Official Hansard
Madam Speaker, I cannot believe I was away from the House for a whole weekend. It is great to be back. I will be sharing my time with the member for Beauport—Limoilou, my hon. colleague. It is a pleasure to participate in today’s debate and speak about the government’s plan to maintain fiscal sustainability in Canada’s outperforming economy. On Friday, Canadians woke up to good news on two fronts. First, the May labour force survey results showed that our plan, one that will build a strong and resilient economy and create good-paying jobs for Canadians, is working. Last week’s labour force survey, despite the Conservatives’ not wanting to talk about this, reinforces the fact that the Canadian economy is stronger than expected. With 88,000 net new jobs created, far higher than market expectations, which was 10,000 jobs, the Canadian economy performed in May at almost nine times the expectation. That means that on a year-over-year basis, Canada has created 147,000 new jobs, all in the face of historic economic uncertainty, trade tensions and geopolitical volatility. Since December 2024, in fact, Canada has added more jobs per capita than the United States has, creating 2.8 jobs per 1,000 people, nearly double the rate of the United States. The second piece of good news is that 12 million Canadians woke up to having received the first instalment of the new Canada groceries and essentials benefit on Friday, which boosted the GST rebate by 50% this year, delivering almost $1,900 to the average family of four, and which will continue for another four years at an increase of 25%. This provides significant support for the people who need it the most, at a time when many families are struggling to afford the high cost of food and essentials. None of this, of course, will make its way into today’s Conservative opposition day motion. It will not make it into the Conservatives’ petty slogans. We will hear no mention, in their social media clips or their fundraising emails, of Canadian job gains or support for groceries, because we know that what is good news for Canadian families, industries and workers is bad news for Conservative politicians, who have, honestly, nothing to offer in the House but tired, insulting and repetitive rhetoric that Canada is broken. In fact, the bottom fell out of the Conservatives’ narrative at the end of last week. They could not even support that narrative for longer than a single week. They jumped on calling something a “technical recession” that clearly was not. I am not sure how Canadians can take Conservatives seriously when the Conservatives stand up in the House every day and say that they are empathetic towards what Canadian families are going through, but then they come skipping into the House with jubilation, clicking their heels, ready to pounce on any sign of bad news that the Canadian economy is struggling. They even do it prematurely, which they did last week when job numbers exceeded expectations by over eight times. It just shows us where the Conservative Party of today is at, looking for anything negative to support its narrative. While Conservatives talk down Canadian businesses, Canadian innovators and Canadian workers at every opportunity, we will take today’s opposition day motion as an opportunity to set the record straight. Let me reassure the hon. member that the government’s fiscal plan remains rooted in fiscal responsibility, not for its own sake but to create capacity to invest in long-term economic strength and greater self-reliance. Consistent with this approach, the recent spring economic update 2026 is the government’s next step in our plan to build a stronger, more independent and resilient Canada for all Canadians. It advances our progress of building more affordable homes and the major infrastructure that transforms and connects our economy and helps us get goods to foreign markets, while bringing down costs to help Canadians get ahead. We are providing a clear and transparent account of how Canada’s economy is performing in an increasingly uncertain world. We are advancing major projects that connect and transform our nation, turbocharging housing construction, catalyzing an entirely new housing industry and forging new economic and security partnerships. We are acting decisively to protect our economic sovereignty, strengthen our strategic industries and position Canada for long-term growth. It is a principled and pragmatic approach that is moving Canada’s economy from reliance to resilience. However, some of the biggest long-term payoffs of this transformation will of course take time to be felt. To ensure that Canadians have the support they need right now, the government is providing a boost today and a bridge to a better tomorrow. For over a year, Canada’s new government has been relentlessly focused on making life more affordable for Canadians. Nearly 22 million Canadians are keeping more of their hard-earned money with the middle-class tax cut that will save two-income families up to $840 this year. First-time homebuyers are saving up to $50,000 with the removal or reduction of the GST on new homes. With the deal that we signed with Ontario, that number goes up to 13%, up to about $130,000 of savings on a new home purchase, plus a 50% reduction in development charges. That could be estimated at up to $200,000 off the price of a first home purchase. We have also removed the consumer carbon price, driving gas prices down by about 18¢ per litre across most provinces and territories. We have reduced Canadians’ bills at the gas station by up to 10¢ per litre on regular gasoline and 4¢ on diesel, by suspending the fuel excise tax over the summer. In addition, last week, more than 12 million Canadians began receiving hundreds of dollars more in their bank account through the new Canada groceries and essentials benefit. These are important measures for serious times. In a world of geopolitical instability, governments need to rethink how they respond to the headwinds we face and to build resilience for the future. From a fiscal perspective, economic resilience, bolstered by government policies to respond to immediate challenges through temporary supports, is delivering an $11.5-billion improvement in the projections of the budgetary balance in 2025-26. That is $11.5 billion less of a deficit than was projected, due to the Canadian economy’s being more resilient. This strength carries into future years, improving the budgetary balance, relative to budget 2025, by an average of $10.7 billion per year from 2026-27 to 2029-30 before new measures. This fiscal room allows the government to improve affordability and raise Canadians’ standard of living through targeted and responsible policy measures, particularly in the areas of fuel, food and housing affordability. This move to invest more in Canadians started with budget 2025. It marked a strategic shift in the government’s management of public finances, focused on expanding federal capital spending to mobilize investment, while maintaining fiscal responsibility. With significant investments to support infrastructure, innovation and productivity and to develop our domestic industrial capabilities, budget 2025 set out a clear plan to build the strongest economy in the G7. The government also remains committed to the disciplined implementation of budget 2025’s efficiency measures. This includes the comprehensive expenditure review, which will save Canadians $60 billion over five years. With implementation well under way, the focus is now turning toward targeted, ongoing horizontal reviews, beginning with efforts to rein in spending on external management and other consulting services. These are challenging times, but these are necessary actions, and we will continue to support our objectives of spending less and investing more in Canadians. Canadians are navigating a rapidly changing and increasingly fragmented world. The global economy is more than a year into a profound rupture. Economic security, industrial policy and geopolitical competition are increasingly shaping investment, trade and financial decisions. The conflict in the Middle East, which has disrupted key shipping routes and damaged energy security, has pushed energy prices higher, underscoring the fragility of global supply chains and adding to already elevated uncertainty. Canada is obviously dealing with this by diversifying trade. We have signed 20 new trade and security agreements in the last year, and we will continue that work as we move forward to diversify and strengthen the Canadian economy.
