Debates of April 27th, 2026

Finance

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

Mr. Speaker, I know the Leader of the Opposition is looking for good news. Well, I have good news. He will have to update his QP cards because we announced the first Canadian sovereign wealth fund, a fund to build Canada strong, a fund that will allow Canadians to build this country like never before, to invest in projects across this country, to allow Canadians to invest alongside the government and to make sure that we all benefit. This is the essence of a Canada for all.

We are building together and we will benefit together. Let us build Canada strong together.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the question was for the Prime Minister, who is again in hiding and, instead, what we got is a man talking about a sovereign—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

I do not know if that is metaphorical. If it is, it is a bit of a stretch. I want to warn the hon. member, who knows better, to avoid those kinds of allusions.

The member may continue.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Battle River—Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, we need to actually have wealth for a sovereign wealth fund. What the Liberal Prime Minister is proposing to do is use the credit card in order to put $25 billion into a Liberal slush fund. This is after the Liberal government doubled the debt and gave us the worst inflation in 40 years.

The Prime Minister is spending more: more taxes, more costs, more of the same. Will he put it all on the nation's credit card again tomorrow?

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

Mr. Speaker, let me help the Leader of the Opposition. After all, it is Monday. The International Monetary Fund just said last week that Canada has the strongest fiscal position in the G7. The Canadian economy is the second-fastest growing economy in the G7. It is growing almost twice as fast as the one in Germany, almost twice as much as the one in Japan, and almost three times as much as that of our colleagues in Italy.

The Canadian economy is strong. We are going to build Canada strong together. We are going to have our Canada Strong fund. Canadians will benefit—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. Leader of the Opposition.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister cannot answer questions in the House of Commons because he has been wrong on every single major economic issue of our time, and the results are what Canadians are paying for now: more costs, more debt, more taxes and more of the same. In fact, the Prime Minister has given Canada the worst food inflation in the G7, the worst household debt in the G7, the worst housing costs in the G7, and the second-highest unemployment in the G7. Tomorrow, he intends to put it all on the national credit card.

Trudeau had a $31-billion deficit left over for this year. Will the Prime Minister break through that limit and put that on the national credit card as well?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Minister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, inflation has been in the Bank of Canada's target zone for some time, but we are continuously intrigued by the notion of inflationary spending.

I want to ask, and have the Leader of the Opposition answer with absolute clarity, is it the Canada child benefit that is inflationary? Is it the Canada disability benefit? Is it the Canadian dental care plan? Is it the groceries and essentials benefit? Is it old age security? Exactly what is inflationary spending in the eyes of the Leader of the Opposition?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad he asked, because I have some direct answers. This is how to answer a question.

What is inflationary spending? It is $90 billion for the wasteful Alto project; $1 billion for a gun grab that the public safety minister admits will not stop crime; $20 billion, which is double, for consultants; a 7% increase in the spending on the national bureaucracy; over $1 billion in handouts to fake and phony refugees; a 100% increase in spending on corporate welfare. It is all inflationary spending.

Will the Liberals stop putting it on the national credit card and get rid of it instead?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Minister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, even for the Leader of the Opposition, it is pretty hard to say that money that has not been spent yet is inflationary. We have not done it yet, although we will be building high-speed rail as part of our plan to build Canada strong.

Let me keep going down the list. Is the Canada workers benefit inflationary spending? Is it the national school food program? Is it the Canada student loans? What exactly, in the eyes of the Leader of the Opposition, is inflationary spending? Will he—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. member for Saint-Jean.

The Economy

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, not only is the Prime Minister not getting any relief from the Trump administration with the tariff crisis, but, with tomorrow marking a year since he took office, the situation is worse now than it was at the outset. The way the new U.S. tariffs are calculated is a direct attack on our economy. By taxing all products containing steel or aluminum based on their full value, Washington is disproportionately targeting Quebec and our SMEs. Our workers and businesses do not have time to wait for a saviour.

When will a wage subsidy be introduced to prevent layoffs?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague is correct. We completely disagree with the White House's new interpretation of tariffs. We have held numerous discussions with the manufacturing sector in Quebec and across the country. That is precisely why we will be there to support our business leaders and workers across the country.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, since the Prime Minister was elected a year ago tomorrow, the situation with Donald Trump has not improved. It is getting worse. That is why, tomorrow, the Prime Minister has to make good on the empty promises he has been making for a year now and come to the aid of Quebec's economy. That is why we need a wage subsidy to prevent a wave of layoffs. That is why there needs to be support for our forestry industry in the face of the illegal U.S. tariffs. That is why the idea of EI reform must be revived.

Will the Prime Minister finally rise to the occasion tomorrow?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions]

Mr. Speaker, first, we know that the Premier of Quebec is in Washington today. Of course we will work with her, knowing that she will stand up for Quebec's businesses and workers. I had the opportunity to speak with her, and so did the Prime Minister. We will be there for our businesses. We already have various ways of supporting our businesses with their investments, but we will do more. It will be our pleasure to work with my colleague to ensure that we stand up for workers in Quebec.

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

Mr. Speaker, jobs must be saved. It is time for Ottawa to recognize how serious the situation is with the new tariff calculation. South Shore Furniture announced this morning that it is closing. This means 126 jobs will be lost in Sainte‑Croix and Coaticook. Cyrell AMP in Beloeil has had to raise its prices by 50% because of the tariffs. In Joliette, the small business Liard Industries has to pay five times more in excessive tariffs than before. Everyone in every region is struggling, including ADF in Terrebonne and Max Atlas in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu.

Will Ottawa announce a wage subsidy tomorrow to prevent layoffs?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions]

Mr. Speaker, I have been in touch with the president of ADF in Terrebonne. I have been in touch with Max Atlas. I have also been in touch with the CEO of BRP. As a result, we have a great deal of information about the reality facing businesses right now. We are well aware that the change in the tariff calculation is having a negative impact on our businesses and our workers. We have been there for Canadians since the tariff war began. We will continue to be there, and we will be there tomorrow as well.

Finance

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when the Prime Minister took office, he pledged to spend less than Justin Trudeau. Instead, he added $90 billion of net new spending, two-thirds of that on day-to-day operations. Bureaucracy is up 7% and operating costs are up 9%, all higher than his promised savings. He is putting the nation's finances on a credit card and pretending all of that is normal.

Will the Prime Minister commit today that his deficit will not exceed the already excessive $31 billion Justin Trudeau left behind, or has he simply grabbed Trudeau's credit card and asked for a higher limit?

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Secretary of State (Canada Revenue Agency and Financial Institutions)]

Mr. Speaker, the member's leader talks about presence in the House. He has been here for 22 years and has produced nothing.

Let us look at some economic facts: best fiscal position in the G7, second-fastest growing economy in the G7, best net debt-to-GDP in the G7 and wages outpacing inflation.

It is time for that member's leader and that party to stop the bizarre press conferences, stop the podcast tours and help us build Canada strong.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, nobody thought it was possible to outspend Justin Trudeau, but here we are, with the same cast of characters sitting in the exact same seats saying the same thing. The Prime Minister doubled last year's deficit and sent the bill to Canadian kitchen tables: the worst grocery prices, the highest household debt, the worst housing costs in the G7. Those are the actual facts.

When Liberals doubled the debt, they doubled the food bank lineups and they doubled the rent, passing on the balance from the credit card to every Canadian family. Will the Prime Minister stop the credit card budgeting, or does he think Canadians can also just apply for a higher limit?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, all across Canada, Canadians have been pulling together to make sure that we build Canada strong. I would challenge the member from the opposite party to ask herself this: Why is she voting against kids getting food in school? Why is she voting against affordable child care? Why does she vote against skilled tradespeople having the opportunity to fill their apprenticeship and actually get those great jobs? Why is she voting against investments in infrastructure, in housing and in water?

It does not matter what solution we propose. Those guys are against Canada and Canadians.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary East, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the only surplus this Prime Minister knows is the one in his offshore tax haven. The guy literally doubled Trudeau's deficit and gave Canadians the worst food inflation in the G7 and the worst household debt in the G7. Tomorrow, he is going to table another costly credit card budget and put it on the national credit card, all on the backs of Canadians.

Will the Prime Minister end his credit card budgeting so Canadians can finally afford to live?

[Tim Hodgson, Liberal, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, while they are complaining, this is what we are doing: We are getting things built.

On Friday, we announced the $4.4-billion expansion of the Sunrise pipeline project, which generates $3.3 billion in annual GDP. It adds 2,500 construction jobs this summer. It adds $700 million in tax revenue to B.C. and the federal government to build Canada strong. That is what we are doing.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary East, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the only thing these guys have built so far is literally 12 bureaucracies, nothing else. The Prime Minister said he would spend less. A year after that, he has increased bureaucracy, he has increased consultants and he has increased the deficit, all on the national credit card, all on the backs of Canadians.

Once again, will the Liberals end their credit card budgeting so Canadians can finally afford to live?