Adjournment Proceedings

An adjournment debate on the Canadian Fuel Affordability Act, which would extend the pause on the federal fuel excise tax and then cut the rates in half for two more months. Liberal member Madeleine Chenette said Canada is not in a recession, the economy is growing, and the bill would keep tax relief on fuel costs going from a position of strength. Conservative member Cheryl Gallant argued the economy is weak, with near-zero growth, job losses and rising debt, and said growth figures look good only because other countries are doing worse. She also criticized the Prime Minister’s travel abroad, saying it does not help Canadians with the cost of living.Written by AI from the debate. Updated .

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2 statements

Cheryl Gallant, Algonquin—Renfrew—Pembroke

Conservative
“The economy is doing badly under the Liberals. Economic growth is close to zero, real jobs are being lost, and government debt is growing. The Liberals keep spending money they do not have, but it is not helping the economy grow.”
  • Speech in the House

    Respect 95 of 100

    This statement targeted a person rather than their actions or views: “the Prime Minister's narcissism”.

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise on behalf of the constituents struggling to make ends meet. I want to begin by congratulating the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance for responding to my question without engaging in personal insults or cheap partisan attacks. This is a significant improvement over his last response, yet he declined to answer the actual question. Still, the response to my question was illuminating. Given the Prime Minister’s central pitch to voters was that he alone could save the Canadian economy, the news that economic growth is near zero is devastating to his brand. Canadians thought they were getting a technocratic central banker. Instead, we got an investment banker using taxpayers’ pensions as leverage to catalyze a growing debt crisis. The parliamentary secretary’s answer reveals the dilemma the Liberals find themselves in. Unlike some of the more fanatical colleagues who describe the economy with unrealistic exuberance, the parliamentary secretary spoke about “signs of progress” and “building foundations”. A shrinking economy destroys the Prime Minister’s brand. A booming economy destroys the justification for deficit spending. An anemic economy is just what the Liberals want. It was Justin Trudeau’s justification for turning Canada back into a deficit country. It is this Prime Minister’s justification for doubling Trudeau’s deficit. Unfortunately, as the Parliamentary Budget Officer made clear in June, there is just a 1% chance Canada’s debt-to-GDP ratio will go down. This public debt is being used for the largest corporate welfare spending spree in Canadian history. This debt binge is happening at the exact same time investors are demanding higher interest rates for government debt. The Liberals want us to ignore the slow growth, the job losses and the debt spiral. At the same time, they accuse us of ignoring the May jobs report. I looked at the jobs report, and it is not as rosy a picture as the Liberals would have us believe. The headline claims 88,000 jobs were created, yet Stats Canada hired 33,000 people to conduct the census in May, and 17,000 of the remaining jobs were in construction, which sounds great until you realize this is Canada, where we build more in the spring and summer and less in the winter. When compared year over year, there has been no job growth in construction. We cannot say the same for retail. In May, 35,000 Canadians lost jobs in the retail sector. In fact, since May 2025, over 61,000 retail jobs have been lost. Despite what the Liberals would have us believe, Donald Trump cannot put a tariff on the mall. The other big sector with job gains was in culture and recreation, because camps, resorts and other seasonal tourist businesses began hiring for the summer season. I know Liberals think they can control the weather with taxes, but they cannot claim credit when the sun shines. For 11 long years, the Liberals have been promising their deficit spending would turbocharge growth and investment. It has not. Recently, the Prime Minister said that they are investing tremendous amounts of money in the country like we have never seen before. Oh, my apologies, that was a quote from President Trump. Here is the Prime Minister’s quote: “We’ve secured new investment in the country of a size not seen, arguably, before.” Well, set aside the hyperbole and the Prime Minister’s narcissism, Canadians can see the truth for themselves. Liberals love low growth. Only Conservatives are fighting for a strong economy.

Cheryl Gallant, Algonquin—Renfrew—Pembroke

Conservative
“The Liberals brag about Canada's economic growth, but the numbers look good only because Europe is doing poorly. The Prime Minister spends most of his travel time in Europe, including for a family vacation, while telling Canadians to stay home. His speeches abroad do nothing to help Canadians afford food.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the latest Liberal talking point is to claim Canada is the second-fastest-growing economy in the G7. This is like your teenager claiming they were the least drunk person at the keg party. What the Liberals do not like to mention is that the fastest-growing economy in the G7 is the United States. That means the U.K., Germany, France and Italy are all growing slower than us. Despite the slow growth in Europe, the Prime Minister has spent two-thirds of his overseas travel in Europe. He even enjoyed a family vacation in Tuscany while telling Canadians to vacation more at home. It is easy for the Prime Minister to fly to a nice privately owned European airport and give the same speech announcing the same new partnership strategy for a future alliance, for a new strategic future with the EU. Talk is cheap, and fancy speeches in foreign capitals do not put food on the table for Canadians.

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