Debates of June 10th, 2025

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

[Tamara Jansen, Conservative, Cloverdale—Langley City, BC]

Mr. Chair, the number is around $1.3 trillion, but how much does our debt servicing cost?

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

Mr. Chair, the member is a very experienced member, but the number is $1.27 trillion.

[Tamara Jansen, Conservative, Cloverdale—Langley City, BC]

Mr. Chair, the question was, what are the debt-servicing costs?

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

Mr. Chair, we might as well be precise. The federal debt, from “The Fiscal Monitor” for April to March—

[The Chair, Conservative, Tom Kmiec]

The hon. member has less than eight seconds.

[Tamara Jansen, Conservative, Cloverdale—Langley City, BC]

Mr. Chair, it is around $60 billion. How much is the current deficit?

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

Mr. Chair, as I just said, if the member wanted to be precise with numbers, she would know that the federal debt is $1.27 trillion.

[The Chair, Conservative, Tom Kmiec]

The Minister of Finance and National Revenue.

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

Mr. Chair, it is a great pleasure to be with you this evening and with my colleagues, whom I truly appreciate. We will be spending a wonderful evening together.

I want to begin by thanking all the deputy ministers who are with us this evening. This is an important evening during which I will have an opportunity to address this important committee of the whole. I would also like to thank all the senior officials who helped prepare for this evening, as well as my opposition colleagues, who play an important role in our democracy by asking questions, as they will this evening.

I would like to speak specifically to some of the spending measures outlined in the main estimates that are helping to support Canadians during this period of great economic volatility while preparing us for the opportunities available to us as a nation.

From increasing federal transfers that uphold the core Canadian values of equal opportunity and social stability, to helping Ukraine in its fight against Russia's war of aggression and investing in the infrastructure projects that transform our communities for the better, our government is delivering the change Canadians want and deserve. I look forward to outlining these measures further as they pertain to building a greater, more inclusive and more robust economy for everyone.

Our government is committed to helping the provinces and territories deliver the social programs and supports that Canadians need to maintain their financial, personal and social well-being, no matter where they live in our great country.

That is why—and I know my Conservative colleagues will be very interested in this part of my speech—the Canada health transfers will increase by $2.6 billion. This will ease immediate pressures on health care systems across Canada and ensure that more people can get to the hospital, receive emergency care and see a doctor quickly and efficiently. This increase reflects the federal government's February 2023 commitment to a minimum growth rate of 5% until 2027‑28.

The Canadian social transfer, which I know my Conservative colleagues care a lot about as well, will increase by $507 million as a result of the legislated 3% annual growth rate. What we call the Canada social transfer is intended to support three broad areas of social programming plus post-secondary education, social assistance and social services, as well as early childhood development, and early learning and child care. These all contribute to improving the social determinants of health from coast to coast to coast.

Together, these transfers will promote more equity, boost social inclusion and cohesion and support a comprehensive safety net so vital to the Canadian way of life. My colleagues on this side of the house, the Liberal government, have always been there for Canadians. I know Canadians watching know we have their backs.

I think we can all agree that people in one part of the country should not have to pay more to receive the same basic services compared to their fellow Canadians in other parts of the country. This is all about fairness. It is why we have equalization and territorial formula financing, which, as members well know, provides funding from federal revenues to provinces and territories with a weaker ability to raise revenues, ensuring these regions can provide reasonably comparable services at reasonably comparable levels of taxation. The territorial formula financing also takes into account the higher cost of delivering services in our beloved north.

We are increasing fiscal equalization by nearly $970 million and territorial financing by almost $330 million so we can continue promoting equity across our great nation.

Another increase worth mentioning is the allocation of $200 million to the World Bank's Ukraine relief, recovery, reconstruction and reform trust fund, which will assist the country in its courageous fight against Russia's illegal invasion. This amount is part of Canada's contribution through the G7's extraordinary revenue acceleration loan initiative for Ukraine. It will be used to support projects, programs and activities that address Ukraine's budget, recovery and reconstruction needs.

Finally, I would like to touch on one important increase in the main estimates, which is to the Canada Infrastructure Bank. It was established to ensure that all Canadians can benefit from modern and sustainable infrastructure through partnerships between the private sector and all levels of government.

Specifically, the federal government can provide up to $35 billion to the Canada Infrastructure Bank to invest in priority sectors, including public transit, green infrastructure, clean energy, broadband access, trade and transportation.

By making this investment, we will build a stronger, more inclusive and more sustainable Canada for all Canadians. I can already see my Bloc Québécois colleagues smiling, because we are united in building a strong Canada. I can see it in their eyes. They are proud to support us as we build a strong Canada together.

Before I conclude, I would like to highlight some crucial measures the new government is taking to make life more affordable while building a single, interconnected and resilient Canadian economy, the one economy that I think everyone in the House and people at home are wishing for.

To make buying a new home easier and to boost the construction of new homes across the country, including in the beautiful Quebec City, the government is eliminating the goods and services tax, what we call the GST, for first-time homebuyers on new homes up to $1 million and reducing the GST for first-time homebuyers on new homes between $1 million and $1.5 million.

This is a great moment for Canada, and I can see how much you appreciate that, Madam Chair, because it is going to help people in your riding as well.

As a result, first-time homebuyers would be able to save up to $50,000 on new homes, and it would deliver $3.9 billion in tax savings to Canadians over the next five years. We should all be very happy to support people who want to buy a new home for the first time, as a new buyer.

In addition, we are putting forward our proposal to reduce the marginal tax rate for the first tax bracket of personal income from 15% to 14% effective July 1, 2025. This will provide much-needed tax relief to nearly 22 million Canadians. Twenty-two million Canadians will be able to benefit from this tax cut, which is important for the middle class.

To make Canada's carbon pricing system more equitable and efficient, the Government of Canada has adopted regulations terminating the federal fuel charge effective April 1, 2025. The government has removed the requirement for provinces and territories to have a carbon price for consumers.

In conclusion, the measures in the main estimates presented before the committee today are an important part of the federal government's plan to put people first and build a single, hyper-connected economy where everyone has a real and fair chance at success. We want to build the strongest economy in the G7.

We are ensuring Canadians receive the health and social services they need to thrive. We are supporting Canadians through the current global challenges we face, by cutting taxes and making housing more affordable. We are catalyzing infrastructure investment and creating well-paying jobs across the country.

Let us be proud. We are the true north, strong and free.

[Arielle Kayabaga, Liberal, London West, ON]

Madam Chair, examining estimates provides members of the House the opportunity to examine the government's finances in granular detail, but if we take a step back, I would also like to ask the minister some macro-level questions.

Just as he was also sent here, London West residents sent me to the House to make sure that our government takes concrete measures to make life more affordable. Can the finance minister expand on the steps that the government has recently taken to make life more affordable for Canadians and how it would impact the Canadian economy and our finances going forward?

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

Madam Chair, this is a great question. My colleague is spot-on.

What I said was that we introduced a ways and means motion that was voted for unanimously in the House, which contains three things.

The first thing is cutting taxes for 22 million Canadians. This is probably one of the most important things we could do to help people with affordability because we are leaving more money in the pockets of Canadians. I know people watching at home care about that, and we have reduced the first bracket of imposition from 15% to 14%, which would be a real help to families across the nation.

The second thing we did is really for first-time homebuyers, which is very significant. For first-time homebuyers we have eliminated the GST for houses up to $1 million, for that represents $50,000 in savings. This is very significant for young families and for people who want to get in and buy a house. I know people are rejoicing at home tonight.

[Arielle Kayabaga, Liberal, London West, ON]

Madam Chair, the election was about who can fight for Canadians against the unjustified tariffs. How have the unjustified and illegal U.S. tariffs impacted Canada's economy forecasts, and what measures is the government taking to counter American tariffs to support Canadian industries and workers in our regions across Canada, especially in southwestern Ontario?

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

Madam Chair, my colleague raised a very important question.

The Prime Minister has been clear from day one that we are going to fight. We are going to fight the unjustified and illegal tariffs that have been imposed on Canada, on our communities, on our workers and on our industries. At the same time, we are going to protect our workers and our industries, because we said we will have their back; that is what we are doing on a daily basis, but at the same time, we are going to build Canada.

I know that the members of the House care about that, and the Prime Minister said something that really resonated with me and with many Canadians: We can give to ourselves far more than anyone can take away from us as Canadians. We are the true north strong and free, and the mission we have to build a strong, resilient and ambitious Canada is resonating from coast to coast to coast.

I am happy that my colleague, the member, is supporting that agenda. She is great, and she is doing great work. The people in her riding really appreciate her work.

[Arielle Kayabaga, Liberal, London West, ON]

Madam Chair, does the minister recall Conservative MPs expressing similar amounts of false outrage about fiscal discipline when the Harper government routinely ran up deficits that ran for nearly a decade?

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

Madam Chair, we all remember the years when we had a government that was spending but at the same time did not necessarily have the back of Canadians.

We understand that, in times like this, what we want to do is be there to support Canadians with programs. I can think, for example, of the dental care program. I can think of the programs we have put in place with respect to social security. I can think of the program we did for child care and early learning in this country. Those are the kinds of programs that are part of the fabric of this country, and I know that Canadians watching at home are very attached to these programs.

If we look at the main estimates, we see that a good part of the amounts refer to transfers that would be done to provinces and territories and that also support great services for Canadians.

[Arielle Kayabaga, Liberal, London West, ON]

Madam Chair, can the minister tell the House how building one Canadian economy, versus 13 Canadian economies, will benefit productivity across our country?

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

Madam Chair, this is probably the most important question tonight. I do not want to prejudge the rest, but honestly, once we have one Canadian economy, as I have heard economists repeating time and time again, it is going to unlock GDP growth in this country.

I want to praise the Prime Minister and the premiers across this country, because they came together very recently to say we need to build this country, we need to act as one, we need to make sure that we have one assessment and one project, and we need to make sure that we move to faster approval of projects so we can work together as one nation. This is the time to build. This is the time to be ambitious. This is the time to build the resilient Canada that we all hope for.

[Arielle Kayabaga, Liberal, London West, ON]

Madam Chair, could the minister talk just briefly about the benefit of the middle-class tax cut that is in Bill C-4?

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

Madam Chair, very briefly, it would be great. What can I say? It would be great for Canadians, and even the Conservatives are smiling tonight. What more can we ask for?

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Madam Chair, I salute my colleagues in the official opposition.

I also want to salute the minister. We did not have a chance to talk, and we were not supposed to. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate him on his election.

In early January, the incentive program for zero-emission vehicles was suspended. We were told that there was a lack of funding. People in Quebec who bought an electric vehicle could no longer get the federal credit.

As a result, dealerships, most of which are SMEs and many of which are located in my riding, have to pay $700,000, $800,000, $900,000 and even $1 million. Dealership associations told us that the minister had personally committed to budget the funds in order to repay the subsidy advances made to customers.

Does the minister remember that commitment?

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

Madam Chair, I would first like to congratulate my colleague from Mirabel on his election. He is a colleague whom I have always enjoyed working with. He is a colleague who is always there to advance the interests of Quebec and his constituents. We always enjoy working together.

My colleague will know that we have made major investments in Quebec. We brought Quebec into the automotive industry when I was the industry minister. This is a major achievement that we accomplished with our counterparts in the Quebec government, because we knew that Quebec had to play a role in the automotive industry. We will continue to fight to ensure that Quebec can be part of this great electric vehicle supply chain in this country.

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Madam Chair, does the minister remember the commitment that he made to dealers to provide the necessary funds to reimburse these amounts?

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

Madam Chair, I have had several discussions with the automotive sector in Quebec and Canada. The stakeholders know that I have always worked hand in hand with them, which has allowed us to attract record investments.

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Madam Chair, has the minister provided the funds to reimburse these people?

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

Madam Chair, as I said, we are proud of what we have achieved together, and we will always be there for the auto industry, in both provinces.