Mr. Speaker, is it a time to invest or a time to be frugal? Maybe the right answer is that it is a bit of both.
First, we are in the fortunate financial position of being able to invest, create jobs, build infrastructure and stimulate the economy. According to the IMF, Canada's net debt-to-GDP ratio in 2025, if we look at all levels of government, is by far the best in the G7. In addition, our deficit-to-GDP ratio is second only to that of Japan. As a result, the director of the IMF has said that Canada and Germany alone in the G7 are in the fiscal position to be able to invest in order to spur the economy, in what is otherwise a time of global economic downturn.
Our government also wants to decrease spending while at the same time investing more. We want to invest in order to create jobs, both directly and indirectly. We want to invest in building local infrastructure for things like roads, sewage and water, in order to build the homes Canadians need and want. We also need investment in road, rail and ports so we can efficiently get goods to market, which is increasingly important as our best trade partners have enacted all of their trade barriers. The budget projects that our capital investments will rise to nearly $60 billion in 2030, nearly double the $32 billion this year.
Let us talk about some of the investments I like and that are good for my riding. Over 10 years, $51 billion will go toward the build communities strong fund to build local infrastructure. I will certainly try to use this money to build some of the things I would like built in my riding, for example, Fort William First Nation's chronic care home and a toll-free bridge between International Falls and Fort Frances. I would also really like some of the money to go toward things like hockey rinks. I, like a lot of Canadians, spend the winter watching my kids play hockey and drinking Tim Hortons coffee in aging arenas that need upkeep.
Ports are also important. Thunder Bay is a port city, and as my favourite teacher in high school used to say, we owe our existence to the fact that we are an entrepot, which means a place where goods go from rail and trucks to boats, or vice versa. I am happy to say that the budget provides $5 billion to create the trade diversification corridors fund, which is money for ports, rail and roads.
On a related note, the budget announced over $600 million for CBSA. This is in addition to the previous $1.3 billion, and it allows CBSA to hire 1,000 new officers, which will in turn allow it to open new custom facilities in a number of ports along the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway. Currently, the only port on the seaway that allows customs clearance of container traffic is the port of Montreal, which creates a bottleneck: Boats go from Europe to Montreal in 10 days and then may end up waiting 10 days in order to clear customs. In addition, the lack of other inspection stations results in thousands of trucks on the 401 to the Trans-Canada Highway carrying containers that could be brought far closer to the destination directly by boat.
I have spoken to the port authorities in Hamilton, Picton, Windsor and Goderich. They are all ready and eager to start handling more container traffic, the big obstacle being a lack of CBSA facilities. I know that the port of Thunder Bay is in a very similar situation.
Critical minerals are also something near and dear to the hearts of the people in my riding. Frontier Lithium and Mitsubishi are looking to open the first lithium mine in northwestern Ontario, with the refinery to be in my riding. In a recent speech to the mining community, the Minister of Natural Resources made a statement that I think is worth repeating; he said that we all remember the awful situation President Zelenskyy found himself in a few months ago at the White House, where he was told, “you have no cards to play”. We as a country have lots of cards to play.
We have a lot of natural resources, including critical minerals that are needed for the defence industry and for the green transition. Developing these resources will create jobs. It will also mean that, to the degree possible, we will no longer be as dependent on fair-weather friends. A priority for the government will be to help more critical mineral projects get to a final assessment decision within a two-year window. The budget proposes to provide $2 billion to create the critical minerals sovereign fund. The fund will make strategic investments in critical mineral projects and companies.
In addition, the budget includes $370 million to create the first and last mile fund, which is a fund that would support the development of critical mineral projects and supply chains with a focus on getting near-term projects into production as soon as possible. The fund would also absorb the critical minerals infrastructure fund, providing $1.5 billion to support clean energy and transportation infrastructure projects related to critical minerals development.
Forestry is a sector we all know is hurting. I grew up outside Thunder Bay in an area where most of my friends were the children of Finnish Canadian bush workers. Forestry is practically in our DNA. Last October, the U.S. imposed a 10% tariff on softwood lumber, which is in addition to the pre-existing duties, bringing the total tax on Canadian softwood lumber to over 45%.
Our forests are one of our most valuable assets. In the long term, I think things look good for the industry. We and the Americans will continue to need lumber in order to build homes. In addition, our government will seek to use more wood in government-funded projects; encourage the development of things like cross-lamination, which would allow more building with wood and less reliance on concrete and steel; and encourage the development of novel uses for wood fibre, for example, biofuels.
Although in the long term things look pretty good for the sector, the problem is obviously the short term and surviving the existing tariffs and duties. To help with that and to get the sector through this period, our government has created the $5-billion strategic response fund and regional tariff support measures.
Also in the budget is, as of today, up to $1.2 billion in loan guarantees administered by the Business Development Bank of Canada to provide financial support to help companies maintain and restructure their operations; $500 million to renew and expand existing programs for the sector, focused on market and product diversification; and $50 million for re-skilling and income supports for affected softwood lumber workers.
Alstom is currently involved in negotiating a single-source contract for the purchase of Toronto's line 2 subway cars, which will be built, I am happy to say, primarily in Thunder Bay. To some extent, the decision to have the cars built in Thunder Bay paved the way for the commitment the government has made, in the budget, that with federal procurement, we will as much as possible buy Canadian. There is no damn way the cars should ever be built in the United States, and I trust that when we replace the existing Via Rail fleet outside the Quebec-Windsor corridor, those trains will also be built in Canada, primarily in Thunder Bay, with some work also going to La Pocatière and to Kingston.
I am a doctor, and I still practise once in a while, so what is in the budget for health care? There is $5 billion for health infrastructure, as well as money for, and this is important, credentialing. When I was an intern in Toronto in 1986, I used to joke that if I had a problem, I should ask the person mopping the floor, because they were probably a doctor from Brazil or Guatemala. Really, not a lot has changed in the intervening years with respect to credentialing, despite the fact that a lot of Canadians do not have a family doctor, particularly in rural areas.
That has begun to change, and with the budget, we propose to provide $97 million towards establishing a foreign credential recognition action fund to work with the provinces to improve foreign credential recognition and bridging programs to help foreign-trained professionals, particularly in health care, meet Canadian standards.
In this context, I would like to acknowledge two provincial programs that I think have been particularly successful in churning out doctors: PACE, the Physician Assessment Centre of Excellence in Halifax, and a one-year bridging program for foreign trained doctors run by the Manitoba College of Physicians and Surgeons and the University of Manitoba. These are programs we ought to emulate in other areas like northern Ontario.
Last, Canada has historically underfunded research and development in comparison to other places. The international talent attraction strategy and action plan will go a long way to address underfunding. Every cloud has a silver lining. This is absolutely a time to start poaching top-notch American talent. The budget provides $1.7 billion for a suite of recruitment measures, including $400 million for a complementary stream of research infrastructure to be used by this new talent.
In conclusion, I like the budget. It is good for Thunder Bay—Rainy River. I suggest that it is also great for Canada.