Mr. Speaker, it is an honour and a privilege to rise in the House of Commons once again, after a hard-fought election. I would like to sincerely thank the constituents of Niagara West for putting their trust in me to represent them and to be their voice in Ottawa for the eighth consecutive time. Niagara West is home to hard-working, good folks, and I am humbled to serve them.
I also want to mention our excellent campaign team, which got the job done. We had dozens of extraordinary volunteers who helped me get across the finish line. I thank everyone who put the work in. I will always remember and appreciate it.
I would also like to thank my family and my friends, and especially my wife, Rebecca. Whether it is during campaign time or while we are here in Ottawa, it requires a special type of person to be the spouse or the significant other of a political candidate or member of Parliament. I thank Rebecca for standing by my side for more than 10 years as we continue this journey together. This journey is about my passion to serve the constituents of Niagara West. My dedication to them has never wavered, and my pledge to them is to continue working tirelessly on their behalf.
With the election now behind us, our Conservative Party begins this Parliament with a stronger and bigger nationwide Conservative team. We added 2.4 million votes compared to the last election, with a total of over eight million votes, which is the biggest vote count and the biggest increase in votes in our party's history, the biggest vote share since 1998 and the best result in Newfoundland in two decades. Twenty-five additional Conservative members of Parliament have joined us in this place. I will add that it was 1.2 million more votes than Doug Ford got in February in Ontario for Conservatives in Ontario.
We expanded our support and coalition to include union workers, young people, newcomers and many others who had never voted before. Our message was one of hope and change, and it still is. I am proud of what we have achieved, although, yes, we did come up a little bit short.
As we begin another Parliament, it is no secret that we are facing many challenges in this country. We have unjustified U.S. tariffs hurting our people and the economy. We have a housing crisis. We have challenges of innovation, investment and productivity, and high youth unemployment. We have an out-of-control immigration system. We have discontent in our western provinces, with some western folks even thinking that separating from Canada would leave them better off. Clearly there is a lot of work for us to do in this place.
Earlier this spring, the Prime Minister was elected with a minority government, so he will need the support of other members of the House to successfully pass his agenda. As our Conservative leader said, we will work together with the government on initiatives that will make life better for all Canadians; we will also hold the government to account when it does the opposite.
Unfortunately, just a few weeks into the government's mandate, we are already seeing the challenges in how the Prime Minister and his ministers are approaching several files. I would like to address some of these in my reply to the Speech from the Throne. The Speech from the Throne, as we know, was delivered by His Majesty King Charles III on behalf of the government. It is the government's plan on how to deal with the problems Canadians face, one of which is trade.
We are all aware of the U.S. tariffs on Canada and how these tariffs are hurting Canadians and Canadian businesses. Conservatives believe that Canada needs to be self-reliant and much less dependent on the United States. One solution is free trade within Canada. For folks watching at home who are not yet aware, there are still dozens of regulations and red tape that makes it difficult for provinces to trade with one another.
Our Conservative team believes that Canada needs true free trade so workers can earn more, prices fall and businesses boom. We believe that Canada must fire up free enterprise to build pipelines, power lines, ports, rails, roads and tech so we are strong, self-reliant and sovereign. However, is that the government's approach? It does not seem like it.
There are deadlines the Liberals have given themselves, but not much in the way of details. Deadlines cannot be met without a plan. Do they actually have a plan? They do not exactly. The Prime Minister has even refused to put forward a budget this spring. Sure, there is a new spending bill in the docket, but details are scarce. It is not a plan; it is a half-trillion-dollar spending bill but not a budget.
Unfortunately, it is beginning to look as though the new Liberal government is just like the old one. In many ways, its spending bill is even worse than what we saw from the previous prime minister. It has massive increases in consultants, bureaucracies and the overall cost of government. What is discouraging is that the Prime Minister has already broken his promise. He promised to keep spending growth to 2% a year. What is the actual number? It is 8%, which is four times what he promised. Overall, federal government spending will grow almost three times faster than inflation and population combined. Maybe that is the reason the Prime Minister will not put forward a budget this spring.
A budget would usually have clear details as to where the money is going, but again, at this time, there is no budget, and there is no plan. Without a real plan, how can a government continue to function? How can it address, for example, the daunting task of fixing the housing crisis? It is a crisis, and it has been an evolving crisis now for more than five years.
Real estate organizations are saying that home sales are at crisis levels. They are saying the housing market is sagging. Inventory levels are ballooning, but lower interest rates have not spurred on sales. Folks are not buying homes, because they are worried about the economy. They are worried about job security. Young folks are concerned about jobs in general. There are not enough of them. Young folks are experiencing some of the highest unemployment rates in many, many years.
I heard directly from my constituents about these issues thousands of times at the doors just a few weeks ago. Young people voted for Conservatives in unprecedented numbers for a reason. For them, we were a source of hope for jobs and for housing. I cannot tell members how many young people told us that they had given up on home ownership. They said that they are not able to start families, because there is hardly anywhere affordable to live. There is just not enough building taking place.
As the housing crisis evolves, we now have a difficult job market, and the uncertainty is preventing young people, once again, from purchasing homes. I would confidently say that in many ways, this generation of young people has struggled tremendously compared with others before it. This is due to the Liberal policies of the last 10 years.
Let us talk about the GTA. The dream of home ownership is out of reach for far too many people in the GTA. The Building Industry and Land Development Association found that Toronto's preconstruction home sales have collapsed, and there is word of a dire housing shortage within two years. Last month, sales of preconstruction homes were 89% below the 10-year average and had decreased 72% from April 2024. This marks the seventh consecutive month of record-low sales of new homes across the GTA.
That is why I use the word “evolving” as it relates to the crisis. On the one hand, there is not enough building taking place to house Canadians who need it. On the other hand, young folks are worried about their finances, and in many cases, they are waiting to start families because they do not have the right accommodations. The third part is this: How can they go and buy a new home when the prices are so ridiculously high?
It seems as though the Canadian promise that was available to generations prior has been broken. The government has simply failed young people, and things are expected to get worse. One article says, “The new housing industry is decelerating quickly and a massive supply deficit into the 2027 to 2029 period is taking shape.” Overall, things are not looking great on the housing front, and once again, without a budget and without a plan, the government is not taking its responsibilities to Canadians seriously.
Let us also talk about folks who are lucky enough to already own a home. How are they doing financially? They are not doing well. In fact, mortgage delinquencies have gone up by 6.5%, and 90-plus-day delinquencies increased by 72% in Ontario since the first quarter of 2024. What about the folks who have other types of credit? In the first quarter of 2025, 1.4 million Canadians were unable to make a credit payment. Delinquencies rose nearly 9% year over year, with non-mortgage delinquencies being the most severe in Ontario, where they are up 24%.
Rising costs and squeezed paycheques have hit youth especially hard; Canadians 25 and under experienced a 15% increase in missed payments. Among those under 26 years old, 90-plus-day delinquency rates for just credit cards saw a 22% spike year over year. I am worried about young Canadians, given these figures. Equifax says that the wages entering the job market are not matching the amount young folks may need so they can pay off their debt.
Urgent action is clearly required now. Workable, timely solutions are critical. I am a bit concerned about some of the slogans in the Prime Minister's announcement and the throne speech, although he says he is not a fan of them. What Canadians desperately need is for all of us to come together with a plan, but a plan that clearly outlines the actions and that comes in the form of a budget.
This government must release a spring budget so that we can have a path forward. Otherwise, I fear that all these crises Canadians are currently going through will not be adequately addressed. I am worried for young Canadians; I am worried for homeowners, and I am worried for families.
As I mentioned earlier, we need to work toward helping Canadians and Canadian businesses in these difficult times. I am ready to do so. I hope the government will take things seriously, given the issues we face. Our Conservative team stands with Canadians, and we are ready to offer our help to make life better for families across our beautiful country, so Canada is affordable, safe, self-reliant and united.
