Debates of Nov. 5th, 2026

Connected Care for Canadians Act

[Kelly DeRidder, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this needs to remain under provincial jurisdiction. Nothing needs to change there, but I think the provinces need to work together to make sure that data can be interchanged.

It is extremely important to reduce harm and save lives. As I mentioned in my speech, I know of someone who was given penicillin by accident and died because their information was not transferred from province to province. They had gotten into a car accident. The provinces need to work together to ensure we have a transfer of data, but I absolutely do not think this should be removed from provincial jurisdiction.

[Helena Konanz, Conservative, Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the residents of Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay to speak to Bill S-5. I am always honoured to speak in the House for my communities.

Bill S-5 is an act respecting the interoperability of health information technology and to prohibit data blocking by health information technology vendors. I am pleased to speak to this legislation as a member of the Standing Committee on Health. It has been a great honour, in my time in the House, to provide oversight of our health care system. Canadians are proud of our health care system, and for good reason. However, most Canadians and most members in this House agree that it needs improvement.

There are many issues, too many for me to even list here, that we are addressing in our committee. To name one, the Canada health transfer has risen substantially, yet access remains poor. In fact, the Canada health transfer increased from $37.2 billion in 2017-18 to $57.4 billion in 2026-27, a 55% increase in nominal terms. Despite this increase, Canadians are still waiting longer for several priority surgeries and diagnostic tests than before the pandemic. Canada continues to rank poorly, internationally, for timely access.

Younger Canadians face particularly poor access to primary care. In 2023, more than one in four Canadians aged 18 to 34 did not have a regular health care provider. One in five Canadians aged 35 to 49 lacked a regular health care provider. We have a gateway system in our health care, and it did work for quite a long while. However, it does not work unless Canadians have a health care provider or a family doctor. Canada ranks last among 10 peer countries examined for timely access to care and, of course, the lack of that initial provider is one of the reasons.

In 2025, the C.D. Howe Institute analysis ranked Canada 10th out of 10 countries for timeliness. Again, I know everyone in this House who has had to wait in line or bring a loved one to a hospital for any kind of testing would not question that data. Only 86% of Canadians reported having a regular doctor or place of care, and just 25% can see a doctor or nurse the same day. In the communities that I represent in Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay, it is not 86% that have a doctor. I know a lot of these stats are different for rural communities like mine that have a severe lack of family doctors and specialists. Thousands in Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay right now have no family doctor.

Forty-seven per cent of Canadians waited two months or longer for a specialist, and 59% waited two months or longer for an elective surgery. In 2024-25 at least 23,000 patients died in Canada while on wait-lists for surgeries or diagnostic scans. We have to wonder if that number is even accurate because there are a lot of people who might not be included who died of other issues they were having while waiting. It is hard to know if it is even much more than that; I am sure it is.

Emergency rooms are under significant pressure. In 2024, 1.2 million emergency department visits, or 7.7% of all reported visits, ended with the patient leaving before being seen and assessed by a physician.

Canadians are spending longer in emergency departments. In 2024, half of emergency patients waited just under two hours for an initial physician assessment, while one in 10 waited more than five hours. Of course, some of this can be attributed to what we are talking about today and the issues that Bill S-5 is trying to solve. One in 10 patients waited more than 14 hours in an emergency department overall. That is a 28% increase from 2018.

Hospital capacity is contributing to extreme delays for patients who need to be admitted. In fact, in 2024-25, one in 10 admitted patients waited more than 36 hours for an in-patient bed after the decision to admit them had been made. That is a 45% increase from 2018.

Surgical and diagnostic waits remain worse than before the pandemic. In 2024, only 68% of hip replacement patients received surgery within the 26-week benchmark. That is down from 75% in 2019. Only 61% of knee replacement patients met the benchmark, down from 70%.

The most important thing is there are people behind the statistics. There are people who are extremely active, who want to stay active, who do not want to go into a home and do not want to be a burden to their families. They cannot get that hip surgery in a timely manner. They cannot get that knee surgery. They want to continue to play tennis, to play pickleball, to go running, to go walking on trails, and they cannot because they are in extreme pain for months. It is really not fair.

Let us go to MRI waits, which are 15 days longer right now than they were in 2019, while waits for CT scans are taking three days longer. The Standing Committee on Health is studying these wait times currently. Knowledge is power and the more we know exactly what is going wrong compared to other countries, the more we will be able to resolve this problem.

Waits for specialist care and treatment remain lengthy. The Fraser Institute 2025 physician survey reported a median 28-week wait for referral by a family doctor to receipt of treatment. Again, I believe those numbers are even higher in rural areas that have an even greater shortage of specialists. Canada spends heavily on health care and continues to struggle with access and capacity. Among the 31 high-income countries with universal health coverage, Canada ranked third-highest for health spending as a share of GDP, but 27th of 30 for the availability of doctors, 27th of 31 for MRI machines and 28th of 31 for CAT scan machines.

These are things that Bill S-5 would address. Being able to communicate is one of the issues, obviously, with Canadian health care, and that is why I do support much of what is in this bill. It attempts to improve our system by making our health care data accessible beyond our own home province. We are travelling more within the country now. We are buying Canadian, we are travelling Canadian, and we are vacationing Canadian.

We need to be able to cross provincial boundaries, into any province, and if there is any kind of situation where we need to see a health care provider, which of course happens all the time, we need them to have our information available, to know, as my colleague mentioned, whether we are allergic to any kind of medication or need some operation, and to know what is happening at home with our home doctor. If we cross provincial boundaries at this point, there is no information available most of the time.

We are exploring our great country. We are hiking the Rockies north of the border or we are heading for Montreal instead of Palm Beach now. As more Canadians are exploring the country, they will need to interact with other provincial health care systems. Re-injuring an existing injury or refilling a prescription has become more common. People across our country move between family doctors, community clinics, hospitals and diagnostic labs, yet in far too many cases, their medical history fails to follow them. Systems remain trapped behind digital walls and information remains fragmented. We cannot allow provincial silos to limit our medical services in Canada.

Obviously, this runs counter to the spirit of the Canada Health Act and to our health accords. Again, there are people behind all these statistics. The number one thing is that we need to keep the Canadian people healthy.

I represent one of the country's eldest regions. Our communities are also full of young families, alongside many recent retirees and long-time residents. Generations of wisdom are always on display, and we are fortunate that so many Canadians from every province choose to make Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay their new home in their golden years, but as they bring their cherished mementos, they can also bring complex medical histories, long-term prescriptions, diagnostic scans and test results.

Seniors should not be made solely responsible for ensuring that their medical history is properly updated with local health care professionals, not in a country where our health care is supposed to be universal.

I can give two examples in my region that illustrate this need. Penticton Regional Hospital recently lost its entire staff of neurologists, even though our region is home to more seniors than anywhere else in the country and it is one of the eldest regions in our country. Neurology is a vital service to ensure seniors' aging brain and nervous system changes are properly screened, cared for and managed. The loss of these neurologists will mean more seniors will have to travel further for screenings and speak with neurologists many hundreds of kilometres away about the care they received in Penticton. If they need to go to another health authority for specialized screening, it is not always guaranteed that they would be able to see the testing history from their former hospital. We all know that this is true, because sometimes we can drive from one pharmacy on one side of town to another pharmacy on the other side of town, and they have no idea what prescription we are on.

If these seniors go to another province, and I have spoken with residents who have seen specialists in Alberta, their data is not available. Similarly, the emergency room in the town of Oliver, has seen sudden, random closures repeatedly over the past few years, more than 40 times, or almost once a week in a calendar year.

I would like to take this time to thank the former mayor of Oliver for his service over the past eight years and for sitting as a witness before the Standing Committee on Health to talk to members of Parliament about what it is like for a small community to have their emergency room close randomly, sporadically, multiple times a year. It is more than 40 times a year. I thank Martin Johansson for the service he has given to our communities and for putting those first.

Let us remember that, when a small community like Oliver's emergency room closes randomly, it has a domino effect throughout the whole region, because not only is it an emergency that needs to be attended to, but the other hospitals these people have to go to will get extremely backed up.

I have received so much mail about the health care system, so much mail and so many calls about how broken the system is.

I am going to read a short letter from one of my constituents, Marie-Louise, who says the following:

“I am writing to express my concern about the lack of timely medical care in the Emergency Hospital in Penticton.

“In the Similkameen—South Okanagan this sad situation is not new....

“Unfortunately, long delays in seeing a doctor can leave all patients, and especially parents of babies and young children, frightened, helpless and anxious.”

When a person goes to the hospital's ER, prompt attention from a doctor is expected and needed. Marie-Louise continues:

“This happened to our family on Monday of a long weekend. We had our three-month-old baby granddaughter go to the emergency room. The doctor came in to see the baby 3 hours later, and she came after the shift switch. Meanwhile the baby had arrived 3 hours earlier and apparently the emergency room was fairly quiet on that early morning.

“These delays in seeing the doctor in due time are not new.

“These delays are not acceptable....”

This is especially true with a three-month-old baby.

I want members to think about the stories of Canadians who check in at one ER in one province and are dismissed, only to end up in the care of another hospital in another province with a checkered history at best of what prior tests were done or of any prior observations by doctors.

In its current form, Bill S-5 is intended to address the concern that many electronic health records and health IT systems cannot easily communicate with each other because of data blocking. Data blocking is when health IT vendors restrict access or the exchange of health data to protect market shares or extract licensing fees. This is not acceptable. We cannot allow big tech to act as an armed bandit when it comes to accessing health care records. Other jurisdictions have moved to prohibit this practice, and I am glad we have the opportunity to do that right here.

Getting health data right is not something for computers. It is for patients. It is for the people. It is for Canadians. This means fewer duplicative tests and fewer bad diagnoses made with incomplete information. It must mean making Canada's 13 different health care data systems able to connect to one another and not be at the mercy of health tech companies setting costly and artificial restrictions on Canadians' most sensitive information. In other words, legislation must be a win-win for those working in health care and those who need health care.

I do want to say, as a member of the health care committee who helped lead the investigation into the PrescribeIT scandal, I can say with some expertise that allowing Infoway to handle the regulations for shared health care records would be a costly and futile disaster for taxpayers, patients and doctors. Even our health minister has agreed that this agency needs an audit as soon as possible. We are waiting for that audit. Infoway should not be put in charge of this new program. Basically, I would like to say I believe the minister knows it is not fit for that—

[The Deputy Speaker, Tom Kmiec]

I will have to interrupt the hon. member as the time for her speech has elapsed.

The hon. member for Shefford.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague herself raised the issue of health transfers. In a few minutes—we can hear the buzz in the House—the budget will be presented. We know that Quebec's request, made earlier this week, has two priorities. Quebec's new finance minister has asked for the current health transfer agreement to be renewed. It is set to expire next spring. Minister Marceau is also asking that the agreement include a minimum annual growth rate of 5%.

What does my colleague think of this entirely legitimate request from Quebec, given that health care falls within its jurisdiction?

[Helena Konanz, Conservative, Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is very important that health care in this country, in every province, has the appropriate funding, yet we have to make sure that money is well spent. If we do not have our health information going between provinces, or even within provinces, our health care will only get worse.

I believe that we can throw as much money as we want at all the provinces to improve their health care, but if the money is not spent appropriately, it is of no use. Right now, the communication is blocked. That is why we need a bill like Bill S-5. I am looking forward to it going to committee so we can scrutinize it even further.

[Brad Vis, Conservative, Mission—Matsqui—Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, during the member's remarks, she reflected on the challenges that many rural Canadians face in accessing health care services that the average Canadian in a large urban area would take for granted.

Could the member comment more on the challenges that rural Canadians face in equity with respect to health care?

[Helena Konanz, Conservative, Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I know much of my colleague's riding is rural, so his constituents have many of the same issues that rural communities have across the country. They cannot access a family doctor. They cannot access specialists.

A good example is the Penticton hospital, which is a regional hospital. It services thousands of people and, by the way, it services thousands of seniors, many of whom have neurological issues. All three neurologists at the hospital quit or stepped down, so we do not have a neurologist in our regional hospital. I do not think that would happen in an urban centre. We are going to be in a lot of trouble if that is not corrected. That is just an example of a problem faced in rural Canada right now with health care.

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank and congratulate my colleague on her excellent speech. I think she highlighted our broad support for the bill, and the goals and objectives of the bill, while still making it very clear that there are a number of clarity points that we will be discussing with the government at committee when the bill moves to that stage.

I wonder if my colleague would provide a bit more clarity and detail on her experience with the Health Infoway scandal. I know we are awaiting the results of the audit, but I would like to hear some more thoughts from her on that.

[Helena Konanz, Conservative, Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I really appreciate that the Prime Minister is sitting in the House. Oh, I do not think I am allowed to say that.

I really appreciate that most of the Liberal Party is here, so we can go over, again, the scandal of PrescribeIT and Infoway, as $300 million has been lost into thin air. We do not know why because the health minister refuses to come speak to the committee about it. Also, the health minister has even said that Infoway needs to have an audit and does not want to secure its regular funding until there is an audit. There is no way that an organization like Infoway can run the program that is described in Bill S-5. I appreciate the fact that most of the Liberal Party is in the House right now and will address, hopefully soon, the problems with Infoway and PrescribeIT.

[Frank Caputo, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people of Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola, and I am going to take this last opportunity to hope that the budget includes funding for things in Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola like the rebuilding and fast-tracking of the Red Bridge. The Liberals can groan all they want about the funding of the Red Bridge, but I will fight every single day for that funding, or for a new Barriere fire hall. It is always wonderful to ask for these types of things. The Liberals may groan, but I am here to fight for my constituents and common-sense measures.

My colleague talked about the PrescribeIT scandal. The minister has not appeared at committee. What does it say to Canadians when a minister refuses to go to committee?

[Helena Konanz, Conservative, Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I think there are a lot of things that Canadians are looking for in their health care system, but what they are really looking for is trust. They want to be able to trust everyone in the House. They want to be able to trust the system. If they cannot depend on a program, for example, PrescribeIT, which wasted $300 million, run by Infoway, how can they trust any new program that comes forward from the Liberals?

We need to, as a House, rebuild the trust of the entire Canadian people and put in new programs like those described in Bill S-5. We need to first rebuild the trust that has been lost by the public, which has read and learned about what has happened with the scandal of PrescribeIT and Infoway.

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

It being 4 p.m., the House will now proceed to the consideration of Ways and Means Motion No. 12 concerning the budget presentation.

Financial Statement of Minister of Finance

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

moved: That this House approve in general the budgetary policy of the government.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 83(1), I would like to table, in both official languages, the budget documents for 2026, including the notices of ways and means motions. The details of the measures are contained in these documents.

Pursuant to Standing Order 83(2), I am requesting that an order of the day be designated for consideration of these motions.

Mr. Speaker, it is budget day, and I will try to make this speech only half as long as last year's, but with the same level of ambition and optimism, while bringing good news to Canadians.

The moment in front of us is serious. Canadians know it. Our new government knows it. The moment demands an ambitious plan to be masters of our own destiny, maîtres chez nous.

Canadians know that we are living through extraordinary times. The rules we counted on no longer seem to hold. The global trading system that brought stability for decades is being rewritten. Wars and geopolitical competition are reshaping supply chains. Artificial intelligence is transforming our economies at breakneck speed.

For many Canadians, this uncertainty affects them daily. It means wondering whether their job or their children's jobs will be secure, whether their business can survive another shock, and whether they will be able to afford a home, raise a family or build the life they have worked so hard for. However, Canadians have met moments like this before, and as the Prime Minister reminded the nation and the world, “Nostalgia is not a strategy.” As Canadians, we know how to turn global volatility into national opportunity.

Let us remember that we are a nation of builders. We built railways from coast to coast and a seaway connecting our industries to the rest of the world. We founded leading universities, research centres, businesses and public institutions—pillars of knowledge and drivers of prosperity. We leveraged Canadian ingenuity to fight for freedom during both world wars and to explore outer space.

We built a country in which generation after generation could aspire to something better, and every time the world changed, Canadians adapted. We do not retreat. We lead with purpose, determination and ambition because we are Canadians.

In the face of adversity, we are seizing opportunities and working together to rebuild stronger.

I sincerely believe that in a few years, Canadians will see this moment as another turning point in our history. Our ambition is clear: accelerate growth through an investment supercycle; make life more affordable for Canadians; and defend our sovereignty while celebrating our rich cultural heritage.

One thing is clear: Our country is more united than ever in the face of these challenges. As Lester B. Pearson said in the House on November 28, 1967, “The future of Canada, Mr. Speaker, will be decided in Canada, by Canadians.”

I even thought for a moment that the Conservatives would applaud for this part.

This is the essence of who we are as a people. This is the essence of being masters of our destiny, maîtres chez nous. We have the strength to build, the discipline to deliver and the values to take care of each other.

Canada enters this defining moment in history with every reason to be confident. We have one of the most highly educated workforces in the world. We have the energy and the critical minerals the world needs. We are a leader in key industries such as artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, nuclear energy, mining, agriculture, agri-food and advanced manufacturing. We have preferential market access to 1.5 billion consumers, and we will soon double that number and reach three billion consumers. This is the Canada of the 21st century. We also have the strongest fiscal position in the G7, with the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio, and we are projected to have the second-fastest-growing economy in the G7 in 2027.

However, our greatest strength, as the Prime Minister said, is something that cannot be found on a balance sheet: trust. Trust is what defines Canada in an uncertain world.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

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

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives can laugh as much as they want, but Canadians know it. They know that what defines Canada is its values. The fact is that the world wants to engage with Canada, so they had better listen, because there is more good news.

To inspire trust, we need a solid foundation. Through fiscal discipline, budget 2026 keeps us on track to meet both fiscal anchors by balancing day-to-day operating spending with revenue by 2027-28, a full year ahead of schedule, and by keeping the deficit-to-GDP ratio on the declining path, while unlocking Canada's full growth potential.

I even see in the members' eyes and in their hearts how pleased they are.

We are seeing what happens around the world when governments lose their fiscal room to manoeuvre. Choices become harder.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

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

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are so excited about the budget that they are already commenting, but they should wait a bit, because there is more good news.

In Canada, our fiscal strength is giving us the freedom to live our life as we choose, to be masters of our destiny. With solid revenue growth and a shift toward capital investment and clear strategies, we are in a position to transform our economy toward stronger growth and productivity.

Budget 2026 is the next step in our ambitious plan to help businesses of all sizes invest and grow, to help Canadians get ahead and to build a stronger, sovereign Canada. Let me start with the first pillar: economic growth. Investing in our future means having an ambitious growth agenda. We need the mines, the transmission lines, the ports and the trade corridors, the nuclear reactors, the electricity dams, the AI infrastructure and the factories to power our future.

First and foremost, we need Canadian workers and Canadian companies building them, and we need to build faster. That is why our government will propose amendments to the Impact Assessment Act to bring greater legal certainty and predictability to projects, consistent with a “one project, one decision, one year” process, while maintaining environmental protections and upholding indigenous rights.

Last year, budget 2025 laid out a generational plan to build a stronger Canada. The plan is working and is already paying dividends. We are already moving major projects forward, with 28 nation-building initiatives that have been referred to the Major Projects Office, including projects in energy, critical minerals and transportation, and with budget 2026, we are building on that progress.

For too long, a lack of access to growth capital has held Canadian companies back. Too often, Canadian talent and Canadian ideas have had to look elsewhere to scale. Budget 2026 changes that with the most comprehensive revamp of business incentives in generations. At the heart of it is the new productivity mega deduction, which will boost Canada's investment supercycle. Businesses, both large and small, will be able to immediately deduct the full cost of most new investments. That is a game-changer for small businesses across our nation. Over the next 10 years, this should expand Canada's productive capacity by adding about $22 billion a year to GDP and supporting up to 80,000 jobs. This is a game-changer. This is how we boost the investment supercycle.

The productivity mega deduction is available to a manufacturer buying more efficient machinery, such as the shoemaker Pajar, whom I visited in Montreal yesterday; a farmer purchasing newer silos and a combine harvester; or a mine adopting new technology to reach deposits. Let me be clear. We are making it easier for businesses to choose Canada, and we are also making Canada the global partner of choice. This country is going to grow like never before.

Again I can see in the members' faces and hearts how happy they are going to be next week to tell their constituents all this good news.

We are not stopping there. With the Canada growth incentive, we are backing Canadian innovators and start-ups so they can grow their business here at home in Canada, allowing builders and key employees to keep more of the benefits when a business succeeds.

With the enhanced small business rollover, we are making it easier for successful entrepreneurs to reinvest in the next generation of Canadian businesses. By expanding the scientific research and experimental development program to support commercialization, we are helping Canadian ideas become reality.

By pursuing a balanced immigration policy, we are attracting the talent that our growing industries need, supporting communities and families and retaining the Canadian tradition of welcoming people fleeing conflict, while ensuring that we keep immigration levels at a sustainable level.

This is Canada. Through the most ambitious efforts in decades to simplify Canada's tax system, we are making it easier to invest, to grow and to do business in Canada.

Not every Canadian business is in a position to invest today. Many have been hard hit with unjustified U.S. tariffs. I think tonight about the steelworkers in Hamilton.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

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

Mr. Speaker, instead of shouting, they should probably listen to this.

I am thinking about the aluminum workers in Saguenay, the forestry workers in British Columbia and the auto workers in Windsor and Oshawa who are affected and understandably worried. Canada's new government has one simple message for them today: We will be there for them with whatever it takes and for as long as it takes. This is our commitment to their family and their community.

To date, we have provided $44 billion to help our workers and businesses protect jobs, retool and find new markets. Colleagues have been doing great work to help our workers, our industries and our sectors. The measures in the budget will help them further, to adapt and compete for the long term.

Our message to Canadian businesses is simple: We are behind them. Are they going through a difficult time? We will be at their side for as long as it takes. Do they have a great idea? They can bring it to life here, in our communities, in Canada. Are they ready to grow? We are here to support them. Are they a successful entrepreneur? We want them to reinvest in the next generation of small and medium Canadian businesses.

I come from a family of entrepreneurs, and this budget is designed to help young people succeed in the new economy.

I am also from Shawinigan, a town that was at the cutting edge of economic development more than 125 years ago. Shawinigan showed Canada what is possible when energy meets ambition. Our ancestors harnessed the power of the Saint-Maurice River to build entire industries, create thousands of jobs and foster the economic prosperity of their region and province—and of our country.

The same ambition guides our electrification strategy today, because the countries with abundant electricity will be the leaders of the 21st century. As we electrify our economy, demand for electricity will increase. Canada has a head start: Our grid is already 80% clean, and our electricity is among the most affordable in the G7.

We are working with provinces, territories and indigenous partners to double Canada's grid capacity by 2050. We will connect provincial grids. We will build thousands of kilometres of transmission lines. We will develop the nuclear energy sector. We will build Canadian, buy Canadian and create good jobs for Canadians.

This is what it means to be masters of our destiny.

These measures, as the Prime Minister said, also prove that we do not have to choose between the economy and the environment. The two go hand in hand. Our climate plan is built on four priorities: build more clean and affordable power, make it easier for Canadians to switch to electricity, transform how we use energy so we waste less and do more, and innovate and invest in Canadian clean tech right across this great country.

Canada has had to think big in the past. It is time to think big once again, because we want to be masters of our destiny.

Economic growth gives us the means. Our plan is to turn that growth into greater opportunity, greater security and a better life for all. I know that Canadians are watching. It is to deliver on what matters most: giving Canadians the opportunity for a better life. That means lowering the cost of living, making it more affordable to buy a home and ensuring that no Canadian is forced to sleep on the street because they do not have a place to call home. I even see the leader being very much interested in that.

That is what the second pillar of budget 2026 addresses: making life more affordable for Canadians. Budget 2026 provides over $22 billion over five years in new measures to ease the day-to-day financial pressures on Canadians. This winter, the new 2027 Canada groceries and essentials benefit supplement will give more than 12 million Canadians a 50% boost to their benefit, which is $4.1 billion in extra help with groceries and essentials in 2027.

We are investing more than $610 million to strengthen and expand the nutrition north program, helping lower the cost of food, supporting local harvesting and distribution, and reaching more communities across the north. We are launching the build Canada workers benefit to support 1.9 million workers, including 180,000 additional recipients, because hard work should always pay. We are also making the Canada caregiver credit fully refundable. That means more than $1,000 a year in support for 585,000 caregivers, including 180,000 who will get it for the first time. This is what I call making Canada stronger.

This builds on the help we have already delivered in recent months to Canadians. We have suspended the federal fuel excise tax through January, reducing Canadians' bills at the pump by up to 10¢ per litre on gasoline and four cents per litre on diesel. We are helping more than a million households retrofit their homes and lower their energy bills, saving a Canadian family an average of $1,400 every year afterward. We are also helping first-time homebuyers with the cost of a new home, saving them up to $50,000.

By making life more affordable for Canadians and taking care of each other, we are masters of our destiny.

The measures presented in budget 2026 could lift hundreds of thousands of people out of poverty in 2027.

The new Canada groceries and essentials benefit supplement alone could lift 120,000 people out of poverty. I sincerely hope that all the members of this House will vote in favour of this budget so that we can show our unanimous support for the Canadians who need it most.

With budget 2026, we are helping Canadians today and giving them a bridge to a better future by building more housing, by producing more renewable energy, by increasing competition and by building an economy where salaries and opportunities continue to grow.

However, this also means facing a harsh reality. Tonight, sadly, thousands of Canadians will sleep in shelters or on the street, with none of the security or stability that adequate housing provides. We can do better. We must do better. We will do better.

With budget 2026, we are putting Canada on a path to end homelessness within 10 years. We will renew the Reaching Home program and the veteran homelessness program. We will work with provinces, territories and indigenous partners to link housing with mental health, addiction and community care services. Through Build Canada Homes, we will build more affordable housing.

The investments we make today will define our society tomorrow, a society where every Canadian has a safe and affordable home where they can thrive and make their dreams come true. To truly be masters of our destiny, we must make sure our prosperity benefits everyone.

Finally, being masters of our destiny is about a safe and sovereign Canada, one where we celebrate who we are. Canada is an extraordinary country. We span three oceans, six time zones, two official languages and thousands of communities with different traditions and stories to tell. We have built something together, something beautiful, something inspiring. We have grown to be a strong and successful nation, one greater than the sum of its parts. That is worth protecting, and it is worth celebrating.

In 2027, Canada will mark its 160th anniversary. It will be a moment for Canadians to come together to celebrate our communities, to discover more of our country and to pass on what we love about Canada to the next generation. This is why budget 2026 will invest in the places and experiences that bring Canadians together, the community spaces where neighbours meet and newcomers find their footing, the festivals where communities celebrate their traditions and the museums, parks and historic sites where Canadians discover their country. We will also revitalize the arenas and rinks where generations of Canadians have learned to skate, play and dream. This is Canada at its best.

We will do more. We will renew the Canada strong pass for another year so that more families can discover their country, and we will make our national museums permanently free year-round for young Canadians so that young Canadians can discover our museums and history and dream. A strong country is one where people feel connected to it and to each other, and that connection comes from the stories we tell.

However, today, a large part of what Canadians watch, read, and listen to comes from outside Canada. Canadian creators are among the best in the world, attracting the attention of increasingly connected consumers. Our writers, musicians, filmmakers, journalists and artists are carrying Canada's voice to the four corners of the country. This is why we want to give them the best chances of succeeding at home.

Budget 2026 will make it easier to discover and borrow books by Canadian authors through a new national digital collection. We will support the publishers, local journalists and cultural institutions that bring our stories to life. We will develop a new tax credit for Canadian creators, which will provide a tax relief of up to $45,000 on income derived from original works. This is our way of giving a shot in the arm to all artists across the country. Let us celebrate together.

The unity of our vast country also depends on the ability of Canadians to travel and gather together. Our railways, roads, ferries and bridges have always represented more than just infrastructure. They connect families. They connect communities. They connect and unite our vast country. This is why we are investing in railways and ferries across the country to bring communities together.

Building a strong and united Canada also means continuing the important work of reconciliation. It means ensuring that indigenous communities across our nation have the same foundations that every community needs to thrive: safe housing, clean water, good schools, reliable infrastructure, stable and culturally responsive policing services and the ability to shape their own future. It means advancing reconciliation with more than $50 billion in stable and predictable funding over 10 years for indigenous people in this country.

It means we are providing stable and predictable funding, but we are also including a dedicated amount for first nations off-reserve, Inuit and Métis, and modern treaty and self-governing partners to invest in affordable, supportive and transitional housing, because being masters of our destiny must mean having the tools to shape a better future together.

Yes, sovereignty also means being able to defend the country we are so proud to call home. At a time when the world is more dangerous and divided, Canada is rebuilding its armed forces. We are investing in the capabilities we need to defend our country, particularly in our north and in the Arctic, and we are strengthening our defence industry here at home so that Canada makes more of what our forces, and our allies, need to do the job. We are taking greater responsibility for our own security, just as we are for our economic future, because sovereignty ultimately comes down to the same idea: having the confidence, the capacity and the freedom to live our lives as we choose, to be masters of our destiny.

As we speak about the men and women who serve our country, I want to pause to reflect on the tragedy in Wainwright. I want to draw attention to those who lost their lives and to those who were injured and are recovering. I think I can speak on behalf of all members of the House in saying that our thoughts are with them, their families and the entire community. We will honour their courage by providing $25 million to further support members of the Canadian Armed Forces, their families and local communities affected by this tragedy. We will also provide $3 million directly to the Wainwright Military Family Resource Centre. We are thinking about them.

Finally, my thoughts are with the people at the heart of budget 2026. My thoughts are with Michèle Lafontaine from J'ai mon appart' in Shawinigan, who is with her son Félix on Parliament Hill today. She works with vulnerable adults every day so they can have a place to call their own.

I also think of Rachel Reid, Louise Penny, Barbara Fradkin and Fred Pellerin, some of Canada's writers and storytellers who remind us that sovereignty also means having the confidence and the means to tell our own stories. I think of all the workers who, day to day, are building Canada strong. We have some great examples of those hard-working Canadians on the very first page of the budget. To all of them, to those watching at home and to Canadian workers across our great country, this budget is about them and what we can build together. I think they deserve a big round of applause.

More than three decades ago, another finance minister came before Parliament at another moment of profound economic change. His message was that Canada has to confront the the world as it is, not as it wished it to be. This is one of those times for our nation. The world around us is changing. We must change to lead with purpose and ambition.

We must have confidence in what Canada can become. We must build at an unprecedented speed and scale. We must take care of one another. We must defend our sovereignty.

With budget 2026, we will build the strongest economy in the G7. We will make life more affordable for Canadians, and we will defend our sovereignty while celebrating who we are.

This is the essence of being masters of our destiny. Let us seize the moment, let us be ambitious, and let us build Canada strong together.

Long live Canada!

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this budget would be better titled “masters of increasing debt and interest payments”. The budget fails to establish a credible fiscal anchor to reduce the debt and balance the budget. The national debt on the government's own plans is increasing over the next five-year horizon, interest costs are starting to take off, and there is no plan to balance the budget.

All this borrowing is making life more unaffordable for individuals, families and companies because it is increasing the cost of capital. We have all seen the five- and 10-year bond yields over the last several years increase, increasing the costs of mortgages, car loans and lines of credit. It is also reducing the flexibility of the federal government to deal with a major crisis that the Prime Minister's own national security strategy says is coming, including a potential war.

Finally, all this borrowing is not showing up in the numbers. Business capital formation has declined in five of the last six quarters, unemployment remains a full per cent above pre-pandemic highs, and GDP is flatlining, estimated to be less than 1% this year.

Would the minister comment?

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

Mr. Speaker, let me try to help the member because I appreciate that he only had a few hours to read the budget. We had a lower deficit last year, we have a lower deficit this year, and we will have a lower deficit during the fiscal period. That is number one.

Number two, we are bringing direct program expenses from 8% in the last decade to 2%. We are kick-starting an investment supercycle, we are investing $400 billion in capital investment over the framework, we are putting forward $22 billion to make life more affordable for Canadians, and the Canadian economy is going to be $4 trillion by the end of this decade. We are going to build Canada strong. Canadians understand that.

On this side of the house, we understand that every day is a good day to fight for Canadians.

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Bloc, Joliette—Manawan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this budget does not reimburse Quebec for the costs it has incurred in taking in asylum seekers, which represents approximately $700 million. Ottawa has been dragging its feet on this issue since 2024.

Ottawa is also staying the course with its plan to reduce the annual escalator on health transfers from 5% to 3% starting in 2028, even though Quebec is calling for an increase in health care funding. Quebec cannot afford a federal budget cut in health care.

On the one hand, Ottawa is reducing Quebec's fiscal room by $1 billion a year through its mega deduction. On the other hand, it is reducing its financial contribution to health care. Ottawa is undermining Quebec's financial independence. Ottawa is investing heavily in the symbolism of its “Canada strong” agenda as a way of pushing back against Quebec nationalism, yet it has no money to repay what it owes Quebec.

Why did the government not listen to or consult Quebec?

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

Mr. Speaker, I have a great deal of respect for my colleague. I have known him for a very long time. However, I can say that, on this side of the House, with more than 40 members from Quebec, we have a strong voice for Quebec.

I listened to Quebeckers. That is why we are investing in our artists, in our culture and in our SMEs, which from the backbone of Quebec's economy. That is why we renewed funding for mental health.

Instead of criticizing, my colleague should join us and applaud what we have done to help all Canadians. This will benefit Quebeckers. The Bloc Québécois even talked about the Canada groceries and essentials benefit. We are here for Canadians, and we have enhanced that benefit.

We will always be here for Quebeckers.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Christmas came early for CEOs, thanks to the Liberal government. This budget puts corporate interests over those of struggling Canadians. There is $36 billion for a business mega deduction but only half of that for affordability measures. Liberals are allocating one in five tax dollars to military spending today, increasing to a staggering one in four dollars in 2030. They have $55 billion for a pipeline the private sector will not touch but not one extra dime for pharmacare, dental care or child care, and they admit they will not even come close to meeting their own housing targets.

Will the finance minister explain why he is choosing the interests of big business over the welfare of working Canadians?

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

Mr. Speaker, we are choosing Canadians. What the member failed to mention is that we are investing up to $30 billion on measures to help with ending homelessness in this country. This is a national endeavour. We are going to work with provinces, territories and municipalities.

Instead of complaining about what we are doing, why do they not join us and help us to end homelessness in this country? This is one of the greatest endeavours this House has ever taken, and it is under this new government and this Prime Minister that we are doing that. I hope he is going to remember that.