Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to follow what was a very good and entertaining, but obviously factual, speech from the member for Kingston and the Islands. It is great to be here to debate this afternoon.
I understand that the members opposite are very eager to see our plan for growing the Canadian economy, so let me reassure them. On November 4, the government will table a historic budget that will both catalyze growth and outline our ambitious plan to refocus day-to-day spending and invest in the Canadian economy. Budget 2025 will build on our ongoing work that is focused on building a stronger economy and delivering for all Canadians.
I would like to take a moment to highlight some of the important ways we are making life more affordable here at home, while ensuring that we are working to build an economy that will benefit Canadians for decades to come.
As we all know, the global economy is undergoing a seismic shift, and there is no doubt that Canada must change with it. Canadians all across the country recognize this, which is why this past April they provided our government with a clear mandate to build a resilient and modern Canadian economy, the strongest in the G7.
Bill C-4 was one of the first bills introduced in the House, very soon after the House resumed. It was introduced by the Minister of Finance and National Revenue in the spring. Bill C-4 received unanimous consent from the House. I recently said in the House that common sense seems to be lacking. It is not so common in the Conservative Party today, but common sense was provided at that moment, when Conservative members actually supported our tax cut bill, which is good news for all Canadians.
I am a proud member of the finance committee. We are studying Bill C-4 right now, and we look forward to the bill's getting speedy passage back to the House and receiving royal assent.
From a middle-class tax cut that is saving money for 22 million Canadians to eliminating the GST for first-time buyers on new homes up to $1 million and reducing the GST for first-time homebuyers on new homes between $1 million and $1.5 million, the legislation will put more money in Canadians' pockets. Canadians need that right now of course. These measures complement a whole package of other measures that were Liberal initiatives in the past Parliament, all of which were voted against by the Conservative Party, including dental care; child care; the Canada child benefit, which is indexed to inflation, by the way; the national school food program and many more.
There have also been other supports that our government has put in place under previous leadership in the past Parliament that reduced mortgage insurance, moved to 30-year mortgages and, again, offered tax-free savings accounts for first-time homebuyers. These measures, taken in context, complement a whole series of affordability measures that our government has put in place.
What is new is that the Conservatives actually supported Bill C-4 and voted to get it through to committee. I hope that they will vote it through the House when it comes back from committee, hopefully soon. The other piece of Bill C-4 is to essentially remove from federal law the consumer fuel charge, which would essentially allow us to focus carbon pricing on large emitters.
Additionally, we continue to work diligently to address the housing crisis by focusing on driving down costs and making housing more affordable and accessible for Canadians. To this end, we recently launched Build Canada Homes, a new federal entity that will transform public-private collaboration and deploy modern methods of construction as it catalyzes the creation of entirely new Canadian housing industries from prefab to modular, to mass timber and to any other innovative method. I visited a group at York University that is 3-D printing three-storey homes, which was just incredible to see.
Canada's innovation will lead the way. Build Canada Homes is part of our stepping up to support that industry. This critical tool will leverage public lands. It will offer flexible financial incentives to attract private capital, facilitate large portfolio projects and support modern manufacturers to build the homes that Canadians need.
It is not only the Canadian housing industry that we are transforming; we are also streamlining the federal approval process to get major projects built faster. For too long, the construction of major projects has been stalled by arduous and inefficient approval processes, leaving enormous investment on the table. The newly launched Major Projects Office will fast-track nation-building projects by streamlining regulatory assessment and approvals and will help to structure financing, all in close partnership with provinces, territories, indigenous peoples and private sector partners and investors. This in turn will create good-paying jobs for thousands of Canadians across this country.
I remember when the Prime Minister first announced the launch of five major projects. What struck me that day was what the Conservative leader said. He called those five major projects “pathetic”. He called tens of thousands of good-paying jobs for Canadians pathetic. He called 60 billion dollars' worth of economic activity in our economy pathetic. Members do not want to know what I think is pathetic.
Our government is moving with urgency and determination to build the strongest economy in the G7, but that urgency demands new ways of budget planning. That is exactly what we are doing. The finance minister outlined recently a new way of budgeting, the cornerstone of which is a new capital budgeting framework that distinguishes and prioritizes spending that stimulates public sector and private sector capital investment versus day-to-day operational spending. This will mean more transparency in decision-making and more opportunity for stringency and scrutiny of taxpayer dollars allocated to investments that will grow Canada's economic potential. This follows many G7 countries.
Going forward, the government will also adopt a fall budget cycle starting with budget 2025. The fall timing, which is before the main estimates, will facilitate the oversight and study of public expenditure for parliamentarians, inherently making the process more transparent. It will also support effective financial planning for federal departments and agencies and for provinces and territories, as well as for Canadian businesses, allowing for more informed decision-making on where public funds will have the most impact.
The updated budget cycle will also closely align with the construction season and provide increased certainty and predictability for businesses and investors, giving builders and investors a real head start. The new fall budget will be followed by a spring economic fiscal update as the new fiscal year begins, as well as pre-budget consultations over the course of the summer, allowing for ample time to build a budget that fully reflects the current needs of Canadians.
Before I conclude, I would like to take a minute to highlight Canada's fiscal advantage and how we stack up against G7 countries. In 2024, Canada's net debt-to-GDP ratio stood at just 11.9%, compared to the G7 average, excluding Canada, at 100.4%. That is 11% compared to 100%. In 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's fiscal position also stands out among a broader set of 30 advanced economies, posting deficit and net debt-to-GDP ratios among the lowest in the group. This marks a sharp contrast with Canada's fiscal situation in the 1980s and early 1990s, when sustained deficits led to a rapid rise in the net debt burden and an erosion of Canada's fiscal advantage relative to its peers.
Canada is also one of only two G7 economies, along with Germany, to have a AAA rating from at least two of the three major global credit rating agencies. Our AAA credit rating helps maintain investors' confidence and keeps Canada's borrowing costs as low as possible. Canada has a lower interest rate on debt than the United States has, which I would say is noteworthy.
Budget 2025 will highlight how all our actions are guided by a new fiscal discipline. We will spend less to invest more. I know that is hard for Conservatives to understand, but spending less on government operations allows us fiscal room to invest more and to attract private capital, playing the catalytic role in our economy that the Prime Minister has talked about over and over again.
That is how to produce and create a virtuous cycle between investment and growth in the economy, which will increase tax revenues in the future and allow us to sustain many of the social programs and gains we have made under previous Liberal governments that we will need in order to have the fiscal room to continue to support. This is why we have initiated a comprehensive expenditure review to ensure that we get the most out of every Canadian dollar.