Madam Speaker, the budget implementation act would allow us to put into action budget 2025, which is a budget built for the moment in which we find ourselves.
Much has been said about this moment, but it is worth recapping. Our largest trade partner and the world's largest economy has turned its back on free trade; global conflicts are on the rise, and, of course, the world is now dealing with the effects of climate change, which are dangerous effects that will only grow over time and that threaten prosperity, lives and the well-being of this planet. It is this context that budget 2025 meets.
I have said elsewhere, and I will say again, that this is an economist's budget in the very best sense. It methodically addresses the challenges in front of us. It asks and provides answers to three questions: What are we trying to do? What do we have available? What course will get us there?
First, what are we trying to do? We are trying to increase productivity. That is how we make sure our economy grows and wages rise. We are trying to make life more affordable, especially housing, and we are giving ourselves the tools to chart our own course in an increasingly dangerous world. We must do that while staying true to Canadian values by protecting our environment, advancing reconciliation and making sure that everybody can access opportunity.
What do we have available? We have resources, both natural and human. We also have the fiscal strength to invest in our own success. The opposition likes to talk about government finances using the language of credit cards to suggest that any investment is reckless, any borrowing irresponsible and any ambition unaffordable, but Canadians know better. Every family that has ever bought a home knows better. Every entrepreneur who has ever grown a business knows better. It would be foolish to put a house on a credit card, but it is not foolish to take out a mortgage to own one. Households thrive through smart borrowing; companies grow through smart debt, and opportunities vanish when we insist on waiting until we have the cash on hand.
Budget 2025 shifts government borrowing from spending on operations to investments in capital and productivity, and that distinction matters. The reality is this: Canada is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. We enjoy the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7 and one of the lowest deficit-to-GDPs, and we are recognized internationally for the strength of our fiscal framework and our ability to invest ambitiously while protecting our long-term sustainability.
Kristalina Georgieva, the managing director of the IMF, recently said that Canada stands out in the G7: “the Canadian authorities have been very decisive to take action” by separating operating spending from investment and focusing strategically on progrowth investments in such areas as housing, infrastructure and energy.
That brings us to the course that budget 2025 sets. We are making historic investments in productivity, housing, defence and infrastructure. The budget commits $280 billion over five years. On a cash basis, it represents $450 billion, which is almost half a trillion dollars of investment in the foundations that support our country. The budget implementation act would tackle productivity head-on through the productivity superdeduction, enhancements to SR&ED, investments in advanced research and researchers, financial sector modernization and targeted incentives for major nation-building projects that will expand our economic capacity. Budget 2025 also introduces an expanded suite of investment tax credits. These are instruments designed to crowd in private capital.
The budget makes generational investments in housing by committing $25 billion over five years, including the creation of Build Canada Homes, eliminating the GST for first-time homebuyers up to $1 million and mainstreaming advanced construction methods that can cut building timelines by up to 50%.
The budget makes generational investments in defence by providing $30 billion over five years to rebuild and rearm the Canadian Armed Forces; meeting NATO's 2% target this year, climbing from a low of under 1% in 2014 under Prime Minister Harper; and launching a new defence industry strategy and defence investment agency.
The budget makes generational investments in infrastructure by providing $115 billion over five years for core public infrastructure, trade and transportation corridors, and indigenous and municipal infrastructure and investments to accelerate clean power, ports and economic corridors across the country.
The budget helps families directly, with tax cuts and programs that make life more affordable and jobs more available while preserving the services people count on. It also preserves essential climate action. As the Prime Minister reiterated in the House last week, we remain committed to our Paris goals and net zero 2050. It does this in a simplified way by focusing on the tools that have the biggest impact on emissions, that have the smallest impact on day-to-day life and that are most likely to support and build the clean-technology industries that already capture two out of every three dollars invested in energy globally.
The government's new carbon competitiveness framework, which is outlined in the budget and would be made real by this budget implementation act, has many effective tools to reduce emissions and increase economic opportunity. I would like to focus on three.
The first is industrial carbon pricing, which was brought into effect in Alberta in 2008 by Progressive Conservative Premier Ed Stelmach's government. This made-in-Alberta solution drives meaningful emissions reductions through economic incentives and the polluter pays principle.
The second is a focus on methane. This is the low-hanging fruit of emissions reductions. A focus on methane, which is a potent greenhouse gas, offers some of the most meaningful and lower-cost emissions reductions.
The third is carbon capture and sequestration. Investment tax credits and other policy levers would encourage the creation at scale of an industry that will meaningfully change the emissions profile of the oil and gas sector and take carbon out of production. Not only would this reduce Canada's emissions, but it would be an essential, exportable technology that increases our prosperity while reducing and even removing emissions across the globe.
In total, budget 2025 sets the foundation for long-term growth. It would shift from short-term spending to smart investment, it would invest public dollars to attract even bigger private dollars and it would make Canada more prosperous, more resilient and more ready for the future.
I want to speak to what budget 2025 would mean for Calgary, because the city I proudly represent stands to benefit greatly. Calgary is home to engineers, builders, energy workers, tech innovators, students, researchers and many more. It is a diverse workplace. Budget 2025's emphasis on productivity and investment directly aligns with Calgary's economic strengths. The investment tax credits would be a direct accelerator for Calgary and would help unlock billions in private investment in Alberta.
Budget 2025 would support exactly the kinds of projects Calgary is best suited to build. It would strengthen Canada as a conventional and renewable energy superpower and support the infrastructure needed to export energy in all forms. It would provide clarity around long-term GHG regulations, which is essential for supporting Alberta's energy sector as it invests in decarbonization and competes globally.
Budget 2025 would introduce community infrastructure funding that would also benefit Calgary directly. I have already had the privilege of announcing new investments in housing and cultural spaces, and more will follow as a consequence of this budget's unprecedented investment. Calgary is an ambitious city, and this is an ambitious budget.
Budget 2025 would invest in productivity so that we can grow the economy, in infrastructure so that we can build the economy and in people so that every Canadian can participate in the economy. It would do so within a fiscal framework built on responsibility and sustainability that shifts from spending on operations to financing growth. The budget implementation act would put this into law—