Carol Anstey · TranslatePolitics.ca

Statements by Members

The Economy

2026-06-17

“The Prime Minister says affordability is great, but people are crowdfunding to survive. He spent $1 million on fancy airplane food. That's bad. It could feed a family for 55 years. Many Canadians struggle to buy food. In Newfoundland, many are unemployed. I don't think global forces caused this. I think the government did. I want to stop wasteful spending and help Canadians instead.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Prime Minister has said affordability is the best that it has been in decades, even though some Canadians are crowdfunding their way through this cost of living crisis. He is so out of touch. The costly Liberal Prime Minister is the only G20 leader to drag his nation into a recession. While families spend over 120% of their income on food and rent, new data shows the Liberal Prime Minister spent nearly $1 million in luxury inflight catering over just 14 trips. That could feed a family for 55 years. Two in five Canadians are struggling to put food on the table. In Newfoundland and Labrador, one in 10 people are unemployed, and many do not know how they are going to make it through this winter. It is not global forces. It is Liberal choices. Every dollar spent on lavish Liberal catering is a dollar stolen from lowering taxes for Canadians. Conservatives would end this wasteful spending, cut the bureaucracy and restore common sense for Canadians.

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Oral Questions

Emergency Management

2026-06-16

“Newfoundland forests have a lot of dry trees because of a bug outbreak. The government should spend money to fix the forest in my riding. I blame the other party for not spending more.”

Government Orders

Build Canada Homes Act

2026-06-09

“You didn't answer my question about the number of houses this program will build in the next year. I want to know the target.”

“I want the government to build more homes. Don't just make announcements.”

“High prices hurt young people. That makes me sad. I want voters to think I'll fix it.”

“Government spending drives up inflation. That makes it even harder for people to buy a home. We want to reduce costs instead, so that people can afford a home again.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend, who has strong ties to Newfoundland and Labrador, for that question. When we build out government bureaucracy, we build out the size of government and we increase government spending, which drives up inflation, which drives up the cost of everything, including the cost of homebuilding. That is not the answer. We want to unleash the private sector to be able to reduce those costs, so that we can spur on home construction. This would make a meaningful difference. As I said, in rural Canada, home ownership levels are very high. They never want to talk about what the pressure is on social housing, but it is that we are driving affordability out of reach and putting more people into a situation where they cannot afford home ownership. That is what we want to correct.

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“I don't think you asked a real question. I believe in Canadians and the private sector. I don't think we need more bureaucracy to fix housing. Experts tell us they don't want this legislation.”

“I care about housing. We need more houses. The Liberals aren't building enough houses. Their new plan won't work. Liberals just want to spend money. I want to cut taxes to build more houses.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time tonight with my friend and colleague, the member for Fort McMurray—Cold Lake. It is a pleasure to rise today, as it always is, to speak on behalf of the hard-working people of Long Range Mountains on a topic that I am passionate about, and that is housing. Before entering politics, I spent almost 20 years in the real estate industry as an agent, broker and real estate coach. My husband is a builder, and my daughter is a sales agent. I have watched markets right across the country, as well as in my own province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and I intimately understand the current pressures and frustrations around housing supply and home ownership. I have watched the changes in the market, and I am extremely concerned not just for the young person looking to enter the market but also the senior looking to downsize, which would create inventory for another family. I am concerned for those who currently own homes but have dreams of building another home that suits their needs, and for move-up buyers who, again, create movement and space for others to enter the market. In today's market, we see historically low inventory and upward pressure on pricing as a result, and little to no movement for others to enter the market. In addition, construction costs are high and markets are strained, even in areas of the country where there have typically been stable markets and a balance between supply and demand. Rural Canada is a perfect example, but now housing affordability even in these markets is being compromised. Housing affordability is a defining characteristic of rural Canada, and we cannot allow home ownership to become unaffordable, especially in these areas. The Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Realtors says it best: “Home ownership is the cornerstone of community stability, economic prosperity, and personal security. In Newfoundland and Labrador, this aspiration has long been within reach, with our province consistently reporting some of the highest rates of home ownership in Canada. It’s a reflection of our deep-rooted values: self-reliance, pride of place, and long-term investment in our families and neighbourhoods. But today, that dream is under growing threat. Challenges around housing supply, rising costs, and affordability are eroding access to ownership for many hard-working residents. If we wish to preserve this legacy and ensure future generations can share in the security and opportunity of owning a home, decisive action is needed”. However, the saddest housing statistic in this country is that the median age of first-time homebuyers in Ontario is 40 because of affordability, higher carrying costs, longer renting phases and delayed household formation. This means Canadians are not building equity around them until much later in life, and the dream of home ownership is slipping further and further away from young people. The Liberals' response to a strained housing market is the legislation that we are discussing today, Bill C-20, but instead of a real plan to build homes, the Liberals have continued in the same direction and delivered their fourth costly Liberal housing bureaucracy, far from building at what they call generational speeds. In fact, the Liberal government's own housing advocate stated that at the current pace of building affordable homes, it would take over 1,000 years to restore housing affordability for the poorest Canadians. Let us look closely at the facts. During the last election, the Liberal Prime Minister went across the country promising to double housing construction and deliver 500,000 new homes every single year. He promised to move at speeds we have not seen since the Second World War, yet over a year into the Liberal Prime Minister's mandate, we see the exact opposite. There are fewer permits, fewer starts and, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, national housing starts are projected to fall as low as 212,000 per year by 2028. That is an 18.1% decline over the next two years. The CMHC explicitly stated that we need to build somewhere between 430,000 and 480,000 homes a year up to 2035 just to restore basic affordability. What about this new $13-billion Liberal Crown corporation being created under Bill C-20? The Parliamentary Budget Officer reported that the Liberals have no real plan to build the 500,000 homes they promised and will only add 5,200 homes per year. That is a mere 1% of what they promised the Canadian people. However, it gets worse. When the housing minister was asked about the metrics for the $13-billion new agency, he openly admitted, “There aren’t top-line targets set for the number of homes to build”. Mike Moffatt testified at the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, stating clearly about this piece of legislation, “[Build Canada Homes] lacks a clear goal, lacks targets and lacks key performance indicators and accountability measures. The public has not been told how many homes the program will complete, what types of homes, what the rents or prices will be, and over what time frame.” The witness went on to say, “I can't tell you, five years from now, whether or not [Build Canada Homes] has been working, as there are no benchmarks for success. That's a problem.” We have watched this movie before: announce billions of dollars, build a brand new taxpayer-funded bureaucracy and never set targets or deliver tangible results for the hard-working, everyday Canadians who pay the bills. Anyone in the private sector knows that if they endeavour to do a large project and do not set targets or key performance indicators, they are unequivocally setting themselves up for failure. At a critical time when we need more supply and builders are asking for less government, the Liberals are focusing on building a new bureaucracy that is simply an expensive exercise in rebranding. Just weeks ago, a report from the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy showed that in the first three months of 2026, consumer insolvencies rose 8.5% compared to last year. Canadians seeking help under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act have reached levels not seen since the 2009 great recession. Today, the average Canadian owes $1.77 in debt for every dollar they earn. For the bottom 20% of earners, the very people the Liberals claim they want to help with non-market housing, that debt-to-income ratio skyrockets to an astronomical 430%. More than four in 10 Canadians are now just $200 or less away from insolvency each month. They have exhausted their savings, maxed out their credit cards and refinanced their homes just to keep up with food inflation, rising rents and soaring mortgage payments. Clearly, the plan is not working. Conservatives believe in restoring the dream of home ownership and empowering the private sector to deliver the homes Canadians need, because we know we have the workers. In Canada, we have over 131,000 people with construction experience who are currently unemployed. We have 127,000 Canadians already trained with a trade certificate or diploma who are without work. We have the skilled tradespeople, we have the lumber and we have the land. What we do not have is a plan from the federal government that will empower the private sector and let builders build, especially given that 95% of supply currently comes from market housing. Do not take it from me. A witness from the Ontario Home Builders' Association testified, “As the industry association representing home builders...we know that builders are the experts and the ones who are best suited to construct the homes we need, not the government” and “the path forward is not for government to step into the role of the builder but for it to enable those who already do this work every day to do it better, faster and at greater scale.” Conservatives do not support adding more Liberal bureaucratic red tape to the housing sector. Builders across this country are begging for less Liberal intervention, not more. Again I will point out that 95% of housing in Canada is delivered through the private market. We need to bring prices down by increasing supply, and we do that by cutting the costs of construction. If the Liberals truly want to solve this crisis, they should stop building expensive, unaccountable bureaucracy that drives up costs and instead adopt our plan. We want to restore the dream of home ownership and empower the private sector to restore balance in the market by cutting the GST on all new homes sold under $1.3 million. This single measure would save Canadian families up to $65,000 on a new home and immediately unleash a massive wave of new residential building across the nation. Conservatives know applying this only to first-time homebuyers is not sufficient to get things moving in a way that would meaningfully make a difference. We also understand that many first-time homebuyers in many markets cannot afford to build. We also know that seniors looking to downsize in new construction could free up much-needed inventory for a growing family that needs square footage. Therefore, limiting this to first-time homebuyers is not the right approach. We would tie federal infrastructure dollars to homebuilding. When this incentive is in place, municipalities, large and small, start to develop plans for growing their communities and enabling development. A Conservative government would require major municipalities to increase the number of housing permits they issue by at least 15% each year to receive their federal funds. There is a clear difference here: a Liberal government that believes the solution to every problem is more spending, more deficits, taxes and a fourth expensive housing bureaucracy with no targets that is not delivering for Canadians; or Conservatives, who believe in the power of Canadian workers, builders and local communities. We want to empower the private sector to increase supply and restore balance by removing the taxes and lowering construction costs so our young people can afford a place to call their own. For these reasons, I cannot support Bill C-20.

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“How many houses will this program actually build in the next year?”

Government Orders

Business of Supply

2026-06-08

“I want the government to admit there's a serious problem. Talking about our leader is a distraction from the real issues. My mother always said you can't fix a problem if you won't admit it exists.”

“I agree with you that rural Canada has lots of untapped potential. Newfoundland and Labrador is based on natural resources, but projects are caught in red tape. Small and medium businesses are struggling under the burden of taxes and regulations. Conservatives would fix this by cutting red tape and taxes to help businesses and create jobs in rural areas.”

“This government has driven away all the investment in our offshore oil and gas industry. Now there are no good jobs for young people in the province. We can train them all we want but they'll just leave if they can't get good work. That's a huge failure.”

“This government is spending too much. People back home don't feel good because of it. I want the government to stop raising costs and let people keep more of their money.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise in the House today on behalf of the people of Long Range Mountains in Newfoundland and Labrador, some of the most industrious and self-reliant individuals, who are asking for fairness and economic stability, not just for themselves and this generation, but also for their children and grandchildren so they can thrive at home. I rise today to speak in support of our Conservative opposition day motion, which addresses the cold, hard reality facing our nation. The Liberals have officially driven Canada into a recession, and the latest data shows that for everyday Canadians, it is only going to get worse. The Liberal Prime Minister is the only leader in the G7 and the wider G20 to plunge his country into a recession, after driving the Canadian economy into decline in three of the last four quarters. The Liberals want to label this a technical recession, but there is nothing technical about an empty stomach or someone coming home from work and telling their kids they no longer have a job. Hard-working, everyday Canadians are being forced to pay the price. This means that, in communities across my province, families are making choices they never imagined they would have to make. They are putting groceries on credit cards. They are postponing starting a family, delaying retirement and wondering whether they can afford to keep the house they worked so hard to buy. The Liberals love to blame global factors for Canada's economic misery. They point to international tariffs and to geopolitical conflict, but every single country in the G7 faces those exact same global headwinds, international tariffs and global challenges, yet none of them, not one, is in a recession, only Canada. Under this Prime Minister's watch, his inflationary spending, his layers of red tape and his antidevelopment laws, our economy has stalled and Canadian productivity has been choked out. Canada now officially holds the highest household debt in the G7, the worst housing costs in the G7 and the second-highest unemployment rate in the G7. This is not a sign of success, and Canadians are not doing well as a result. Affordability has deteriorated so badly that working families are falling behind. What frustrates people back home is hearing Liberal ministers stand in the House and tell them that this is affordability, not loose slogans. They hear them say that government programs are working, that announcements are resonating and that Canadians are better off because of Liberal policies, but families back home are asking me a very simple question: If things are going so well, why are so many people struggling? The Parliamentary Budget Officer reports that the likelihood of this costly Liberal government meeting its own fiscal anchor to reduce the deficit-to-GDP ratio is less than 1%. Worse yet, the Liberals are already borrowing way over their own budget. In their spring economic update, they claimed the deficit would be $65.3 billion this year, but the PBO predicts a deficit of $71.8 billion. Where does that leave the taxpayers? It leaves them buried under mountains of Liberal debt. Federal debt charges are projected to skyrocket by 46%. By 2030-31, 13.1¢ of every single dollar of federal revenue will go directly to pay the interest charges on this costly credit card Liberal government. While everyday Canadians are being forced to tighten their belt and make sacrifices, the devastating impacts are evident. Consumer insolvencies across Canada have reached their highest levels since 2009. Newfoundland and Labrador continues to see rising insolvencies, and behind every insolvency is a family that has reached its breaking point. These are Canadians who worked hard, paid their bills and tried to get ahead, but they are falling behind because groceries cost more, fuel costs more, home heating oil costs more, housing costs more, rent costs more, and this has increased the pressure on household budgets in a way many families simply cannot absorb. While everyday Canadians are struggling, the Prime Minister's luxury inflight catering costs reached nearly $195,000 for just three trips, including premium meals and expensive hospitality at taxpayers' expense. The Liberal environment minister took a recent trip to Brazil and burned through $467,000 on luxury accommodations and another $650,000 just to rent, design and operate a single promotional pavilion. That is over $1 million spent on a single overseas trip for Liberal elites. This is all occurring under a Prime Minister who recently stated in New York that “a country that cannot feed, fuel, or defend itself is not truly sovereign”, yet he has created a reality where millions of hard-working, everyday Canadians are relying on food banks while he dines on luxury catering in the clouds and his minister stays in luxury accommodations. We cannot run an economy on expensive Liberal bureaucrats and elite menus; we need real private sector growth. Under the Liberal Prime Minister, we are in an entrepreneurial drought, with more small businesses closing than starting up. Business investment has dropped for five consecutive quarters. Capital investment fell by another 0.7% in the first quarter of this year alone, and over $20 billion in net investment has fled our economy since the Liberal Prime Minister took office. When capital flees, productivity dies. Labour productivity has fallen in three of the four quarters, and this directly impacts our labour market. The PBO noted, “The labour market has softened in line with the broader slowdown.” In Newfoundland and Labrador, we have the highest provincial rate of unemployment in the entire country. In the first three months of this year, 1.5 million Canadians missed a debt payment, while mortgage delinquency rates climbed 32% year over year. These numbers represent real human suffering. Consistently, I hear from people right across Long Range Mountains who are telling us heartbreaking stories. Clayton from Corner Brook reached out to our office. He is a senior and requires home care but is considering cancelling because, with the rising cost of heating, rent and food, he just cannot afford it anymore. I consistently hear about young people leaving. For generations, Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have watched sons, daughters, brothers, sisters and friends leave home for opportunity elsewhere in Canada. We know the pain of saying goodbye at the airport. We know what it means to miss birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas dinners and family milestones because opportunity exists somewhere else. A recent study examining migration patterns across Canada found that Newfoundland and Labrador experienced the highest rate of net out-migration in the country, losing the equivalent of more than 10% of our population to other provinces. No province in Canada lost more people proportionally than Newfoundland and Labrador. We are the only province in Canada to experience a net migration loss to every other province in the country. Among young adults aged 18 to 24, Newfoundland and Labrador experienced net losses equivalent to nearly our entire current population in that age group over the last three decades. When our young people believe they can build a better life somewhere else, they move. When the Liberals fail to create the conditions for growth, investment and opportunity, families make difficult choices, and this has been the heartbreaking reality in Newfoundland and Labrador, a province rich in natural resources and untapped potential and opportunity. Squashed opportunity is not the only pressure. Grocery costs are up year over year, and 53% of employed Canadians report that food affordability has drastically worsened over the past year. More than one in three employed Canadians are now forced to use debt just to buy groceries. Some families are spending an unbelievable 120% of their total income on food and rent alone. Food bank demand nationwide has doubled since 2019, reaching a heartbreaking record of 2.2 million monthly visits. More than 137,000 Newfoundlanders and Labradorians live in food-insecure households. More than one-third of children in our province live in households struggling to consistently put food on the table. That is not a statistic that should exist in a country as prosperous as Canada. We cannot borrow our way out of a Liberal debt crisis. We cannot tax our way into economic prosperity, and we certainly cannot spend our way out of a recession that was manufactured by out-of-touch Liberal spending in the first place. For months, Conservatives have warned that this inflationary agenda would weaken growth, drive out business investment and leave working families to hold the bag and pay the bill. Today, the data has proven us right. The people of Long Range Mountains and all Canadians deserve an immediate turnaround. They deserve a Prime Minister who will tell them the truth and present a real plan to reverse these failed Liberal policies. It is time to end the Liberal recession. It is time to cap costly Liberal spending, scrap the inflationary Liberal carbon tax, cut the red tape and unleash the potential of our natural resources and our workforce. Conservatives understand the immense pressure that everyday Canadians are under, and we will continue to stand with them to rebuild hope, reward hard work, restore the dream of home ownership and empower the private sector to grow and thrive so Canadians can once again believe in the future of this great country.

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“I want to attack my opponents by portraying them as uncaring and out of touch. I will use anecdotes about hardship to create an emotional appeal to voters.”

Oral Questions

The Economy

2026-06-08

“You're spending too much. Debt is rising. Stop borrowing and calling it progress.”

“I want you to admit that your policies caused a recession and things are worse in Canada than anywhere else. You ruined the economy.”

Statements by Members

Melvin Anstey

2026-06-04

“I want to remember and honor a man who was important to my family. His personal tragedy and resilience made him special to us. He shared a love of fishing with my husband and children. He was creative and made art from discarded items. We love and miss him, and we want to share this with parliament.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, today we remember a man who was much more than Uncle Melv. He was a husband, father, grandfather, uncle and steady presence in the lives of those who loved him. Uncle Melv's story began with unimaginable tragedy. At just three years old, he and his sister were the only two survivors of nine. Their entire family died in a devastating fire at our family property, yet through his life, he showed deep resilience and strength. My husband spent much of his childhood fishing alongside Uncle Melv and his grandmother, creating memories that would last a lifetime. He shared that same love and generosity with our four children, gifting them treasured rods, reels and countless moments that they will never forget. Uncle Melv loved to weld, and one of his creations, a piece he called Boredom, stands proudly in our yard, made from old items welded together. It is a lasting reminder of his creativity and how he could make something meaningful out of what others might overlook. Our hearts are with Aunt Wavey, his three children and all of his grandchildren. We love Uncle Melv, we miss him, and we will carry his memory with us always.

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Oral Questions

The Economy

2026-06-01

“I want the government to admit its economic plan failed. Our economy is the worst in the G7. Our economy is shrinking and unemployment is high. Stop making promises and fix the real problems.”

“I say there is a recession. I blame the government for making everything cost more. Jobs are leaving my area. People are moving away. I say the recession is the government's fault. If everything is really just about world energy and trade, why are other countries not in a recession too?”

Oral Questions

Finance

2026-05-27

“The government spends and taxes too much. It should admit that and do what we want instead.”