Pierre Poilievre

[The Economy, June 3rd, 2026]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister cannot even get up and defend his economic record as it is so bad. Instead, he has one of his backbenchers explain that the Liberals are spending billions and billions of dollars on new bureaucracies they have set up. That is exactly why the economy is in a recession. It is because he has continued on with the same Liberal policies of the last 10 years: the same anti-development laws, the same expansion of bureaucracy, the same corporate welfare, 12 new government agencies, and Canadians paying the bill with higher and higher prices.

We all know that Canada is the only G20 country in a recession. Can he explain why Canada has the lowest per capita GDP growth in the G7?

[The Economy, June 3rd, 2026]

Mr. Speaker, the government's excuses for the Liberal recession kept changing. First, they said it was world factors. Then we pointed out that none of the other G20 countries are in a recession. Mexico, which shares a border with the U.S. and is fully integrated with the U.S. economy, is not in a recession. Only this country, under this Liberal Prime Minister, is in a recession.

His explanation yesterday was, “We see some weakness, in part because of clear decisions by the government.” That at least is fair.

He claims that we are not bringing enough immigration. If that is the case, why is it that Canada has the lowest per capita GDP growth of any G7 country?

[The Economy, June 3rd, 2026]

Mr. Speaker, it has now been almost a week after Stats Canada reported that Canada had the only recession in the G20. The Prime Minister has been in hiding ever since. He has the worst attendance record in question period. While Canadians are losing their jobs, he will not even show up to do his job.

I ask questions on behalf of Zahra, Jacqueline, Brad, Kevin, Nathan and countless others who do not know how they are going to pay their bills.

Will the Liberals stand up for once, own up for once and tell us, are we in a technical recession or a real recession? Which is it?

[The Economy, June 3rd, 2026]

Mr. Speaker, it is the same pattern with the Prime Minister every time. He gets a fancy title, and he turns it into an absolute disaster. A tiny group of insiders get fabulously rich making everyone else poor, and when it comes time to be accountable, he goes into hiding, not even able to respond to the Canadians who wrote letters about their economic desperation, with Canada being the only G20 country in recession. Nathan from Ontario lost his job and is not sure how he is going to cover expenses for his type 1 diabetes, as severance money is now running out.

Will the Prime Minister have the decency and the courage to look Nathan in the eye and tell him—

[The Economy, June 3rd, 2026]

Mr. Speaker, the question was for the Prime Minister. If he actually cared about the people who wrote these letters, he would stand up and answer the questions himself instead of having a member get up to condemn slogans and then list five of them in a row.

Here is another letter, which is from Thomas in Sarnia. He runs a painting business, but is now stuck in a bind. The cost of his paints are too high to keep his prices low, and if his prices are too high, nobody can afford to hire him. He is worried he is going to lose his business. This is the human cost of being the only country in the G20 that is in a recession.

Will the Prime Minister tell Thomas if this just a technical recession? Is he technically on the verge of bankruptcy?

[The Economy, June 3rd, 2026]

Mr. Speaker, when there is only one country in the G20 facing a recession, while all the other countries face the same wars and tariffs, then we know it is appropriate to blame the Liberal government. The member talks about glee. Jacqueline has no glee. She actually had to put her dog down because she cannot afford the veterinary bills along with the inflation in her food, her rent and her gas.

If the Prime Minister actually cares about Jacqueline, will he stand up and answer the question? Are we in a recession or a technical recession? Which is it?

[The Economy, June 3rd, 2026]

Mr. Speaker, the question is for the Prime Minister about the real human cost of Canada being the only country in the G7, and in the G20, that is in a recession. Brad from Ontario wrote me to say that his family hung on during the Trudeau years, but since the Liberal Prime Minister took over, he is at risk of losing everything. He sold his home and had to get rid of all of the savings he had accumulated for his retirement.

Will the Prime Minister have the decency to stand up, look Brad in the eye and tell Brad if we are in a technical recession or a real recession?

[The Economy, June 3rd, 2026]

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?

[The Economy, June 3rd, 2026]

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?

[The Economy, June 3rd, 2026]

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?