Debates of Jan. 29th, 2026

The Economy

[Gabriel Hardy, Conservative, Montmorency—Charlevoix, QC]

Mr. Speaker, that is quite something. In 2023, Justin Trudeau announced a plan for groceries. In 2026, the problems are the same and the Liberals are recycling the same measures but changing the name. When a plan creates more hardship, more debt, less wealth and less hope, we do not need a rebranding. What we need is a change in direction.

After 10 years of Liberal rule, the results are clear. Young people in Quebec and Canada have less money in their pockets at the end of the month after paying rent and buying groceries.

When will the Liberals finally admit that they have failed and stop going in the wrong direction?

[Nathalie Provost, Liberal, Secretary of State (Nature)]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians made a choice in April. They elected the Liberals to come up with solutions to the situation we are facing today. This suite of solutions has transformed into tax breaks for the middle class and the affordability measures that were announced this week, as well as the universal implementation of the school food program, for example. We have implemented a number of measures, and that is what Canadians voted for.

We are working for Canadians, but we need the support of our colleagues so that Canadians can see a difference.

Housing

[Jacob Mantle, Conservative, York—Durham, ON]

Mr. Speaker, every week I hear from young Canadians who have been priced out of their neighbourhoods. In fact, the Missing Middle Initiative reports that half of young Canadians will have to leave the very community they grew up in.

I am not hearing very much from the four youngest Liberal members of Parliament, who were all born in this century and who represent parts of Canada that are being hit the hardest by housing unaffordability: Brampton, Mississauga, greater Vancouver and greater Montreal.

Canadians have not given up on the dream of home ownership. I have not either. Will any of those four members stand up to help the government get out of the way and to remove the taxes and red tape that are stealing the dreams of Canadians?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Minister of Housing and Infrastructure and Minister responsible for Pacific Economic Development Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I will say that members on this side, the young Canadians who represent their ridings here in the House, certainly speak to me about their priorities. They are here taking action to deliver for their fellow young Canadians.

We have the first-time homebuyer tax break coming through, which will deliver up to $50,000 to young Canadians for their first home purchase.

We are seeing positive trends across the country now, with rents declining over the last 12 months. That is good for young Canadians. We are delivering a groceries and essentials benefit. Young Canadians will benefit from that as well.

This side of the House is delivering for young Canadians.

[Jacob Mantle, Conservative, York—Durham, ON]

Okay, penthouse boomer, maybe you can share one of your homes.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, John Nater]

No. I would ask the member to restart and carry on.

[Jacob Mantle, Conservative, York—Durham, ON]

Mr. Speaker, maybe the Minister of Housing can share one of his homes with the Canadians who do not have one.

A study by Canadian fintech KOHO Financial Inc. said that, at the end of the month, gen Z has just 16 bucks left to spend. The Prime Minister told young Canadians that his solution for them was to sacrifice more. There is nothing left to give. KOHO said that gen Z is in survival mode and, therefore, cannot plan for its future.

The Prime Minister claims he wants to work together. We have offered him some solutions. Why will he not take any of them?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Minister of Housing and Infrastructure and Minister responsible for Pacific Economic Development Canada]

Mr. Speaker, instead of slagging generations, the Conservatives should make generational investments with this side of the House.

We are focused on delivering for young Canadians. The members on the other side of the House delayed, all through the fall and into the winter, the first-time homebuyer tax break. On this side of the House, we have been pushing to do this. The Conservatives also did not vote for the first home savings account.

These are tangible efforts we are making to support young Canadians, and they are being opposed by the Conservatives.

[Eric Melillo, Conservative, Kenora—Kiiwetinoong, ON]

Mr. Speaker, a recent study has found that, on average, gen Z Canadians have only between $9 and $16 left at the end of the month for spending cash. This is barely enough for survival, let alone long-term saving goals.

Another report from the Missing Middle Initiative found that 93% of young Canadians are concerned about the state of housing in Canada, with many giving up completely on their dream of home ownership.

Will the Prime Minister stop telling young Canadians that they have to make even more sacrifices and instead end the taxes and bureaucracy that are stopping them from building their savings, starting a family and owning a home?

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

Mr. Speaker, we are helping young people face real challenges at every stage of their lives. When they want to go to school, we are making post-secondary education more affordable. When they are in school, we are helping them gain the skills they need for the jobs of the future. When they are ready to buy a home, we are cutting taxes for first-time homebuyers and building affordable housing fast.

That is what investing in young people looks like. The Conservatives have voted against it every step of the way.

[Vincent Ho, Conservative, Richmond Hill South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, a new report shows that home ownership among 30- to 34-year-olds has collapsed from 60% to 52%, with the steepest declines affecting younger Canadians. Between 2019 and 2024, for every 100 new adults, there were just 12 housing starts meant for home ownership, less than half the rate of earlier decades. It is no wonder that 87% of Canadians are concerned about housing, and that rises to 93% for gen Z and millennials. Nearly half of young Canadians are considering leaving their city or province because they cannot afford a home.

Instead of lecturing young Canadians to make more sacrifices, will the Liberal Prime Minister finally scrap the red tape and taxes that obstruct them from saving, starting a family and owning a home?

[Stephanie McLean, Liberal, Secretary of State (Seniors)]

Mr. Speaker, I am a millennial and my friends are millennials. What millennials want is for homes to be built. We want this plan to go forward, our plan to build hundreds of thousands of homes, in my riding and in that member's riding.

I just do not know why the member wants to take the hammers and nails out of construction workers' hands and the electrical wires out of the hands of electrical workers, telling them, “Tools down, do not build anything.”

The member could stop obstructing and hand those hammers back to those workers so that they could build more homes.

Youth

[Vincent Ho, Conservative, Richmond Hill South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have some advice for the Liberal member. Maybe the Liberal government needs to get their hands out of the pockets of Canadians.

A report released last fall shows that gen Z Canadians have virtually no disposable income left, just $9 to $16 in spendable cash at the end of the month. Half say they will need to take on more work over the next year, 28% are borrowing from family and 12% are delaying paying their bills just to survive. For young Canadians, having long-term goals and aspirations has been replaced by being in survival mode.

The Prime Minister keeps telling young Canadians they need to make more sacrifices. What exactly does he want gen Z to give up next when there is nothing left to cut? Does he want them to give up their dreams, their futures and any remaining hope that this country still works for them?

[Yasir Naqvi, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade and to the Secretary of State (International Development)]

Mr. Speaker, I think we and all young Canadians know that the world is changing. For us to be successful in this changing world, we need to ensure that we are investing in Canadians and building our economy.

For us to do that, we need to diversify our trade. We need to make sure that we are doing more business with other countries so that we are creating good-paying jobs for those young people who contribute to our economy.

We are focused on building a country that will serve all Canadians, especially young Canadians, so that they can live their dream of owning a home and building this country even better.

[Grant Jackson, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Mr. Speaker, a new report shows that gen Z Canadians have just $9 to $16 at the end of the month after expenses. Nearly half say they need to take on more work, despite already working full time, while others are borrowing from family or delaying bills just to survive. Home ownership among young Canadians is collapsing, and 93% say they are worried about affording life.

The Liberals often boast that the government has never done so much for young people, but they cannot see it, do not feel it and cannot afford it. In other words, gen Z is literally not buying it.

Will the Liberals admit that their failed policies have deprived young people of the hope for a safe economic future?

[Maggie Chi, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health]

Mr Speaker, it is rich, coming from the Conservative bench, that they are talking about affordability for young people.

On this side of the House, we are building Canada strong. We are creating opportunities for young people. We are giving money back with this new credit. I invite members opposite to work with us so we can diversify our trade, support our skilled trade workers and train more workers in this country. This creates more opportunities for young people.

I invite the member opposite to work with us.

[Grant Jackson, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Mr. Speaker, youth are in crisis. Conservatives know we need gen Z to stay in Canada for this country to thrive, but 93% are now concerned about their economic future here.

The Liberals say mission accomplished, but disposable income is gone, home ownership is down, and half are taking on extra work just to stay afloat. Conservatives continue to put forward policies that would create good-paying jobs for Canadians and boost our economy, but the Liberals refuse to work with us.

If it is truly time to work together and meet the moment, why will the Liberals not admit they have failed young people and give one of our many policy solutions a try? It cannot get worse than it is right now.

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Minister of Housing and Infrastructure and Minister responsible for Pacific Economic Development Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I would invite that member to speak with folks on the ground in his home province of Manitoba.

We are working with the Government of Manitoba to deliver affordable housing for young Canadians in Manitoba. These are unprecedented investments, through build Canada homes, on federal land. We are working with Canada Lands Company to make sure we are building and that we are giving jobs to young Canadians to build this country strong.

The Economy

[Giovanna Mingarelli, Liberal, Prescott—Russell—Cumberland, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we know that the global context has put the Canadian economy, businesses and workers under a cloud of uncertainty. Our government has already taken significant steps to help Canadian families and workers improve their financial situation by cutting taxes for 22 million middle-class Canadians and eliminating the GST for first-time home buyers.

Could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance inform the House of Commons of the new measures that will make groceries and other essentials more affordable for Canadians?

[Carlos Leitão, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank our colleague for the good work she does and for her excellent question.

The Government of Canada is focused on building a stronger economy to make life more affordable for Canadians. The new grocery and essentials benefit will provide up to $805 in additional support, on top of the GST rebate, which will go directly into the pockets of Canadian families.

In addition, our government is addressing the root causes of food insecurity by developing a national food security strategy that will improve access to affordable food.

We remain—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, John Nater]

The hon. member for Lévis—Lotbinière.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, two-thirds of Quebeckers are losing sleep at night because of the Liberals' inflationary taxes. It costs an average of $17,600 per year to feed a family of four. That is $1,000 more than at this time last year. This is the worst record in the G7, but the good news is that the Conservatives are ready to co-operate on any initiative that will remedy this situation.

Will this government immediately introduce a bill to eliminate inflationary Liberal taxes, increase competition among grocery chains and reduce the paperwork and regulations imposed on farmers?

[Marie-Gabrielle Ménard, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Women and Gender Equality and Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism)]

Mr. Speaker, that is music to my ears. The Conservatives are willing to co-operate with the government. This is a good day.

We have all just spent a few weeks in our ridings and what we heard is that people need support. We are transforming the Canadian economy, which is being hit hard by U.S. tariffs. What the government is currently proposing is to provide different solutions to support all Canadians during this period of adjustment.

Carbon Pricing

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Okanagan Lake West—South Kelowna, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister often says that we should focus on what we can control. Well, I agree. His government controls the industrial carbon tax and the fuel standard regulations that have driven our food inflation to double that of the U.S.

A family of four now pays $17,600 a year, while two million Canadians line up at food banks, so which is it? Is the government driving up fuel costs to inflate the price of fertilizer and other farm inputs to satisfy its radical targets, or does the Prime Minister not see that taxing the tractor and then taxing the trucker ultimately means less food on Canadians' dinner tables?