Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate the member for Newmarket—Aurora. Being in the House is a privilege, and I encourage her to enjoy every day. I have been privileged to be here since 2015, through four elections, and I know the excitement of being here. I know it is a big machine here in Ottawa, but I congratulate her for her win.
This is the first time I have risen in the House this Parliament, and I want to thank the wonderful constituents of Saint John—Kennebecasis for returning me here for the fourth time. I certainly want to thank my campaign manager, Kevin Collins, and I want to thank the wonderful staff, the wonderful team, I have in Saint John, with Jeannette McLaughlin and Don Darling making sure things are very well taken care of on the home front.
Let me list some facts. Inflation is down from 8.1% in June 2022 to 1.7% now. The Conservatives, at every step up, said that it was our fault, yet now that inflation is down to below the Bank of Canada's target rate, I guess we do not get any credit for that. Canada right now has an unemployment rate of 6.9%. Labour force participation is at 65.3%, which is well above the U.S. number of 62.5%. We have a AAA credit rating and the lowest debt and deficit in the G7. The list goes on and on.
Sometimes I wonder why the Conservatives hold themselves as the major economic stewards of our economy. It was their government, prior to the Liberals, that ran nine straight deficits. They basically made a mess of our economy through regressive policies.
As Liberals, we believe in growing a strong economy. We believe in investing in Canadians. As Liberals, we believe that government has a role to play in people's lives, whether it is with the Canada child benefit the Conservatives voted against, the child care the Conservatives voted against, the dental care the Conservatives voted against or the wonderful housing programs and housing initiatives, such as the co-investment fund, the rapid housing initiative and the housing accelerator fund, which the Conservatives voted against. The Conservatives voted against each and every one of those initiatives, which have been proven to help Canada.
We will do the right things to build our economy, rebuild our economy and make our economy the greatest economy in the G7.