Debates of June 3rd, 2026

The Economy

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the birthday wishes. I am 47 years old, but that is 50 with inflation. What I really want as a birthday gift from the Prime Minister is someone who will actually answer the question. Canadians deserve answers, not misinformation.

We have had two consecutive declining quarters of GDP growth. We are the only country in the G7 that can say that. We are the only country in the G7 that has seen the economy shrink in three of the last four quarters. We are the only country whose GDP is smaller than it was a year ago, when the Prime Minister took office.

Will the Prime Minister tell us, are we in a recession or in a technical recession? Which is it?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, it is very painful, on someone's birthday, when you give them a present and they give it back to you.

I will do a little research for the Leader of the Opposition. If he would like to ask the C.D. Howe Institute, it knows the answer to that question. He could ask the OECD, which today predicts that Canada will have the second-strongest economy in the G7 this year and next. That is the answer.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, it was the only promise he made during the election. He gave the same forecast a few days ago. After that, we found out that Canada is the only G20 nation in a recession. That means Canadians are skipping meals, 112,000 people have lost their jobs, and we have the second-worst unemployment rate in the G7.

Can the Prime Minister rise and answer a very simple question: Are we in a recession or just a technical recession?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again the official record of Parliament needs to be corrected. I made a number of promises during the election campaign. The first was to save Canadians from the horrible policies of the Leader of the Opposition. The second was to introduce policies that would create a more resilient, more prosperous, stronger, more sustainable and more independent economy. This is what we are doing.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, instead, all the Prime Minister delivered was a recession. He promised he would have the fastest-growing economy in the G7. He has delivered the only recession in the G7. While Canadians line up around the block to try to collect from the food bank, the Prime Minister spends $200,000 on inflight meals for just three flights, including $4,200 on crème brûlée and $593 on luxury Normandy butter cups. No wonder he is so out of touch with the people whose jobs he has killed.

Can he tell us whether he will ground his plane, and will he stand up and tell us if are we in a recession?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, what I will tell the House is what I hear from international investors and businesses when we travel. What I heard in New York is that Canada is the most attractive destination for foreign infrastructure investment. What I hear from major global investors, who want to invest more than $100 billion in this country, is what we are already seeing, which is foreign investment that is running in this country at twice the rate of any other G7 economy. That is—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The Leader of the Opposition.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, obviously the multinational corporations he is profiting are very pleased with the way things are going. As for the Canadian people, who are living under his recession, it is another story. They have not had $200,000-meals on three private flights. They do not have tax havens so they can shelter from the high tax burden he imposes on everyone else. He cannot even bring himself to utter the word “recession,” even though the tech spec definition tells us that he is the only Prime Minister, the only leader in the G20, who has created one.

Will the Prime Minister stand in the House and answer this question: Are we in a recession or a technical recession?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are in an economy that is fundamentally being transformed by a government that has a plan to create a stronger, more independent and more resilient economy, a sustainable economy, an economy that moves from reliance to resilience. We are already seeing business investment, Canadian business investment, up 10% in machinery equipment. We are seeing our non-U.S. exports up, and they are on course to double. We are seeing the strongest inbound investment in—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

Order. The hon. member for Beloeil—Chambly.

Canadian Identity and Culture

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, here is yet another betrayal of Quebec culture: On day two of the CUSMA negotiations, the government is already asking the CRTC to drop the 15% levy required of major online streaming platforms such as Netflix, Disney+ and Prime Video. After scrapping the digital services tax, Ottawa is once again sacrificing funding for cultural content by allowing web giants to avoid paying their fair share. We are talking about $3.4 billion.

Does the Prime Minister know that he is supposed to defend culture, not bargain it away?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the government is starting by standing up for ordinary people. We are focusing on affordability. This decision is primarily about ensuring affordability for Quebeckers and Canadian families. At the same time, we are investing an additional $600 million in Canadian and Quebec culture.

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister previously abandoned the digital services tax without any concessions from Washington; there was nothing at all. As a result, he deprived the cultural sector of $1.4 billion. Today, he is asking the CRTC to backtrack on the 15% levy imposed on large online streaming platforms. That would mean once again giving up on $2 billion that would essentially come from the United States. He is depriving the cultural sector of billions of dollars, while saying he would spend $600 million of taxpayer money to make up for that.

How can he justify the fact that everybody is losing, except for the web giants?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I have some news for the member for Beloeil—Chambly. Who pays for that streaming levy? Everyday Canadians do, through streaming fees. That is the truth. At a time when we are focused on purchasing power, we decided to support the cultural sector and focus on affordability for everyone.

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, he is forgoing $3.4 billion a year that would come from the United States, and taking $600 million out of taxpayers' pockets. By asking the CRTC to cancel the 15% levy, the Prime Minister is doing something even worse than merely capitulating. He is validating the Americans' claim that Quebec culture and the French language are barriers to trade. By replacing the levy with public funds, he is validating the Conservatives' criticism by making taxpayers pay for the web giants' share. That is their reasoning. The Prime Minister is sending the message that he is weak.

Will he reverse this cowardly decision?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the government is investing in Canadian culture, in francophone culture and in Quebec culture. They are pillars of our identity. We are supporting Canada's cultural sector more than ever with the decisions made today and in the budget, which the member for Beloeil—Chambly voted against. We have invested $750 million in Canada's cultural sector.

The Economy

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, my question for the Prime Minister is about the human cost of Canada being the only G20 country in the recession. Zahra from Toronto lost her administrative job at a real estate business. She cannot find a new job, and now has to sleep on a friend's couch.

What is the Prime Minister going to tell her, if he cares enough to stand up and answer? Is he going to tell her that she is just technically homeless and technically jobless?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to wish the Leader of the Opposition a happy birthday. I hope his day improves.

The government is focused on building a stronger economy. We recognize the scale of the challenges that this country is facing from abroad. We are focused on that administrator. We are focused on farmers in Battle River—Crowfoot. We are focused on a future that is stronger, more durable, more independent, more resilient and more sustainable.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, this is not a joke. This is a woman's life. The Prime Minister has given us the only recession in the G20, and he stands up and starts joking about her state of affairs. She is sleeping on someone's couch.

Will the Prime Minister stop being so flippant about the suffering that he has caused in the lives of Canadians and tell Zahra whether her homelessness and joblessness are just a technicality?

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

Mr. Speaker, do the Conservatives know what is not a joke? It is when someone loses their job and there is nothing there to catch them, yet if the Conservative members had their way, that is exactly what would have been facing Zahra. They voted against the very measures that we put in place to protect people like Zahra—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

We really cannot hear now.

Not from the top, but the minister may continue. Let us have a little more quiet so we can hear what the minister has to say.

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, what I find to be a joke is that, when the government steps up, not only to lay the foundation of prosperity for the future but also to protect people like Zahra by putting into place things like modernized employment insurance, which the Conservatives routinely laugh about, they vote against those measures, time and—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. Leader of the Opposition.