebeckers know exactly what is at stake here. Our government knows it too.
While the party opposite is focused on petty politics and simplistic slogans, our government is listening to Canadians. What is more, we are taking decisive action on what we have heard. In the face of this uncertainty, Canadians have called for serious plans to address this new economic landscape and its consequences, not a $106-billion budget. They have asked for change that puts more money in their pockets, change that builds the strongest economy in the G7 and change that builds one Canadian economy instead of 13. Our new government is responding to this call for change, and that is what Canadians are expecting of us.
From a middle-class tax cut, which is saving money for 22 million Canadians, to the elimination of the GST for first-time homebuyers on new homes up to $1 million, our government is putting more money in the pockets of Canadians. We removed the consumer carbon price as of April 1, helping to reduce fuel costs, including lower prices at the pump. Our middle-class tax cut alone will save two-income families up to $840 in 2026, and going forward, it is expected to deliver over $27 billion in tax savings to Canadians over the next five years.
What is more, the bulk of this tax relief will go to those who need it most, which is to say those with incomes in the two lowest tax brackets, with nearly half going to those in the lowest tax bracket, those earning $57,000 or less, the same Canadians who stand to benefit from all the programs the party opposite voted against over the years, whether it is the dental care plan or day care. By eliminating the GST for first-time homebuyers on new homes at or under $1 million, and reducing it for first-time homebuyers between $1 million and $1.5 million, we are saving first-time homebuyers up to $50,000. Altogether, this means $3.9 billion in tax savings for Canadians over five years, allowing more young Canadians to enter the housing market and spurring the construction of new homes across the country.
At the same time, we are seizing a generational opportunity to transform the Canadian economy through ambitious investments and a rigorous spending review, so we can spend less and invest more. We know that the global economy has changed, and Canada must change with it. We need to strengthen our economic power to provide Canadians with greater certainty, security and prosperity.
We need a new fiscal approach to get there. The cornerstone of our new approach is a capital formation budgeting framework that will make capital investment a national priority. This can be done by distinguishing between spending that stimulates capital investment in the public and private sectors and day-to-day spending, and by allowing the government to prioritize spending that stimulates capital investment in the public and private sectors. It is actually quite simple, but we are only deciding to do it now.
This will result in more transparent decision-making and more taxpayer dollars allocated to investments that will grow our economy's potential. This new approach will put Canada in a better position to build the homes, infrastructure and industries our economy needs.
Our work on this front is already well under way. We recently, for example, launched Build Canada Homes, a new federal entity that will transform public-private collaboration and leverage modern methods of construction to catalyze the creation of an entirely new industry.
This represents a critical new tool to better harness the use of public land, while offering flexible financial incentives to attract private capital, facilitate the undertaking of large portfolio projects, and support modern innovative manufacturers as they build the homes Canadians need. However, it is not only the Canadian housing industry we are transforming. We are also streamlining the federal approval process to get major projects built faster. Working in close partnership with provinces, territories, indigenous peoples and private investors, we launched the Major Projects Office, which is going to work to fast-track nation-building projects by streamlining regulatory assessment and approval and to help structure financing.
Our government is moving with urgency and determination to advance this process, so Canada can build the infrastructure that will transform our economy to become the strongest in the G7. We are doing so because, for too long, the construction of major projects has been stalled by onerous and inefficient approval processes, which have stood in the way of investment. By removing these barriers and bringing new investments online, we will, in turn, create well-paying jobs for thousands of Canadians, supporting families and communities across the country.
What is more, we are undertaking these transformative changes to budgeting and investment on a solid fiscal footing, because the reality is Canada's deficit and net debt-to-GDP ratios are among the lowest among the advanced economies in the world. Let me just repeat that, because this is what I am talking about with facts versus slogans. Canada's deficit and net debt-to-GDP ratios are among the lowest among the advanced economies of the world. This is in sharp contrast with where we were in the nineties and the eighties. It is safe to say we all, maybe not all of us, but many of us, remember those dark days. We remember when stubborn deficits were leading to a rapid rise in Canada's net debt burden, eroding our fiscal advantage, increasing the cost of debt financing, and weighing in on our ability to invest in our people and our future. We can all take heart that those days are over.
ln 2024, Canada's net debt-to-GDP ratio stood at just 11.9%, compared to the G7 average, excluding Canada, of 100.4%. ln fact, Canada's net debt burden remains lower today than that of any G7 country prior to the pandemic. Canada is also expected to have had the smallest deficit in the G7 as a share of the economy this year. Canada is also one of only two G7 economies, along with Germany, to have an AAA credit rating. At least two of the three major global credit rating agencies are rating us AAA, and it is one that investors are expecting us to maintain. The result of this is Canada's borrowing cost is as low as possible. Achieving these positive results was not easy, but we were able to do that because the world believes in Canada. I really hope the opposition party can start showing they also believe in Canada.
Our actions as a government will be guided by a new fiscal discipline. We will spend less and invest more. We are initiating a comprehensive expenditure review to ensure our programs and activities are efficient and aligned with our core mandate. We are also introducing a new budget cycle to ensure we are more closely aligned with construction season, providing increased certainty and predictability for businesses and investors, supporting more effective financial planning for federal departments and agencies.
Within this new fiscal framework, budget 2025 will set out our ambitious plan to build Canada strong, with a new industrial strategy that will transform our economy from one of reliance on specific trade partners to one that is more resilient to global shocks, built on the solid foundation of strong Canadian industries and bolstered by diverse international trade partners. We hope the opposition will stand with us.