Mr. Speaker, we are in the aftermath of quite a historic moment in the House, where the main budget motion has passed on a budget that brings forward an investment plan focusing on investments in housing, investments in infrastructure, investments in defence, investments in talent and investments in productivity. They are investments that are really about triggering and unleashing private sector investment. We predict that the budget will bring forward $500 billion in additional private sector investment to this country over the next five years, and that is really private sector investment that we welcome throughout the different regions of this country.
I will give some examples from the auto sector, particularly in St. Thomas. The hon. member would be aware of the new gigafactory, which has broken ground there now. There will be 3,000 direct jobs, 32,000 square metres of concrete and 4,850 metric tonnes of rebar. It will be a significant plant that will bring thousands of jobs to the hon. member's riding, and as he is well aware, when we bring direct jobs into the auto sector, there are all kinds of spinoff jobs, indirect jobs and induced jobs.
The hon. member will know well the mayor of St. Thomas, who was quoted saying, a few weeks ago, “The mayor hasn't stopped smiling since.” He is referring to himself. He continued with this: “Generations in the future can...have a job that pays well enough to buy a home in St. Thomas and become part of a really vibrant community.” That is some of the positive investment that comes into the next generation of automotive technology in Canada, which we know is increasingly electric.
I invite my hon. colleague to come on over and see the benefits of the growth of EV technology over the longer term. It is something that is being recognized in his community, and it is part of a larger defence of the auto sector that involves also being very attentive to the concerns that have been raised.
The hon. member mentioned Ingersoll. The Minister of Industry has been present in Ingersoll and in Brampton, sitting down with the workers and being very direct and forceful with the companies that are threatening to not honour some of the commitments they have made, not just to this side of the House but to all Canadians, including the member's constituents.
We think this is the appropriate approach to take: to be engaged with the workers, to be engaged with the Canadian sector that is here, and to be very engaged with those who are deploying capital and show them the value of deploying capital here, whether they are the American companies, American-based companies or global companies.
Again, this is all in the context of a budget that we think is an investment budget, but one that actually does not quite do what I think the hon. member is concerned about with respect to fiscal policy. I think he would know if he looked more deeply into the charts in the budget that the budget will, over a three-year period, balance operating spending with revenues and make sure that the capital investments are the ones that we are borrowing funds to make. He would also be aware that it is capital investments that are the pro-economic investments that unleash all kinds of opportunities for people in his riding as well as across the country.
I think the government and the Minister of Industry have been very attentive to the specific needs and concerns in southern Ontario, and we are very active and involved in both securing investment and protecting the jobs that do exist there.