Debates of May 1st, 2026

Finance

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance and National Revenue and to the Secretary of State (Canada Revenue Agency and Financial Institutions)]

Madam Speaker, the Conservatives have never met a fact they could not deny. The spring economic update shows $11 billion less of a deficit and strong fiscal guardrails.

The International Monetary Fund recently stated that Canada has the strongest fiscal position in the G7. There is not only that: Headlines last night said that we have recently seen the largest monthly growth in the manufacturing industry in three years. Statistics Canada is projecting that Canada's annualized GDP growth for the first quarter in 2026 is 1.7%, which is beyond expectations. Even the Bank of Canada governor said he is encouraged by the direction the federal government is taking.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Madam Speaker, the last Justin Trudeau budget projected the deficit this year to be $31 billion. The deficit is $66 billion. That is more than double what was projected, not lower.

The Liberals are spending more and Canadians are getting less, and now hard-working Canadians cannot even afford groceries. Here are some facts for the government. Food bank use has exploded to 2.2 million visits every month, up 100% since 2019. A third of those relying on food banks are children. Everything the Liberals brag about doing, they have tried before over the last 11 years themselves. Instead of driving up prices—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Alexandra Mendès), Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. parliamentary secretary.

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance and National Revenue and to the Secretary of State (Canada Revenue Agency and Financial Institutions)]

Madam Speaker, it is very hard to take the member opposite seriously when he mentions children being hungry, as he voted time and time again in this House, with his entire party, against a national school food program that would take 400,000 children out of food bank lineups. That is shameful. That is absolutely shameful that they would stand here and lecture us on feeding children across Canada.

We have offered a Canada child benefit that puts hundreds of tax-free dollars into Canadians' pockets. We reduced the cost of child care and we have offered free lunches at school, and the members opposite opposed all of it.

[Kyle Seeback, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Madam Speaker, all week, the Liberals have said they are going to spend less and invest more, except they define what spending is and what investing is. It is almost like they got their accounting advice from Bernie Madoff.

What we know is that the Liberals are now spending another $65 billion on Canada's credit card. They doubled the national debt, so we now spend more on interest servicing the debt than we do on health care.

Are the Liberals proud of this record?

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance and National Revenue and to the Secretary of State (Canada Revenue Agency and Financial Institutions)]

Madam Speaker, let us get acquainted with the facts. I know it is very hard for the Conservatives to accept. The deficit is $11 billion lower than projected. Operational spending has gone from an average annual increase of 8% to 2%. We are on a declining deficit-to-GDP ratio over the planning horizon. Inflation in Canada has been within the Bank of Canada's target range for almost three years. We have a AAA credit rating, the highest credit rating of any country rating in the world. We have a higher per capita rate of job creation than the U.S., three times—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Alexandra Mendès), Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for Dufferin—Caledon.

[Kyle Seeback, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Madam Speaker, they really did learn how to manipulate numbers from Bernie Madoff. They say that the deficit is down. They projected a terrible deficit. They just made up a number. It is actually double what it was under Justin Trudeau. That is up, not down. I hate to break it to these guys.

Canadians now have the highest household debt in the G7. Why? They are borrowing money to pay for their daily and weekly costs, including groceries. Everything has gotten worse under the Liberals, including debt.

Why do they keep racking up the debt on Canada's credit card so that we spend more on just the interest portion of servicing the debt than we do on health care?

[Maninder Sidhu, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Madam Speaker, we are building big projects across the country to create new opportunities and new jobs through the new build communities strong fund.

We announced a $64-million federal investment to build the largest community centre in Brampton, the Embleton Community Centre, with 175,000 square feet of pool, gym and child care facilities. This is what citizens of Canada expect. They expect us to build Canada strong, with major projects to create jobs and opportunities across the country.

[Pat Kelly, Conservative, Calgary Crowfoot, AB]

Madam Speaker, remember when Justin Trudeau's projected deficit was so bad, Chrystia Freeland refused to table it and resigned, and then Trudeau resigned? They had to get another random Liberal to table it.

The update is so bad. It is another credit card budget, with double the deficit that forced the then-finance minister and, eventually, the prime minister to resign.

Will the Prime Minister admit that after 10 years of reckless Liberal taxing, borrowing and spending, nothing has changed?

[Claude Guay, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Madam Speaker, to grow our economy and make Canada more resilient, we must diversify our exports. That is why our trade diversification strategy aims to double exports to countries other than the U.S. within 10 years. Canada's energy sector, including Alberta, has a significant role to play. The percentage of oil shipped via the Trans Mountain pipeline destined for Asia increased from 39% to 62%.

[Pat Kelly, Conservative, Calgary Crowfoot, AB]

Madam Speaker, the reviews on this costly budget are in and they are not good.

Even Andrew Coyne, that pillar of Laurentian consensus, said that this new government has no interest in “arresting our economic decline.” Even Andrew Coyne says we are in economic decline, and the Liberals are not interested in doing anything about it.

Will the Liberals finally end their credit card budgeting, yes or no?

[Jennifer McKelvie, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing and Infrastructure]

Madam Speaker, on this side of the House, we believe that now is the time to invest in and build our communities. My colleague is from Alberta.

Can he explain to Albertans which projects he would like to cut?

Is it water infrastructure to support the community of St. Albert? Is it the new Japanese community centre in Calgary? Is it 355 affordable homes in Edmonton, made possible by Build Canada Homes? What is it he wants to cancel?

We want to invest.

[Chris Lewis, Conservative, Essex, ON]

Madam Speaker, I rise again to share what a resident in Essex wrote to me: “Just want to express my deep concerns with...the direction that Canada is heading. I did not think it could get worse than Trudeau”.

My response is this. This costly credit card budget means more debt. The Liberal Prime Minister doubled Trudeau's deficit. There is more spending and there are more taxes. He is just another Liberal.

When will the government end its costly spending so Canadians can afford to live?

[David Myles, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages and to the Secretary of State (Nature)]

Madam Speaker, I have to ask myself what the opposition considers inflationary spending. For instance, yesterday, I heard a member opposite refer to our defence investments as if they were not important, as if they were all inflationary spending.

I will tell members that when I am in Oromocto, when I am in Fredericton, at Base Gagetown, they do not see these as inflationary spending. They see these as important investments in the people who serve our country and protect our sovereignty. I applaud it. They applaud it. Unfortunately, the opposition votes against—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Alexandra Mendès), Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for Jonquière.

Public Services and Procurement

[Mario Simard, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

Madam Speaker, yesterday, the first thing the Liberals did with their new majority was refuse to release the documents on the Cúram software cost overruns. While costs have risen to nearly $7 billion, the Liberals are using their majority to hide the truth from the opposition and the public.

Tens of thousands of seniors are struggling to get their old age pension, but the Liberals refuse to let us address the root of the problem.

Is that what we can expect from the next three years of a Liberal majority government?

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

Madam Speaker, we have been very open and clear about this project.

I will be clear.

On a total budget of $4.8 billion, $1.8 billion has been invested. In fact, the modernization of old age security was delivered under budget. Of the $674 million allocated for this phase, only $633 million was required, reflecting strong project oversight and effective cost management.

As the project evolves, so does the budget, reflecting the scale and complexity of modernizing a 60‑year‑old, obsolete system. This has been transparently communicated—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Alexandra Mendès), Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for Jonquière.

[Mario Simard, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

Madam Speaker, I cannot believe what I just heard. The Liberals know there are problems with Cúram, because they added $451 million for Cúram and the CRA in the economic update. It is absurd for them to claim that there are no cost overruns when they added $451 million in cost overruns in the update.

Meanwhile, they are using their majority in committee to hide information. Yesterday, the minister repeated that Cúram is on budget.

Do the Liberals understand that having a majority does not absolve them from being accountable to Quebeckers?

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

Madam Speaker, as the member knows, this system administers our main benefit programs, namely OAS, EI and the CPP. The first phase of the project is proceeding as planned. The project's other phases are still to come. This is a necessary and ongoing project.

Finance

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent—Akiawenhrahk, QC]

Madam Speaker, there is nothing more important than having enough to eat. After 10 years of Liberal governance, the situation here in Canada is terrible.

One in three Canadians has to borrow money to put food on the table. Some 2.2 million Canadians are visiting food banks every month. What is really heartbreaking is that one in three children has to go to a food bank. That does not make any sense.

Now, the Prime Minister has just tabled a $67‑billion deficit.

Will he admit that he is yet another costly Liberal and that Canadians are now paying the price for that?

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

Madam Speaker, of course, issues related to the cost of food are very important. We are all saddened by the fact that some Canadian families have to turn to food banks to put food on the table.

That is why we are making significant investments in social programs that help families, including the Canada child benefit. Thousands of families in every riding are getting thousands of dollars to help them get through these tough times. Social programs are important and they are what sets Canada apart—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Alexandra Mendès), Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for Louis-Saint-Laurent—Akiawenhrahk.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent—Akiawenhrahk, QC]

Madam Speaker, the parliamentary secretary knows very well that I have a great deal of respect for him because, when he was a member of the provincial government, he ran a zero deficit. However, he is currently a member of a government that has run up a $67‑billion deficit.

The problem is that these Liberals have launched all kinds of programs over the past 10 years, all with zero results. Some 2.2 million Canadians are going to food banks.

Is the parliamentary secretary proud of how poorly his colleagues are handling things, considering how well he managed Quebec's affairs?