Mr. Speaker, I am really pleased today to be able to rise and speak to this incredible budget, which is a real road map toward building and strengthening our great country. We are all proud to be Canadians. The budget is clearly a forward-looking plan. There is a lot in there, and I think it is going to take some time for people to understand it all and to realize what investments we are making and what really matters.
As chair of the Standing Committee on International Trade, I will focus my remarks there. I have had the opportunity, along with great committee members, to have many different companies come forward to talk to the committee as we do a CUSMA review. We hear directly from so many businesses, individuals and professionals. They are sharing their concerns about the uncertainty they are living under, the challenges facing them and their desire to help Canada overcome some of the challenges it is facing.
I know how deeply interconnected our prosperity is with the global economy. As the proud member of Parliament for Humber River—Black Creek, I know how important it is that our national policies deliver real, tangible benefits to the families, workers and businesses in our communities.
I recently had a meeting with the Minister of Small Business and members of the Emery Village Business Improvement Area. We talked about the pressures they were facing when it came to steel and aluminum, in particular, as well as our important auto industry, of course. I could feel their stress across the table, and their concern with everything. Some of them had businesses that their fathers had started. They looked at all of that as being at risk, with the tariffs and the kinds of pressures Canada is trying to deal with now. It was a very moving experience, and it made me that much more determined to do everything we can to find solutions, stand together and be there for them.
We are living through a time of profound global change. The rules-based international order that has supported decades of Canadian prosperity is being reshaped, whether we like it or not. Tariffs are rising, supply chains are shifting, and economic uncertainty is affecting businesses and workers across the country. Budget 2025 does not flinch. It responds with a clear plan to build Canada strong by investing in our economy, protecting our communities and empowering Canadians throughout Canada.
Canada is uniquely positioned to thrive in this new global landscape with the right investments and the right leadership, which I hope would come from all of us as members of Parliament. All parliamentarians, at this point, are being called upon to do everything we can to assist companies and families that are struggling, to do it together as parliamentarians and to put aside the partisan issues. We can do far more, and do a better job, if we do it all by working together.
The budget launches a trade diversification strategy to double overseas exports over the next decade. I have been the chair of the international trade committee for a few years now, and I have seen many companies that are very comfortable in their achievements. When asked why they were not moving forward to diversify and to reach out to other markets, the answer was that they were doing well where they were and it is complicated.
I think part of our role as parliamentarians is to make things easier for companies to be able to diversify. We should hold their hand, if necessary. EDC does some of that, but again, it does not do enough to meet the needs of what we are dealing with today. We want our companies to feel comfortable that we can walk them through the paperwork and red tape and hold their hand to get them through those opportunities. I think more Canadian companies will do it. We talk about it, but we do not actually deliver the help quickly enough or efficiently enough to encourage them to venture overseas and diversify their markets. It is going to be really important that we do that in the future, as we move forward.
That means more Canadian goods. Whether it is steel from Hamilton, tech from Toronto or food from our many farms, reaching new markets and creating new jobs are imperative for a successful future for Canada.
As chair of the international trade committee, I want to highlight that this is only one of the many ways this budget aligns with the priorities we are hearing in our current study of the CUSMA trade agreement and the future of North American trade. We have heard from stakeholders across sectors that stability, predictability and enforcement are essential to maintaining confidence in our trade relationships. Budget 2025 reinforces Canada's commitment to a rules-based trading system, ensuring that our exporters can compete fairly and that our agreements are respected by everyone.
We have also heard about the need for trade infrastructure, the ports, railways and digital systems that move Canadian goods to market. This budget delivers, with major investments in infrastructure that will strengthen our supply chains and support long-term growth. Many times we have heard about the challenges in Churchill and other areas, how our ports need an investment of infrastructure dollars so they can increase their delivery. I believe the ideas that have already been put out there about the ports, the expansion and the infrastructure necessary maybe never would have happened, but now, in the situation we are in, the budget shows that we are going to be investing a lot in infrastructure so companies can get their goods to market faster.
We have heard about the importance of economic resilience, ensuring that Canada can withstand global shocks and remain competitive. Budget 2025 supports this by investing in domestic industries, diversifying our trade partnerships and launching a buy Canadian policy that prioritizes Canada suppliers and workers.
This is a budget that listens to the needs of our exporters, our manufacturers and our workers and acts decisively to support them.
Budget 2025 fast-tracks major infrastructure projects through the new Major Projects Office, streamlining approvals and getting shovels in the ground faster. As parliamentarians and former municipal councillors, we have seen the red tape and the delays in getting things through, whether at the federal, provincial or municipal level. There are always extreme delays. It takes four or five years sometimes to get some of these projects through. There needs to be an end to that. That is what I hope we will see with the Major Projects Office, which will actually streamline many of these projects, especially the infrastructure ones.
The first tranche of these projects alone will trigger $150 billion in capital investments. Did members notice that I said “billion”? It used to be millions, and we are now talking billions. I think that is more money than any of us could even imagine. It will change Canada now and forever and create thousands of well-paying jobs. In Toronto, and especially Humber River—Black Creek, these investments will mean better transit, safer roads and more affordable housing. They will also mean good jobs in construction, engineering and the skilled trades. Yes, it will take time, but in the meantime, while we are expanding ports, building bridges and so on, all of that is creating jobs so we ensure that Canadians are working.
Through the build communities strong fund, municipalities like Toronto will have the tools they need to improve local infrastructure and support economic growth. Through Build Canada Homes, we are partnering with cities and indigenous communities to build housing at scale and speed. I have had the opportunity to visit several new initiatives when it comes to housing and see their ability to build a house in a month. We are creating homes much quicker with the prebuilds and so on. Things will be moving much faster. Again, it is all about creating jobs.
