MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT

Hon. François-Philippe Champagne

Liberal Minister of Finance and National Revenue 265 statements translated

Champagne is a cheerleader for the Liberal government, frequently touting Canada's economic growth and the government's spending on programs and investments. He often deflects criticism by accusing the Conservatives of talking down the economy and highlights the government's 'generational investments' in housing, infrastructure, and innovation. He is skilled at filling time with kind words and praise for his colleagues while avoiding committing to specific actions or answering questions directly.

Oral Questions

The Economy

2026-06-09

“The other guy is bad. We are making the economy strong. Our economy is the best. We believe in Canadians. We will keep working for a better Canada.”

“Good news! Look at these numbers. Just ignore people going bankrupt. I have a job to fight for workers!”

Oral Questions

The Economy

2026-06-04

“I want Canadians to think the economy is good. We are spending a lot of money. We will give people a new benefit tomorrow. Our party is helping Canadians.”

“I want Canadians to be optimistic and ignore what the Conservatives are saying. Canada is great! We build things and have resources. Our economy is growing. Don't listen to them talking it down.”

“I will repeat our list of talking points. Our government is building the Canada it wants. The Prime Minister is building the Canada he wants. We will make you want it too.”

Oral Questions

Finance

2026-06-03

“I'm filling time with kind words and saying nothing anyone could pin down later. Conservatives are bad. Our budget spends a lot of money.”

Oral Questions

The Economy

2026-06-03

“I don't want to talk about the specific things you brought up. I'd rather talk about how great the economy is doing. Did I mention that lots of Canadians will receive support? That makes me look good.”

“We're spending a lot of money. That means we're building a strong economy. Opposition, stop criticizing us.”

“I want Canadians to ignore the opposition's criticisms. I want to pretend the opposition doesn't care about Jacqueline even though they just talked about her. I want people to think we support families and are helping with affordability even though our spending might be making inflation worse.”

Oral Questions

The Economy

2026-05-29

“I'm filling time by talking vaguely about having a plan. I hope the people of Portneuf believe me and ignore the Conservatives.”

Oral Questions

Prime Minister of Canada

2026-05-29

“I want to talk about the good things the Prime Minister announced for Quebec companies. I will fight for more spending and government help in Quebec.”

Oral Questions

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

2026-05-29

“I want to look like I care about spending. I found efficiencies to make my government look good. But I won't commit to any specific program cuts.”

Oral Questions

The Economy

2026-05-29

“I want Canadians to have confidence in my government. We've spent a lot of money. That's good, right? I don't want to talk about how much it's all going to cost. If the Conservatives are complaining, they must just be mean.”

“Canadians get it. Times are tough. We have a plan to spend a lot of money. That will fix it.”

Oral Questions

The Economy

2026-05-27

“I want the Conservatives to stop asking tough questions. If they really cared, they would vote for our spending bill! That will give money to lots of Canadians. People in Portneuf want this. Their member should vote for more spending like we want.”

Government Orders

Business of Supply

2026-05-26

“The member for South Shore—St. Margarets came to my office and demanded we spend more money on small craft harbours. I listened to her and agreed to spend the money.”

“I'm filling time with kind words and saying nothing anyone could pin down later.”

Official Hansard

As I said, Mr. Chair, the questions are getting better and better. I think we will ask if we should extend a bit now because we are getting into the real issues. I want to thank the member for Waterloo, who hosted me recently. We have seen so much innovation in that region. Mr. Chair, I know you do not have the time to travel with me everywhere I go in the country, but you should come once to Waterloo with me. You would see that the member of Parliament is so well respected by everyone. She represents the University of Waterloo. Every person I have met there knows the work she is doing. She has been an amazing ambassador for the innovation and the work in Waterloo. I want to applaud her and celebrate her work. She has been a—

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“I want to praise my colleagues at length. They are so amazing. The hour is late but the questions are so good. I want to especially praise the member for Peterborough. She is such a great farmer. Thank you for your expertise. All the farmers in this country should feel good. We celebrate you. Food security is very important. We know that there are many connections between food security and other kinds of security. We import a lot of our food. But we have plans to grow more food in Canada. I want to thank my colleague for showing me some greenhouses. Both of my colleagues are so amazing.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, it is amazing. We are getting to 11 p.m. and the questions are getting better and better. It is great. I will not say they are coming from this side of the House, but I want to celebrate the member for Peterborough to start with. She is an amazing colleague, but also a great farmer. I want to thank her. Being members of Parliament, bringing our expertise and our experience to the House is what our work is all about. She is a farmer. She knows how things work. I can tell everyone who is watching in Peterborough that they have an amazing member of Parliament. Every opportunity she has to tell me about the reality of farming in this country, she takes. I want to celebrate her and all the farmers in the country. Wherever they are in the country, we celebrate them, and they should be feeling good that they have people in the House who represent their industry. It is a way of life when one is a farmer. Being both a member of Parliament and a farmer is quite a unique position. I want to thank the member for Compton—Stanstead as well. To my colleague's point, it is true that when we think about farming, it is also about economic security. I would say the world today realizes the nexus between food security, energy security, economic security and national security. There is this great nexus that is coming together. When it comes to food security, Canadians can count on Canadian farmers. We can play a big role in feeding Canadians. This is why we want to make structural investments. The member for Kings—Hants has been helping us. Not only do we have the groceries benefit that is going to come to Canadians, with 12 million Canadians receiving it on June 5, but we have also made structural investments in greenhouses, for example, so we can grow more. During the year, we might import 60% of our fresh produce, but when it gets to winter, we get to 80% or 90%. One way of having better management of the cost is to grow more in Canada, to become more resilient. I want to thank the member for Kings—Hants again for bringing me to some of these facilities to better understand how we can support that, with the member for Peterborough—

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“I want to praise my team. Praise farmers everywhere. Farmers are important. My colleagues know about farming. My party is great at farming policy. Let's celebrate my great team.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, the member brought me to a number of wineries and a number of food producers. Together, we had round tables. I also think of my colleague who is a farmer who I see in the House tonight. These farmers need to be celebrated. They put food on the table. That is why the national food security strategy is so important, and that is why supporting our farmers is so important. The member went beyond his normal duty. He went to China, along with the Premier of Saskatchewan, to defend the industry and to defend our canola farmers. We have always been there for our farmers. We have members in our caucus who have deep experience in farming. This is the richness of the people who are working on the government benches. They have personal experience, they know how the industry works and they give us advice. I would say that the member for Kings—Hants is one great example. I could name a number of other colleagues who I see in the House tonight who are also contributing very much to the work we are doing. I want to celebrate them tonight, because not only are they helping us to shape policy, but they are the best of the best in representing the interests of their constituents and bringing their experience to this House of Commons.

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“I want to change the subject too. Let's spend time thanking staff instead of responding to your motion. I also want you to agree that our tiny payroll tax cut is a big deal. It's not much, but all the provinces said yes. Look, we all worked together! That's the real story here.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, before I do that, I want to thank the staff of the House of Commons. I see these young pages and the staff at the table working hard. I know it is getting late, and I just want to give kudos on behalf of all parliamentarians for the work they are doing on behalf of all of us and to support democracy. To every employee in the House, the security folks and everyone who is working extra late tonight to support our work, I want to thank them on behalf of colleagues. My colleague is so right. Not only was it a flagship measure, but it was unanimously approved and supported by the provinces. When we make policies, when we talk about a co-operative federalism, this is one of the best examples I can imagine. We had a meeting with the federal, provincial and territorial ministers. I made the recommendation that we would lower it, because that would be an affordability measure. It would leave more money in the pockets of workers and businesses. Unanimously, the provinces came back and said, “Yes, we support you in that.” For me, this is a great example of how our country is working and how we should be working with our colleagues in the provinces and territories. We can put proposals on the table and make sure we work together. This is a great example of us working as one country to the benefit of businesses and workers.

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