Hon. François-Philippe Champagne · TranslatePolitics.ca

Government Orders

Business of Supply

2026-05-26

“I want more people to invest through the government's program. I'll make it sound nice by calling it 'collective wealth' and 'building Canada strong.'”

“I want everyone to cheer. The IMF says we're good. Look, Canada's economy grew more than many countries. Even my opponents should cheer for Canada's economy.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, it fills my heart with joy because, here in the House, we often hear the opposition criticizing the government, but when it comes to the International Monetary Fund, we know that it looks at global economies and offers an informed and impartial assessment. In that regard, it can be said that the International Monetary Fund has held up Canada as an example of a country with the strongest public finances in the G7. We can imagine the growth of these countries. I will simply provide a few figures. Canada has the second-fastest growth in the G7. Italy is at 0.5%, Japan is at 0.7%, Germany and the U.K. are at 0.8%, and France is at 0.9%. Meanwhile, Canada stands at 1.5%. Some hon. members: Hear, hear! Hon. François-Philippe Champagne: Mr. Chair, even my Conservative colleagues should be applauding this evening. I know it is a bit late, but they still have enough energy to cheer on Canada and the resilience of our economy, our workers and our industries. It is a pleasure to build Canada strong together and to build the strongest economy in the G7.

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“More flattery for you. I'm filling time with kind words and saying nothing anyone could pin down later. Canada and Germany have a good credit rating. This lets our government spend big.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, it is refreshing to hear a colleague who was once a minister of finance talk to us about issues and real things. I think that the people of Laval must be very proud to hear my colleague share his experience. It is a great privilege to serve with a colleague who was once the finance minister of a great province like Quebec. I salute him and thank him for his economic statement. He is right, and it is refreshing to hear comments and questions like these because, essentially, what is being said is that two G7 countries, Canada and Germany, have an AAA credit rating. What does that give us? It gives us the fiscal capacity to make generational investments, similar to those that our colleagues in Germany made. We are doing it in infrastructure, obviously in housing, productivity and innovation, as well as effort. I will have a lot more to say in response to the next question.

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“I still want my launch site. Talking to astronauts will make you agree with me.”

“Why are you criticizing this? I want you to stop criticizing this program. I don't want to answer your question.”

“I want Canadians to be happy about space stuff. I don't want to talk about that land deal.”

“I want to change the subject. Let's talk about anything except the money. I need taxpayers to spend more on my program. I want to talk about space and astronauts instead of money.”

“I want to change the subject to avoid the question. We should talk about other things.”

“I want taxpayers to spend money on space in my riding. Never mind how much it costs or whether that company can deliver.”

“I don't want you to criticize our space industry decisions. You should only say nice things about our moon trip.”

“I don't like your accusation. Be careful. Space is good. The government should invest in space.”

“I'm evading your question about a specific lease by talking about 'space' in general. I hope saying 'space is important' and talking about my old job will distract you so you don't notice that I didn't actually answer what you asked.”

“I'm filling time by saying nice things about our government helping workers and industry. I want you to think we are doing a good job. I'm not going to talk about the problems you brought up.”

“I want you to celebrate spending taxpayer money to attract a European manufacturer. Never mind that these projects get delayed. Smart countries spend money now for benefits in the future. This will be good for one town in Ontario.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, let me talk about Volkswagen for a minute. I can see the smile coming back on the member's face, because Volkswagen will be one of the largest industrial sites in North America. She should be celebrating. I am sure she likes St. Thomas and southwestern Ontario as well. This is going to be an investment that is generational. If she had been with us when we announced that in St. Thomas, she would have seen the community members and the mayor. Everyone was there celebrating the fact that, for the first time in the history of Canada, we were able to attract a European manufacturer. When I started that journey, people thought it would be impossible. We made it possible. Canadians understand that obviously a number of projects get delayed. It is not unique to Canada. This is what we are seeing in all the other G7 countries, but smart countries invest not only for now, but for the future. These investments will provide benefits to Canadians in the long term.

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“You say companies lose money on electric cars. But the government is smart! We only give companies money after they sell a car. So the government isn't wasting anything. We spend lots of money and it's all very responsible.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, it is a pleasure. I know the member knows the sector because she has New Flyer in her riding, which I am still looking forward to visiting because it is a great company, and it is also looking at electric buses. My colleague will be happy to learn we were very disciplined. The Chair will remember this because I know he took note at the time. We were talking about production subsidies. This was on the back of the Inflation Reduction Act. In order to attract these investments, we were very smart, because we said we would only pay out when a number of units had been built and sold. Members should be reassured that we have been good fiscal stewards. We have attracted investment. We have been very disciplined in how we structured these deals. I would say to my colleague that she should keep in mind that the electric stack is the—

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“I'm very happy you asked me that. I want everyone to know that our electric vehicle plan is working great. Volkswagen is opening a big factory here. Did you know we've never had a big European car company come here before? You can see in my big smile how great this is. I know you agree with me in your heart even if you don't say it. You're smiling because you know we're doing great things for the workers. I could go on about this for a long time.”

“I disagree. I think electric cars are still the future. Look, it took Tesla 17 years to be profitable. When the Model T Ford was introduced, it was not a success. We've been using the same car engines for 100 years. Now we're switching to a new technology. It's normal that it will take time for people to adjust. The U.S. has caused some delays. But I still believe we should spend taxpayers' money on electric car projects.”

Official Hansard

Madam Chair, I would think it is exactly the opposite. I think electrification is still our north star. Let me just remind my colleague that when Tesla started business, it took 17 years to be profitable. When the Model T Ford was introduced, it was not a success. When we have been doing the same thing for 100 years with internal combustion engines and we switch technology after a century, it is quite normal that we have adjustment of technology, of consumer habits and of markets, and the position that has been taken by our neighbour to the south has affected this. We have seen delays in most of the projects in the G7, but I still believe in investing in the electric stack and in making sure that we have the ecosystem to build a car—

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“I want voters in my riding watching this to think I'm doing a good job. I want them to believe the government has a plan to fix the economy. It has to look like we're in control when things are uncertain. I want to claim credit for all the spending and programs the government announced. I want people to think this spending makes Canada's economy grow. I want to avoid any blame for high costs and hard times.”

Official Hansard

Madam Chair, I can imagine how pleased the people of Beauport—Limoilou are to hear their MP speak this evening. The Habs are not playing this evening, so I presume that a lot of people are watching their MP tonight. He is doing a great job. It is clear that, as the former president of the Chambre de commerce et d'industrie du Québec, he understands the issues. He is right. That is one thing that sometimes bothers me about my opposition colleagues. They forget that we are trying to navigate very uncertain economic times. The IMF publishes an uncertainty index. Right now, the level of uncertainty is almost as high as it was after the Second World War. We are living in uncertain times. I think that, in times like these, we need to focus on what we can control, as the Prime Minister so rightly said. What can we control? We can build the country; eliminate tariff barriers between the provinces; invest in our sovereignty, competitiveness and innovation; build safe and resilient communities across the country; and take fiscal measures that ensure that new investments made in Canada today benefit from the lowest tax rate in the G7. Canada is still a leader. We have the second-highest growth in the G7. Canada's economic growth is twice that of our counterparts in Europe, twice that of Great Britain—

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“I'm filling time with kind words and saying nothing anyone could pin down later. I want taxpayers to spend more money on housing because that's popular. I want voters to cheer for me because spending money to build homes sounds nice.”

Official Hansard

Madam Chair, in front of all the people of Quebec City who are watching us, I want to congratulate the member. I think that the people of Quebec City should be proud to have an MP like him. He has a strong grasp of the issues, not only in the greater Quebec City area and in the national capital, but also as the former president of the Quebec City chamber of commerce and industry. He is obviously someone with extensive knowledge of important issues and economic matters. He spoke to a very important issue, the housing issue. This is true in Quebec City, true across Quebec, and true across the country. We know that housing is one of the pillars of affordability. I know my colleague understands that. That is why we have made generational investments. That is why Build Canada Homes is going to play an important role, because we do need to build more housing, but what we really need to do is build more affordable housing. We know that housing is the first pillar of affordability for families. People need to be able to find safe, affordable housing that is within their financial means and that is suited to their family's needs. I would like my colleague to know that I think he has a very good grasp of the reality, namely that housing has been the priority. The 2025 budget includes generational investments. If we look at the total investments the government is making in housing for the five-year period from 2026-27 to 2030–31, we see that a total of $56 billion will be invested in various measures to help build more housing. We are already seeing results. Pressure has started to ease in major cities on house prices, as well as on the cost of housing. I would like to congratulate my colleague on the speech he gave today in the House. It was a speech that demonstrated just how well he understands the issues that matter to the people in his constituency, to the people of Quebec City, but also to Canadians as a whole.

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“I'm also using my time to flatter the chair instead of answering the question.”