Debates of Nov. 4th, 2025

Financial Statement of Minister of Finance

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Mr. Speaker, even the Conservatives are cheering.

They should be cheering about this as well: We made permanent the national school food program, helping 400,000 children each year. I know in their hearts, they support it.

We have launched automatic federal benefits, reaching 5.5 million low-income Canadians, to ensure no one gets left behind. We will strengthen competition in the telecommunications and banking sectors in order to drive down costs.

These are practical measures that make life more affordable today and build confidence in tomorrow, because when Canadians can afford a home, when Canadians can raise a family and when Canadians can plan for the future, our entire country grows stronger.

Prosperity is only meaningful when it is shared and when all Canadians can see themselves in the promise of this country.

With this budget, every Canadian should feel there is something for them. It is not only about today; it is about future generations and building for them. It is about making sure that we have a very strong country for generations to come.

As the Prime Minister has said, there can be no prosperity without security. In that vein, I am sure, as I look across the aisle in the eyes of every member in this House, that every member would agree that we need to protect our people, our communities and our country. Every Canadian expects every member of this House to be there for them.

When it comes to our security and sovereignty, we should all be rising to defend what we are proposing. A confident nation protects its sovereignty at home and its interests abroad, through strength, stability and partnership with allies who share our values. This is what we are doing.

With $30 billion over five years, budget 2025 represents the largest defence investment in decades.

I have even more good news. We will meet our 2% NATO commitment this year. We will modernize NORAD. We will reinforce our Arctic defence, and we will equip our brave men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces with the infrastructure and technology they need to safeguard our nation. We will do that because we believe in Canada.

With our new Defence Investment Agency and defence industrial strategy, we will build up Canada's defence industry, strengthening Canadian businesses, supporting Canadian workers and creating good union jobs across our country. Our work on defence will strengthen the Canadian research centres. It will strengthen Canadian communities in the north, working with our Inuit and first nations partners across the country, by building dual-use infrastructure like ports and runways to make sure that every community can benefit when we invest.

Our plan will create new jobs for our engineers, technicians and scientists in sectors such as aerospace, shipbuilding, cybersecurity and AI. We will hire 1,000 new border services officers and 1,000 new RCMP personnel to secure our borders and keep our communities safe.

Finally, by investing in law enforcement and justice reform, we will tackle organized crime, gun violence and auto theft. We will also invest and we will continue, with passion and determination, as my colleague, the Minister of Women and Gender Equality, is doing, the important work with the provinces and territories to end gender-based violence. My colleague is doing an outstanding job, and we will continue to support her.

Every Canadian should feel safe, and I want to commend the leadership of my colleague. She is extraordinary. She has been there leading the way to make sure we invest and continue this important work across our nation.

As we strengthen our security partnerships, it is essential that we continue deepening our economic partnerships. In order to build a stronger future, we must increase trade, innovate faster and play a leading role in clean and conventional energy.

Trade has always been one of Canada's strengths, connecting our population, our resources and our industries to the rest of the world, but too much of that trade depends on a single partner.

Through budget 2025, we are launching a trade diversification strategy supported by a trade diversification corridors fund to expand Canada's reach and double our overseas exports within a decade, which will unlock $300 billion in new opportunities for Canadian businesses and workers. This is good news for small and medium-sized businesses. This is good news for exporters. This is good news because now they see we are going to expand our markets. We are going to bring what Canada has to offer to the world.

We will strengthen ports, railways and ports of entry, we will reduce bottlenecks, and we will open faster routes to global markets, because when Canadian businesses are competitive and successful abroad, Canadian workers and communities prosper right here at home.

I think all of us can agree that Canada is the best place to live. It is the reason top talent from around the world want to come here. They see opportunities and possibilities to contribute to cutting-edge research in our country.

With our flagship international talent attraction strategy of more than $1.7 billion, we will make sure that the best and brightest continue to chose Canada to innovate, invent and grow our industry. The best and brightest will come to Canada.

This is how we build a Canada strong: by making a generational investment of $115 billion over five years in measures that will drive productivity and competitiveness. We will supercharge growth in Canada and become the strongest economy in the G7 because we believe in Canada.

Let me be clear to all Canadians watching at home tonight. Productivity is not about working harder. It is about working smarter. It is about how well we mobilize ideas, workers, investment and innovation to generate growth. It is what drives up wages in our country, improves living standards and strengthens public services.

For too long, Canada's productivity has been lagging—a challenge we can and must overcome.

Artificial intelligence will be the defining technology of our time, just as electricity was in the last century.

AI will play a key role, along with quantum and other advanced technologies, to put Canada on a path of sustained growth.

Remember, Canada was the very first country in the world to have an AI national strategy and an AI quantum strategy. We have some of the best researchers, and some of them have even won the Nobel Prize. We have the brains, we have the capacity and we have the will. We will lead because we believe in Canada.

We will become a productivity and innovation powerhouse through a number of measures. The first is our productivity superdeduction to create the right climate for businesses to invest in new machinery, equipment and technologies. There will be a bold expansion of projects of national interest in artificial intelligence, clean technology and advanced manufacturing. We will turn Canadian innovation into industrial strength, and we will enhance tax incentives for Canadian builders to conduct research and development in this country and make it seamless for them to apply to these essential tax credits that will drive innovation and productivity.

Budget 2025 is about productivity and competitiveness. It is about a road map for Canada to be the place to invest. It is already great; we are going to make it greater together.

Obviously the numbers in a budget can seem a bit abstract for people watching and wondering what they mean to them, so let me make them very concrete.

As I said earlier, this budget will unleash $1 trillion in total investment over the next five years. That would boost the average wage in Canada by some $3,000 per year. That is what the budget means for workers. That is what it means for families. That is what it means for Canadians.

It would add $15 billion to federal revenues that can support health care, lower taxes and pay down Canada's debt.

We choose Canada. We will make Canada strong because we believe in Canada.

Throughout our history, we have opened our doors to the world. We have always welcomed people fleeing the most difficult situations, people seeking to study at our world-class universities and people willing to share their expertise and drive innovation in Canada, people wanting to contribute to Canada.

We are taking back control of the immigration system and putting Canada on a trajectory to bring immigration back to sustainable levels, allowing us to fulfill the promise of Canada to the people who call it home. Our plan will restore control and will provide clarity and consistency to the immigration system while maintaining compassion in our choices and driving competitiveness in our economy.

Our plan will allow us to ensure better control of our immigration system while maintaining our approach based on our Canadian values.

Climate action is not only a moral obligation, it is an economic necessity. The key to competitiveness and growth is also to be a leader in a low-carbon economy.

Our climate competitiveness strategy turns Canada's natural wealth—critical minerals, clean power—into lasting prosperity. Reducing our emissions is essential to protecting the competitiveness of Canada's energy sectors. We are introducing a comprehensive suite of clean economy investment tax credits—measures that are already generating billions of dollars in private capital for projects in hydrogen, carbon capture, and clean electricity.

Canada is the place to invest, and we understand also that this is not only the right thing to do but also the smart thing to do. I want to commend the work of my colleagues who have been leading the effort on that, because these investments would allow us to modernize our networks. They will allow us to have projects of national interest, and they will also make sure we connect Canada with our electricity network.

By becoming a global leader in clean technology and clean energy, Canada can strengthen its competitive advantage and help our industries thrive in the global economy.

Let me talk about our youth, because our youth are the future of this nation.

In Canada, we have the most skilled and talented workers, as well as the most educated workforce in the world. We can all be very proud of that.

Every time, and I know my colleagues join me in this, we know it is because of the talent, the expertise and the dedication of our workers that Canada wins. They are the best workers in the world. That is why we see investment. Every day they go to work, and obviously it is thanks to their service to our nation and their talent that we can succeed. We will continue to work with them to make Canada the place to invest.

Budget 2025 expands learning, training and growth opportunities for young people. It creates new pathways for careers in construction, clean energy and manufacturing. It is essential that we give the next generation the confidence and skills needed to succeed.

When we talk about youth and future generations, I think every member of this House should pay attention, because they are the future of our country.

Through a suite of new measures, we will extend union training, extend the tax credit to personal support workers, who, in doing their work, are always there for our people, and enhance labour mobility. Canadian workers will drive Canada's economic transformation with new skills and training, and they will seize the exciting, high-paying careers and good union jobs that it will create.

In the words of the Canadian Labour Congress, “These measures signal a shift toward putting workers at the heart of Canada's economic strategy.” We should all be proud. Workers will always be at the heart of our economic strategy.

This is how we give Canadians the tools they need to shape the future. This is how we build Canada strong.

To conclude, the budget I am tabling today is our framework for Canada's future and a road map to prosperity and resilience.

It all comes down to a choice between two visions: one vision of resignation, a vision that would scale back the vital support Canadians rely on, make it harder for families to find a home and leave our country more vulnerable, poorer and dependent; and another vision, one rooted in confidence in Canadians and in the belief that by making generational investments today, we can build lasting prosperity for tomorrow by putting more money in people's pockets, by ensuring every Canadian can retire with dignity, by making the dream of home ownership a reality once again, by building the infrastructure our cities need to grow and by keeping our communities safe for our children and our parents.

That is the path we choose. That is the path of budget 2025. I even see smiles on the other side. That is a good sign.

Budget 2025 makes our choice clear. We choose confidence over resignation. We choose to empower Canadians, to build this country together and to protect what we hold dear.

It is about confidence in ourselves, in our capacity to adapt and in this country's promise.

It is about a Canada that builds, protects and empowers. It is about moving from reliance to resilience, and from uncertainty to prosperity.

Let us seize the moment. Let us build Canada strong, because we are, and will always be, the true north, strong and free.

Long live Canada.

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Bloc, Joliette—Manawan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Minister of Finance for his speech, which was as long as a Fidel Castro speech.

The minister says this is a generational budget. When we read it, we see that it mentions $115 billion for infrastructure. When we look at the numbers, we see only $9 billion in new money over five years. That is not even $2 billion a year in new money for all infrastructure, despite the massive deficit.

Is that what he considers a generational budget?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have a great deal of respect for my colleague, but yes, it is a generational investment budget. I can tell him that we were innovative with this budget. He should be very pleased.

I know that the Quebeckers watching us are happy because for the first time, in our infrastructure fund, there will also be funding for health infrastructure, an issue raised by Quebec. Quebec has asked us to invest alongside it in health care, in clinics and hospitals, to ensure that everyone has access to modern infrastructure.

We answered Quebec's call. We answered the call of Quebeckers. We answered the call of Canadians. Our infrastructure investment plan is generational. It will make our communities stronger, and we should all be very proud of that.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary East, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the numbers do not lie. The Liberals have sacrificed the future of young Canadians. The deficit is a massive $80 billion this year, with more inflation and higher costs.

The Prime Minister promised he would spend less and again broke his promise and is spending more. He is forcing young Canadians to sacrifice more so he can spend more.

After 10 years of the Liberal government, housing costs have doubled, food bank usage has doubled and youth employment is the lowest it has been in 25 years. The cost on the interest of the government's debt is more than GST revenues or what goes to the provinces in health care transfers.

Today, the finance minister had a choice to make. Food prices could have come down. They could have been cheaper, but again, he refused to do this.

The Liberals kept in place their industrial carbon tax, their food packaging tax and the clean fuel standard and added $80 billion of inflationary fuel to the fire.

Why did the finance minister leave in place Liberal hidden food taxes and force higher food costs on single mothers, seniors and young Canadians?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we made a clear choice. We chose Canadians.

I know the budget has many pages. Maybe my colleague missed a chapter, but let me help him because we have a bit of time.

We made the choice to invest in Canadians. We made the choice to protect and build our communities. We made the choice to invest in our young people. We made the choice to invest in our workers. We made the choice to invest in housing. We made the choice to invest in infrastructure. We made the choice to invest in productivity and competitiveness. We made the choice to invest in our defence.

I hope the Conservatives see that and that their constituents will be watching. Will they make the choice to invest in Canadians as well?

On this side of the House, the answer is clear. We will take no lessons from the Conservatives. We will take lessons from history.

[Éric Lefebvre, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, even the rating agencies are sounding the alarm. For the first time in 30 years, Quebec's credit rating has been downgraded. It is all because investment spending exceeds what Quebeckers can afford.

This Liberal government is doing exactly the same thing with investment spending that exceeds what Canadians can afford. It has already maxed out our children's credit cards, our grandchildren's credit cards and now it is maxing out our great-grandchildren's credit cards.

After 10 years of Liberal deficits, the government has mortgaged the future of an entire generation. Canadians have had enough, and young people have lost hope.

How much longer will the government keep going into debt on the backs of our children to finance its inflationary spending?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Mr. Speaker, perhaps we should start over and give him another chance.

There is a difference between spending and investing. The member should be happy because the people in his riding will see investments in infrastructure. They may even see investments in health care infrastructure. The plan we are proposing today is an investment plan, a generational budget of generational investments.

People at home understand that we need to invest in our prosperity. We need to invest in our young people. We need to invest in our workers. We need to invest in our industries. We need to invest in Canada.

On this side of the House, we believe in Canada.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, since this government came to power, the fight against climate change has experienced a lot of setbacks. Carbon pricing is gone and there is no money for electric vehicles. There are pipelines and LNG projects. We were told that we would see a climate competitiveness strategy.

Looking at this budget, we see a $589-million investment in this strategy until 2030. Of the $589 million, $585 million is going to critical minerals. That leaves $4 million over five years for their climate competitiveness strategy.

Are the Liberals literally giving up the fight against climate change?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I understand that my colleague has had a lot of reading to get through today, but there is an entire chapter on climate competitiveness. We understand that it is not only the right thing to do, but also the smart thing to do.

My colleague will be pleased to see what is in the budget. I will give him this evening to read the budget, but he will see the many investment tax credits it provides for clean technologies. On this side of the House, we know that we can build a strong, low-carbon economy. This budget addresses that issue.

We are going to be there for this generation and future generations. We are going to invest in Canadian industry.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Quebeckers and Canadians are facing an employment crisis with unemployment rates at a 10-year high, especially among young people. Yet the government wants to cut 40,000 public service jobs. These are good union jobs that support families, and the Liberals want to eliminate them.

Every one of these employees is providing services to Quebeckers and Canadians, and they need them. The Prime Minister told Canadians during the election that he would cap the number of employees within the public service, not cut their positions.

Why is this Liberal government breaking its promise by cutting good jobs and services at a time when people need them the most?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

We are in Ottawa. I would like to reassure all public service employees, who do exceptional work. I think everyone in the House can applaud them. These are men and women who are there to serve Canadians. We thank them for their work. We value their work.

In our plan, we are saying that we will bring the public service back to a more sustainable size. We will do so in a compassionate and judicious manner. Most of these measures will be implemented through attrition. I think families here in Ottawa can sleep soundly tonight. We will be there for them.

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the last budget, of two years ago, had a fiscal anchor of a deficit of less than 1% of GDP in future years and constantly declining debt-to-GDP ratios in subsequent years. This budget has a fiscal anchor of deficits averaging 2% of GDP over the next number of years and a rising debt-to GDP ratio.

Will the finance minister confirm that his fiscal anchor is weaker than the last finance minister's fiscal anchor?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have a lot of respect for my colleague, but he might have noticed that the world has changed, and this is a new government, and—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

Order, please.

The hon. Minister of Finance has the floor.

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Mr. Speaker, let me repeat that, because I know they like to hear it: Canada has the strongest fiscal position in the G7. We are not the only ones who have said it; the director of the International Monetary Fund has said that Canada and Germany stand out.

We have the fiscal capacity to invest. We are going to build this country and we are going to protect this nation. We are going to build Canada strong together.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate the minister on his first budget speech. It was a very long speech, and given that this Liberal government is adding about $10 million to our national debt every hour, it must be the most expensive speech in the history of this Parliament.

I think we can say that while talk is cheap, it is very expensive when a Liberal finance minister speaks.

Every dollar the government spends comes out of the pockets of Canadians. The more the government spends, the more things cost. That is how the Liberals managed to double the cost of housing and double the lineups at food banks. That is why Conservatives want an affordable budget for a more affordable Canada.

The current government is the most expensive in Canadian history. Every dollar the Prime Minister spends comes out of the pockets of Canadians. The more the Liberals spend, the more things cost. That is why Conservatives were calling for an affordable budget for an affordable life, after the Liberals doubled the cost of housing and doubled the lineups at food banks.

Today, the Liberals have introduced the largest and most costly deficit in the history of our country, outside of the COVID‑19 crisis. It will drive up the cost of food, housing and many other things.

The cost of this Liberal budget will drive up the cost of food, housing and everything else that Canadians buy.

The Prime Minister has broken every single promise he made just seven short months ago. He promised a $62-billion deficit; he delivered a nearly $80-billion deficit, $16 billion bigger than he promised and twice the size of the one his predecessor left behind. He promised to lower the debt-to-GDP ratio; he raised it and inflation along with it. He promised to spend less; he is spending $90 billion more, costing $5,400 per family in Canada, and that $90 billion is above and beyond the promised $16 billion that he says he will one day find.

[An hon. member]

Oh, oh!

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Battle River—Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, if he does not find it, it will be over $100 billion in brand new spending, to respond to the Prime Minister's heckles.

He also promised that he would invest more. His own budget document lays out a graph showing that every quarter of this year will see private sector business investment collapse. This costly budget forces Canadians to spend more on debt interest than on health care transfers and more than the government collects in GST. This means that every dollar that Canadians pay in GST would go to bankers and bondholders instead of to doctors and nurses. That is all while he raises the industrial carbon tax on farm equipment and fertilizer and therefore food, as well as on steel, concrete and other industrial projects needed to build homes: a big tax increase on homes and food.

Instead, our party wanted an affordable budget for an affordable life. On behalf of all the Canadians who can no longer afford to eat, heat or house themselves because of Liberal inflation, we Conservatives cannot support this costly Liberal budget.

However, there is still time for the Prime Minister to do the right thing. We will put forward an amendment that would transform this policy by making Canada affordable again. It would get rid of the industrial carbon tax and cut the wasteful spending to bring down debt, inflation and taxes. It would open our country up to opportunity by developing our prodigious resources and clear away bureaucracy to build affordable homes.

We are asking the Prime Minister to accept our amendment to make life more affordable, deliver more powerful paycheques for Canadians and make our economy more independent.

That is the approach we are proposing. We are proposing an economy that is affordable for young people, that provides security for seniors, and that protects Canada's promise to anyone who works hard.

We want a hopeful future. For our young people, we want homes, jobs and hope. For our seniors, we want affordability. We want, for all Canadians who work hard, to bring back the promise of Canada.

With that, I move:

That the debate be now adjourned.

(Motion agreed to)

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

Pursuant to Standing Order 83(2), the motion is deemed adopted and the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 2 p.m. pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 5:24 p.m.)