Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure, as always, to rise in the House on behalf of the residents of my riding of Davenport to speak to budget 2025.
This is a very important budget, delivered in extraordinary times. Let me begin by being very honest about where we are. The world is more dangerous and divided. The United States, our largest trading partner, is fundamentally changing its trade relationships. Our Prime Minister has called this moment “a rupture.” As he told the Council on Foreign Relations, “This is not a transition; this is a rupture. This is a sharp change in a short period of time”.
Normally, major changes come gradually. This time it has not. The way the United States is going about these changes is causing a massive break, forcing countries to pivot very quickly. It is inelegant, and there are pain points, not just for Canada but for G7 and OECD countries everywhere.
We have to focus on what we can control. Despite the headwinds, Canada has the fiscal capacity to transform our economy. This is our moment to build big, build bold and build now. As our Minister of Finance said, “This budget must be generational in its ambition.... There is no place for withdrawal, ambiguity or even standing still. Only for bold and swift action.”
In my constituency of Davenport, one of the top concerns I hear about is jobs. People are worried. Will they continue to have good-paying jobs? Will their kids have opportunities? Without a good-paying job, it is very hard to afford a home or live a decent life. When I meet young people in my riding, they say, “Please, we want to find work and good work experience.” They want a fair chance to build their future in our country.
I am proud that this budget invests heavily in training and in creating those opportunities. We are providing $1.5 billion over three years to address youth unemployment, including 100,000 Canada summer jobs, which is 30,000 more than this past summer, and 55,000 work-integrated learning opportunities for students, which is 15,000 more than this year.
Davenport is also home to many union construction workers. I want to give a special shout-out to LiUNA and to the painters union, so LiUNA 183 and 506 and IUPAT 46. We are providing $75 million over three years to expand the union training and innovation program for apprenticeship training in the Red Seal trades. For workers impacted by tariffs, we have $570 million over three years for training and employment assistance, plus new workforce alliances bringing together employers, unions and industry groups that will ensure we stay on top of any ongoing supports.
We are also launching a youth climate corps, with $40 million over two years to train young Canadians to respond to climate emergencies and strengthen community resilience.
Arts and culture are very important for the Davenport community. There are a lot of artists in my constituency, and I know they will be a little disappointed that there is not as much money in the budget for programming because these are difficult times and we have had to make some hard choices. However, let me be clear. Culture matters, and the arts matter. During uncertain times, we stay united by sharing—