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Finance

Question period focused on federal spending, deficits and the cost of living, ahead of what members referred to as a budget to come. The Conservative Leader said Liberal deficits are driving up debt, inflation, taxes, housing costs and food bank use, noting half of Quebeckers over 50 fear they cannot afford retirement, and repeatedly asked whether the deficit would be kept under $31 billion. He called the newly announced Canada sovereign wealth fund a fund “with no wealth,” saying $25 billion would be borrowed for it, and, when asked which spending he considered inflationary, cited consultants, corporate welfare, the Alto high-speed rail project and gun measures. Liberal ministers responded that Canada has the second-fastest growth and strongest fiscal position in the G7 according to the IMF, promoted the new wealth fund as a way for Canadians to invest in major national projects, noted inflation is back within the Bank of Canada’s target range, and argued money not yet spent cannot be inflationary, asking the Opposition Leader to identify which programs — such as the child benefit, dental care or seniors’ supports — he would call inflationary. The Prime Minister did not answer these questions himself; other Liberal ministers replied.Written by AI from the debate. Updated .

Official text

13 statements

Pierre Poilievre

Conservative
“The Prime Minister is spending too much and causing high costs. Many seniors in Quebec worry they cannot afford retirement or must go back to work. Will the Prime Minister cut his spending deficits?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, according to Le Journal de Montréal, while this Liberal Prime Minister continues to pay the nation’s bills with a credit card, half of Quebeckers aged 50 and older are worried they will not have enough money for retirement. What is more, twice as many Quebeckers now have to go back to work during retirement just to make ends meet. After 10 years of inflationary deficits and taxes, the Prime Minister is increasing spending even further. Is he going to reduce these inflationary deficits, or is he going to charge it to seniors’ credit cards?

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François-Philippe Champagne

Liberal
“We are creating a national wealth fund. It will help Canadians build major projects across the country.”

  • Government answer in Question Period

    Relevance 14 of 100

    None of this answer addressed the specific question that was asked.

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I know that it is Monday and that the Leader of the Opposition is always on the lookout for good news. Well, we have some good news this morning: Canada’s first sovereign wealth fund, the Canada Strong fund. This fund is designed to help create collective wealth, to enable Canadians to build major projects from coast to coast to coast, and to set us apart among the G7 countries. Let us celebrate a Canada for everyone. Let us celebrate a fund for a strong Canada.

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Pierre Poilievre

Conservative
“The Prime Minister is spending too much borrowed money, which drives up taxes and the cost of living. Will he cut the deficit tomorrow, or will he borrow even more?”

  • Opposition question in Question Period

    Signal 43 of 100

    Much of this statement went to praise, blame, greetings, routine procedure or general stories rather than reasons, requests or specific points.

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  • A repeated line

    “The Prime Minister is just another Liberal.”

    Said 22 times by 14 members since April 23.

    Every time it was said
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, it is a sovereign wealth fund with no wealth. There is no wealth to put into it. It is really more of a debt fund. It is a credit card budget: more debt, more costs, more inflation, more taxes, more of the same. This Prime Minister is just another Liberal. He inherited a jaw-dropping $31‑billion deficit from Justin Trudeau, but since then, he has added $90 billion in inflationary spending. Tomorrow, will he reduce the deficit or will he put all that on the national credit card and drive up the cost of living even more?

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François-Philippe Champagne

Liberal
“Canada's economy is growing faster than almost every other major country. Today, we announced a national investment fund to pay for big projects and grow our shared wealth.”

  • Government answer in Question Period

    Relevance 46 of 100

    None of this answer addressed the specific question that was asked.

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I have more good news for the Leader of the Opposition. The International Monetary Fund recently said that Canada has the second-fastest growth in the G7. It is nearly twice as fast as Germany’s, almost twice as fast as Japan’s and almost three times as fast as Italy’s. This morning, we announced a sovereign wealth fund so Canadians across the country can build the country with us, create collective wealth and invest in these major projects.

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Pierre Poilievre

Conservative
“The Liberals doubled Canada's debt, housing costs, and food bank visits. Now the new Prime Minister is spending even more. I want to know if he will keep this year's deficit under $31 billion, or spend more than that.”

  • A repeated line

    “The Prime Minister is just another Liberal.”

    Said 22 times by 14 members since April 23.

    Every time it was said
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, more debt, more costs, more taxes. The Prime Minister is just another Liberal. The Liberal government doubled the debt, doubled housing costs and doubled food bank lineups. The previous prime minister left behind an outrageous $31-billion deficit for this fiscal year. Since that time, the new Liberal Prime Minister has been spending at even higher rates and putting it on the national credit card. That means the bankers make more and Canadian workers and seniors keep less. Will the Prime Minister at least cap the deficit at Trudeau’s $31 billion or will he break through that limit and put it on the credit card?

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François-Philippe Champagne

Liberal
“We announced a new Canadian investment fund. It will let the government and Canadians put money into projects across the country so everyone benefits.”

  • Government answer in Question Period

    Relevance 42 of 100

    None of this answer addressed the specific question that was asked.

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  • Government answer in Question Period

    Clarity 17 of 100

    Much of this statement used imprecise wording, lacked details on timing or responsibility, or made broad claims without support.

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  • A repeated line

    “Let us build Canada strong together.”

    Said 4 times by 2 members since April 27.

    Every time it was said
Official Hansard

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.

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Pierre Poilievre

Conservative
“I asked the Prime Minister a question. He is avoiding it, and someone else is answering instead.”
Official Hansard

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!

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Pierre Poilievre

Conservative
“The Prime Minister wants to borrow $25 billion for a new fund after already doubling the national debt. Will he borrow even more money tomorrow?”
Official Hansard

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?

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François-Philippe Champagne

Liberal
“Canada's economy and finances are among the strongest in the G7. It is growing faster than Germany, Japan, and Italy. We will keep building a strong economy to help Canadians.”

  • A repeated line

    “We are going to build Canada strong.”

    Said 33 times by 14 members since April 24.

    Every time it was said
Official Hansard

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—

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Pierre Poilievre

Conservative
“The Prime Minister's economic choices have made food and housing too expensive and given Canada high debt and unemployment. He already has a 31-billion-dollar deficit this year. Will he borrow even more money tomorrow?”

  • A repeated line

    “The highest housing costs and the second-highest unemployment in the G7.”

    Said 15 times by 12 members since April 27.

    Every time it was said
Official Hansard

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?

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Steven MacKinnon

Liberal
“Inflation is back down to normal levels. I want the Leader of the Opposition to tell us clearly which government programs he thinks cause inflation. Does he mean help for children, people with disabilities, dental care, groceries, or seniors?”

  • Government answer in Question Period

    Relevance 45 of 100

    None of this answer addressed the specific question that was asked.

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  • A repeated line

    “Is it the Canada child benefit?”

    Said 7 times by 3 members since April 23.

    Every time it was said
Official Hansard

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?

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Pierre Poilievre

Conservative
“The Liberals are spending tens of billions of dollars on consultants, corporate welfare, and useless projects. This spending causes inflation. I want the government to stop spending this money.”
Official Hansard

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?

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Steven MacKinnon

Liberal
“Money we have not spent yet cannot cause inflation. We plan to build high-speed rail. I want the Leader of the Opposition to say which of our programs he thinks causes inflation.”

  • Government answer in Question Period

    Relevance 45 of 100

    None of this answer addressed the specific question that was asked.

    See full analysis

  • A repeated line

    “Is it the Canada child benefit?”

    Said 7 times by 3 members since April 23.

    Every time it was said
Official Hansard

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—

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