What they said. What they meant.

Plain-language translations from the House of Commons.

Recent debates

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Oral Questions

Finance

A debate on the federal budget and economic policy. The Conservative leader criticized the Liberal government for increasing the deficit, while the Prime Minister defended his government's spending and economic record. The debate was dominated by partisan rhetoric and personal attacks, with both sides accusing each other of being wrong on various issues, rather than substantive discussion of the budget itself.

Official Hansard ↗

Hon. Pierre Poilievre

Conservative
“I want to blame the Liberals for spending and borrowing too much. I want voters to think that the other party is expensive for them.”
Our translation 61% shorter

Right Hon. Mark Carney

Liberal
“I want Canadians to think we're doing a lot. I want to promise goodies to Canadians. Half of our plan is supposed to make life cheaper even while we borrow and spend. I want Canada to be better than other countries.”
Our translation 37% shorter

Hon. Pierre Poilievre

Conservative
“I want to blame the government for high prices. I want voters to think the government is making them pay too much to bankers instead of doctors.”
Our translation 67% shorter

Right Hon. Mark Carney

Liberal
“I want to talk about the future instead of the past. I want to say we have a good plan. I want voters to think we will make Canada strong.”
Our translation 59% shorter

Hon. Pierre Poilievre

Conservative
“That's not good. Liberals are spending too much money. Liberals are putting too much on the national credit card. Canadians have to pay more in interest. I want to know if they will ever stop spending so much money.”
Our translation 56% shorter

Right Hon. Mark Carney

Liberal
“I'm the government and I'm doing a good job. I'm spending less money than before. I'm saving money for Canadians. I'm spending less on consultants. I'm making Canada strong.”
Our translation 60% shorter

Hon. Pierre Poilievre

Conservative
“Justin Trudeau said the deficit would be $31 billion. Now it's $65 billion. 65 is bigger than 31. The Liberals are bad at math. They say more spending is less spending. They say wasting money is prudent. They say not preparing for a storm is good management.”
Our translation 47% shorter

Right Hon. Mark Carney

Liberal
“I want people to like the government. We spent money on many things. We are giving people cheques. We made gas cost less. Employers get money for hiring young people. I think people should thank us for how we spent the money.”
Our translation 44% shorter

Hon. Pierre Poilievre

Conservative
“This government spent too much. They said spending would make the economy grow. It didn't work. We have slow growth. Housing costs too much. People have a lot of debt. Business isn't investing. The Prime Minister wants to do the same thing again. More debt. More spending. It will cost Canadians more. The Prime Minister should say he was wrong.”
Our translation 47% shorter

Right Hon. Mark Carney

Liberal
“I want to distract from the Prime Minister's record on the economy. Look at these nice spending programs instead! $500 cheques for everyone! Canadians should be happy about that. The economy is actually doing pretty ok compared to other countries. The Conservatives are just trying to make us look bad.”
Our translation 12% shorter

Hon. Pierre Poilievre

Conservative
“This Prime Minister has been wrong on everything. Wrong about taxes. Wrong about oil. Wrong about pipelines. Wrong about inflation. Canadians are paying for his mistakes.”
Our translation 77% shorter

Right Hon. Mark Carney

Liberal
“He was wrong too, but who cares? We're spending money with provinces. We talk to them. I'm trying to make myself look good.”
Our translation 75% shorter