Madam Speaker, I appreciate the comments my colleagues have been sharing today. It seems we are the only ones who are standing up for Canadians and the travesty of this budget.
We are facing the greatest peacetime fiscal crisis in a generation and it did not have to be this way. The Prime Minister broke every promise he made just six months ago. This is a Prime Minister Canadians simply cannot trust. He promised a $62-billion deficit and delivered an over $78-billion deficit. That is $16 billion in broken promises. He promised to spend less. He is spending $90 billion more, which is $5,400 more in inflationary spending per household. He promised to lower the debt-to-GDP ratio. He is raising both debt and inflation. This budget adds $10 million to our debt every hour. That is $240 million every single day. The federal debt is now over $1.3 trillion, a number so large most Canadians cannot even comprehend it.
Let me be clear about the Liberal pattern. Stephen Harper left the government a balanced budget, achieved through disciplined spending and sound fiscal management. In 2015, Justin Trudeau promised modest deficits and told Canadians that budgets balanced themselves, which is perhaps the most economically illiterate statement in our political history. In 2025, the current Prime Minister presented himself as a fiscal hawk, the supposed adult in the room who would restore fiscal responsibility. The reality is that he will add over $320 billion to the federal debt over five years, more than twice what Trudeau would have added. The fiscal hawk was a fantasy.
I know something about fiscal responsibility under pressure. As the mayor of Moose Jaw during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, I refused to raise property taxes, despite unprecedented challenges. While other governments used COVID as an excuse for unlimited spending, we found efficiencies and maintained financial discipline. I have balanced budgets at the municipal level and fought for fiscal responsibility in the House for four years as an MP. I have managed 120 million dollars' worth of infrastructure projects and brought over $1.3 billion in economic investment to my community while keeping taxes low. I know what real fiscal leadership looks like. This is not it. The fundamental truth the government refuses to acknowledge is simple: It cannot spend its way out of debt; it cannot borrow its way out of debt.
Let me put this fiscal disaster in terms that every Canadian can understand. The debt interest will be $55.6 billion this year. That is over $3,000 per Canadian household. The Liberals talk about making tax cuts, but just add it on. It is nothing but a shell game. They are taking from one hand and giving to another.
When the Prime Minister told Canadians to judge his government by their experience at the grocery store, he set the standard. Seven months later, families are paying almost $1,000 more per year on food, with costs more than doubling since 2015. Record food bank visits and 85% of Canadians citing food affordability as their biggest concern shows he has failed that test. Eighty-six per cent of Canadians are eating less meat, not because they are vegetarians but because they cannot afford it. Families are compromising nutrition for cheaper options. From strawberries up 51% to ground beef climbing 14% since March, no family is immune.
We are spending more on debt interest than health care transfers. We are spending more on debt interest than we collect in GST. Every dollar the Liberals collect in GST goes to the bankers and bondholders, not doctors, not nurses and definitely not veterans. These are the Liberal priorities: bankers first; health care second. Veterans get $185 million over four years, while bankers get $55.6 billion every single year. The government has turned Canada's federal budget into a wealth transfer system, from Canadian families to banks.
When I was mayor, every dollar we saved on interest payments was a dollar we could invest in water infrastructure, in community development and in services residents actually needed. These Liberals have reversed that priority. They have made debt payments the largest line item in the federal budget while telling Canadians that there is no money for the services they need.
I will talk about two different approaches to crisis leadership. In 2020, as the mayor of Moose Jaw during the worst pandemic in a century, I faced the same pressures every leader did. The easy path would have been to raise property taxes and blame COVID for the burden on taxpayers. Instead, I chose fiscal discipline. We found efficiencies. We prioritized spending, and we refused to raise taxes despite unprecedented challenges. That is what real leadership looks like under pressure. The Liberal government chose the opposite path. The Liberals used COVID as an excuse for unlimited deficit spending, and that reckless approach continues today, five years later. The difference is clear: Real leaders find efficiencies during crises. Liberal leaders find excuses to spend.
When in leadership, one has to make tough decisions. Nowhere are the government's misplaced priorities more obvious than in its treatment of Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan taxpayers are funding the Prime Minister's $321.7-billion debt explosion while receiving one copper mine project in return. Our farmers face 100% Chinese tariffs on canola, while the Liberals add $10 million to our debt every hour.
For years, I have advocated in the House for the Lake Diefenbaker irrigation project, a ready-to-proceed initiative that would generate massive economic returns. This project would create jobs and an economic return in one of our most important industries. As I have said repeatedly in Parliament, if the government were serious about helping the agriculture sector, it would continue with projects like the Lake Diefenbaker irrigation project. However, the Liberal response was to ignore it for a decade while spending billions on boat-buying schemes.
While canola exports dropped 17% and Chinese markets closed completely, the Prime Minister prioritized $5,400 per household in new spending over agricultural support. The industrial carbon tax remains in place, adding costs to Saskatchewan farmers already devastated by trade wars. The contrast is staggering. The Lake Diefenbaker project represents a $4-billion investment that would transform Saskatchewan agriculture, create thousands of jobs and create revenue for generations.
Let us stop using announcements as a substitute for achievement. I have spent four years in the House fighting against the government's spending addiction. The math is simple, the choice is clear and the time for excuses is over. The Liberals cannot spend their way out of debt. They cannot announce their way to prosperity. They cannot break every promise and expect Canadians to trust them with their future.