Debates of June 10th, 2025

Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates (A), 2025-26

[Maninder Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton East, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the provinces are very ambitious. The Prime Minister is very ambitious. We have a strong mandate from Canadians to work with the provinces and territories to reduce internal trade barriers.

[Leslie Church, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Secretaries of State for Labour]

Mr. Speaker, I am thankful for the opportunity to participate in this evening's committee of the whole debate on the main estimates.

Before I get into the topic at hand, I would like to take a moment to highlight some of the measures that are so important to the people of my constituency of Toronto—St. Paul's and that our new government is taking to build the strongest economy in the G7 and bring down the cost of living, measures I know the Minister of Finance in particular has been leading on.

Since being elected two months ago, we are already focused on delivering a plan to address the cost of living challenges that have eroded Canadians' quality of life, change that puts more money in the pockets of Canadians, change that builds a more affordable Canada.

The government is well aware of the affordability challenges that have long impacted low-income and vulnerable Canadians and are now having serious impacts on middle-class households. Rents have gone up, and home prices have gone up. A generation of young Canadians are questioning whether they can afford a place to live today and whether they will be able to own a home of their own tomorrow.

That is why the government is taking immediate action to address this crisis, and key to that plan is bringing down costs so Canadians can keep more of their paycheques and spend where it matters most to them.

The government will be eliminating the GST for first-time homebuyers on new homes at or under $1 million. This tax cut alone will save Canadians up to $50,000, allowing more young people and their families to enter the housing market and realize the dream of home ownership. By eliminating the GST, Canadians will face lower upfront housing costs and keep more money in their pockets. It will also have a dynamic effect on increasing supply, spurring the construction of new homes across the country.

We are also delivering a middle-class tax cut that will provide relief for nearly 22 million Canadians and save families up to $840. Canadians will start seeing these tax savings on their paycheques as of July 1, when the rate is adjusted.

We are now formalizing the cancellation of the consumer carbon price, which took effect on April 1.

With these measures, together we are delivering change that will affect people in their day-to-day lives, cut taxes, bring down costs and, most importantly, put money back in the pockets of Canadians.

Turning to the main estimates and some of the spending measures we have laid out, a major element of Finance Canada's portion focuses on Canada's universal public health care system, something that is so important to Canadians.

I am proud of Canada's universal health care system and the workers who uphold it, but they are under enormous strain, and it has been a challenge for Canadians to receive the high-quality care they expect. Patients seeking emergency care have found emergency rooms overwhelmed. Surgeries have been postponed or cancelled.

In the past, the government delivered urgent, much-needed investment to strengthen our public health care system. In budget 2023, the government delivered a plan to provide an additional $198.3 billion over 10 years.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[Leslie Church, Liberal, Toronto—St. Paul's, ON]

Mr. Speaker, to the members opposite, yes, that does constitute a plan to support better health care, including $46.2 billion in new funding for provinces and territories. This included additional funding through the Canada health transfer, tailored bilateral agreements to meet the needs of each province and territory, and the renewal of the territorial health investment fund.

I want to be clear. In exchange for this new funding, provinces and territories committed to improving how health information is collected, shared, used and reported to Canadians to manage public health emergencies and deliver better health outcomes.

The 2025-26 main estimates increase the Canada health transfer by over $2.6 billion, which represents the 5% minimum growth rate guaranteed by the federal government in February 2023. This funding is about working together to improve health care for all Canadians and, most importantly, safeguarding the universal public health care system that we believe in so deeply.

Another important part of ensuring that all Canadians have access to great services like health care is the fiscal equalization program. Fiscal equalization is designed to ensure that Canadians have access to reasonably comparable levels of public services at reasonably comparable levels of taxation, thereby reducing fiscal disparities among the provinces.

The allocation of equalization payments is based on a measure of fiscal capacity, which represents the revenues a province could raise if it were to tax at the national average tax rate. Equalization supports provinces that have a lower-than-average fiscal capacity. It is determined across five broad revenue categories: our personal income taxes, business taxes, consumption, property taxes and natural resource revenues. To enhance the stability and predictability of equalization payments, our fiscal capacity is estimated using a two-year lag in the data and a three-year weighted moving average. What does this all mean? In terms of the main estimates before us, equalization is going to increase by $917 million in 2025-26, which will directly impact the quality of and access to services that many Canadians rely on, an important part of maintaining our federation.

The main estimates also provide an increase of $507 million to the Canada social transfer, a transfer that is very important to me and to many of my constituents in Toronto—St. Paul's. It is going to provide an increase at a 3% annual growth rate. The Canada social transfer, or the CST, is the third-largest federal block transfer to provinces and territories, after the health transfer and equalization. It is intended to support three broad areas of critical social programs: post-secondary education, social assistance and social services, and early childhood development and early learning and child care. It is allocated on an equal per capita cash basis to provide comparable treatment for all Canadians regardless of where they live. The CST funding has been legislated to grow by 3% annually. It is an important piece of the funding that this government delivers for Canadians across the country to uphold some of the very basic social services that we rely on.

Finally, there is an increase of almost $330 million in territorial financing. The territorial formula financing program helps territorial governments fund essential public services in Canada's north, such as hospitals, schools, infrastructure and social services. It recognizes the high cost of providing public services in the north, as well as the challenges the territorial governments face in providing these services to a large number of small, isolated communities. These communities are vitally important, particularly now, as we work to strengthen our Arctic sovereignty and defence.

Before I conclude, there are two important funding increases in the main estimates that I wish the House to be aware of. One is to the World Bank's financial intermediary fund for Ukraine, and one is to the Canada Infrastructure Bank. Specifically, the government will be providing a $200-million contribution to the World Bank's International Bank for Reconstruction and Development for the financial intermediary fund for Ukraine in support of the Ukrainian government. This is part of Canada's contribution through the G7 leaders' extraordinary revenue acceleration loan mechanism and will be used to support projects, programs and activities that address Ukraine's budget, recovery and reconstruction needs at this extremely challenging time.

The Canada Infrastructure Bank has made more than $15.8 billion in investment commitments in priority investment sectors, including transit, green infrastructure, clean power, broadband access and trade and transportation. In total, the federal government can provide up to $35 billion to the Canada Infrastructure Bank to support infrastructure projects across the country. This is a big part of our government's commitment to getting big things done.

In conclusion, the measures contained in Finance Canada's main estimates are an important part of the government's commitment to transparency and to using public funds responsibly to deliver results to Canadians. With these significant investments, we will strengthen Canada's public health care system, address affordability challenges, create opportunities for Canadian workers, and build a stronger, more secure and more sustainable 21st century economy for everyone.

Mr. Speaker, over 60% of households in Toronto—St. Paul's are renters. Would the Minister of Finance elaborate on how the government will be reducing the rising costs of living and, in particular, making purchases of a new home more affordable to Canadians?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Finance and National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, I would first like to congratulate my colleague from Toronto—St. Paul's. She is an extraordinary colleague. I have had a chance to see her in action in so many ways. She held various senior posts in finance as well, and we could see that in her speech. I am sure the people of Toronto—St. Paul's have been watching tonight at home and listening to her and saying that this is someone who understands finance; this is someone who understands how to build a country; this is someone who is going to make a great contribution to the House of Commons. I think we should all be listening to her and learning from her.

I even see my Conservative colleagues so enthusiastic about listening and engaging with her because they want to learn as well. I know them. They want to learn. It is great to see so many Conservatives wanting to learn from an hon. member who knows something about finance. She really provided to all the colleagues this kind of overarching chapeau about everything we are doing to support Canadians, and there are a lot of learnings. I saw that the Conservatives were taking notes. That is a good sign. When they are taking notes, they see all the good things we are doing.

In particular, the member talked about the health transfer. She talked about equalization. She talked about all the transfers to help Canadians, the people in Toronto—St. Paul's and across the nation. However, there is one other measure she mentioned. Housing is an issue. It is an issue in Toronto, but also around the country.

The member talked about one of the measures, which is the elimination of GST for first-time homebuyers. On a home of up to $1 million, people can save up to $50,000. This is very significant. I can see the impact it is having in Canada. That is the type of policy that Canadians want to see. I can see the enthusiasm even from the Conservatives because they voted in favour. For once, they did the right thing and voted for Canadians.

[Leslie Church, Liberal, Toronto—St. Paul's, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the estimates raised an important issue to me and to my constituents in Toronto—St. Paul's around Ukraine. I was wondering if the minister would describe the measures under way to support Ukraine as it seeks to defend its sovereignty, its territorial integrity and its economy at this very challenging time facing the invasion by Russia.

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

Mr. Speaker, that is a very important question. Like I said, when we had the G7 meeting, we had the opportunity to show the world that Canada and the other G7 finance colleagues were standing shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine. In fact, there is good news in the main estimates: There is an increase in the development and financial intermediary response for Ukraine of $200 million.

What the Ukrainians want is deeds, is action, and this is Canada supporting Ukraine in a very tangible way. We have been there for Ukraine, we are there for Ukraine, and we will be there for Ukraine because they are fighting for democracy and they are fighting for dignity. Canadians are proud to support our Ukrainian friends at this particular—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. parliamentary secretary.

[Leslie Church, Liberal, Toronto—St. Paul's, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the main estimates also spend a great deal of time and put funding toward the Canada health transfer. Would the minister be able to elaborate on how this new investment in our health system is going to support Canadians' desire for a strong universal public health system?

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The minister has less than a minute.

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

Mr. Speaker, it will take me less than a minute to provide good news to Canadians. If we look at the increase for the Canada health transfer, we are talking about an increase of $2.6 billion. This is money that would go to support health care in Toronto—St. Paul's, in Shawinigan, in Brampton and everywhere across the country. This is really good news. We have a government that is standing up for Canadians and helping them and increasing the health transfer.

I know my colleague participated in these important discussions. The people of Toronto—St. Paul's should be very proud to have a member who has been part of making Canada fairer and making sure that we would support the health transfer and support provinces and territories in providing health care to our citizens.

[Dean Allison, Conservative, Niagara West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I want to let you know that I will be splitting my time.

Is the Minister of Finance going to be using taxpayer dollars to travel out of the country this week?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Finance and National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I am happy to say hello to my colleague. He was my critic when I was a young man, when I started in this House. Now I see that, 10 years later, I still have the pleasure to have to answer his questions. He comes from a great region. My dad lives next to him—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. member for Niagara West has the floor.

[Dean Allison, Conservative, Niagara West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, is the Minister of Finance planning on travelling to the Bilderberg Meeting this week using taxpayer dollars?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to answer questions from my colleague. Like I said, he comes from a great region, where my family is also. I have seen him in action. It is great to see that—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. member has the floor.

[Dean Allison, Conservative, Niagara West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I just want to ask the finance minister why he believes that he should spend time at the Bilderberg Meeting rather than actually tabling a budget.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am so glad to hear that my colleague is actually paying so much attention to what I do. I also travel to Shawinigan every weekend, and I would be glad to invite him there as well. He seems to be very interested in where I am going. It is great. I travel—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. member has the floor.

[Dean Allison, Conservative, Niagara West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I want to talk about tariffs. How does the government come up with criteria for countertariffs on agriculture products? Is there a framework that is followed, or is it on a case-by-case basis?

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

Mr. Speaker, the member went from travel to tariffs; I guess that is because they both start with “T”. That must be in the order of questions.

Colleagues would know that there is a great framework in place. My colleague is an experienced member—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. member has the floor.

[Dean Allison, Conservative, Niagara West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, are there any publicly available guidelines or processes farmers and businesses in my riding can look at to get a better understanding of how the Government of Canada makes decisions on countertariffs or tariffs in general?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would be pleased to speak to the member's constituents. I know a few of them, and they are great people. I can refer them to the April 15 press release. There is a lot of good information there. I know our Conservative colleagues would like to read the press releases of the Liberal government—