The Conservatives moved a motion criticizing the government's economic record. They claimed Canada has the only economy in recession in the G7, the worst household debt, the worst housing costs, and the second highest unemployment. But most of the debate consisted of MPs speechifying about their own qualifications, bragging about their ridings, sparring over procedure, and accusing each other of lacking substance. Very little time was spent actually discussing and debating the specific economic issues raised in the motion.
“You Conservatives keep saying develop more resources. But our deal with Alberta balances environment and development. And the Alberta Premier supports our pipeline plan. So are you saying the Alberta Premier is wrong?”
“I believe the Conservatives are ignoring the positive aspects of the Canadian economy. I think they focus too much on negative news to suit their narrative. I believe our government is taking action to support Canadians through challenges such as trade disputes and global economic instability. I want to highlight the measures our government has taken such as the Canada groceries and essentials benefit, tax cuts for the middle class, and investments in affordable housing and child care. I believe these measures demonstrate our commitment to making life more affordable for Canadians and building a stronger economy.”
“The Conservatives only talk about problems. I want to remind everyone what a good job I think our government is doing instead. We created some programs with nice names to spend a lot of money. That proves we are helping. I don't need to explain how those programs actually fix the problems the Conservatives mentioned. I just want to say the Conservatives voted against one of our spending bills.”
“We already extended EI support for seasonal workers. For tradespeople, we increased the travel deduction. We keep announcing new spending. The other party may laugh, but we are creating jobs. Unwanted trade disruptions displaced some workers. We are doing what we can to help Canadians get jobs.”
“I say the other party's speeches are bad and written by AI. I asked AI about this motion. AI said the motion is more about rhetoric than facts. It says the motion oversimplifies complex issues. I want the parliamentary secretary to say if he agrees with this AI assessment.”
“I sarcastically praise AI for criticizing the Conservative motion. I don't believe the Conservatives' claims. I quote National Bank saying Canada's economy is not really in recession and the Conservatives are wrong. I list more experts who agree with me. I think my party is right and the other party is wrong.”
“You're getting off topic. The motion we're debating is misleading. The claims in the motion are untrue. Our government keeps children safe. The Conservatives block our changes to the Criminal Code. Conservatives are stalling reforms that would help police keep communities safe.”
“The Conservatives are exaggerating. We're the reasonable ones. See, we cut immigration in almost every category. We don't want to strain health care and housing. That's the responsible approach.”
“I want to blame weak GDP on temporary problems like government spending. The real issue is exports. I want to know what my colleague thinks about private investment. I'm worried uncertainty will freeze private spending.”
“I don't want the Conservatives to convince Canadians the economy is bad. That might make the government look bad. Don't say the word recession. I want to talk about how the government is signing a lot of trade deals and energy projects instead.”
“I don't want to talk about numbers. Numbers are bad. I want to talk about people and their feelings. There are sad people. I won't say they're wrong to feel bad. That would look uncaring. But I will blame the Conservatives. They're bad. They don't have real plans. Only we have real plans. Here are some programs and spending I like. These are good things. I want to be associated with good things. Companies are investing in Canada. That's proof everything is working great. Don't listen to Conservatives. They're mean. They'll take away your programs. We won't. We're giving you things. If you're impatient for results, that just means we should spend more faster. Don't look at bad numbers or question if our approach is really working. Look at our good intentions and all the things we're associated with. The other guys are just fearmongers. Ignore them.”
“Countries trust Canada because our government is reliable. Our workers are the best. Our researchers have good ideas. We're a safe bet for investment.”
“We can do two things at once. We are working to fix US tariffs. But we also want trade with other countries. More trade is good. We signed trade agreements to help Canada sell products to other countries.”
“The motion is bad. I don't like it. It's not serious. Look at our serious plan instead! We signed trade deals. We sent money to my riding. We made a space bill. Space is good for the economy! We gave wage subsidies to some businesses. We made a summer jobs program. We gave money to some people. The other side is bad. We are good. I am focused and serious!”
“You say our motions have no substance, but look at all the things I can list! I say they matter. Trade deals! Doubling exports! Foreign investment is up! It's all good news to me. Why don't you focus on that instead of always criticizing?”
