MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT

Hon. Mike Lake

Conservative Leduc—Wetaskiwin 11 statements translated

Lake consistently criticizes the Liberal government's spending and economic policies, arguing they have led to higher debt, deficits, and interest payments. He frequently highlights that in 2015 under the Conservative government, Canada had a balanced budget and the richest middle class in the world. Lake pushes for the government to allow more oil sales from Alberta and cut bills that restrict the oil industry, saying this would improve Canada's fiscal and national unity situations.

Oral Questions

Health

2026-06-16

“I want the government to use a report it paid for. The government hasn't done much to fix problems the report talked about.”

Government Orders

Protecting Victims Act

2026-06-09

“Crime went up a lot since your government came in. Maybe you should say you're sorry for passing bad laws that made that happen.”

Government Orders

Main Estimates, 2026-27

2026-06-08

“Pipelines from Alberta and Saskatchewan would have helped the economy. The current government is letting in oil from other countries instead. I think that's unfair.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, there was another speech made today, probably a little more watched than this one, from our leader, in Calgary, talking about national unity. When I look at the financial situation facing Canada today, one of the things I cannot help but think about is how different things would be had pipelines, which were already under way in 2015, been built to completion. Right now, we are in a circumstance where our country is bringing in billions of dollars' worth of oil from countries like Algeria, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria, to the east coast, and the regulations at play are not nearly as rigorous for that oil as they are for oil coming from Alberta and Saskatchewan. I am wondering if the hon. minister thinks that is fair and if he has some thoughts on the impact that has on the Canadian economy.

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Statements by Members

The Economy

2026-06-04

“In 2015, Canada had less debt and a balanced budget. Now we have more debt, and we're spending more on debt interest than on health transfers. The current government's choices led to this. They took on more debt, used the pandemic to increase inflationary spending, and killed oil and gas projects that would have helped our economy and security.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, in 2015, the last year of the Harper government, Canada's national debt was $616 million. Today, under the Liberals, it is an astonishing $1.4 trillion, and Canada is the only G20 country in recession. In 2015, Canada had a balanced budget and the richest middle class in the world. Today, we spend more on federal debt interest than we do on the Canada health transfer, and we are now forced to subsidize groceries for a full third of the population. While Liberals debate terminology to describe the economic crisis, today's consequences are the result of a decade of deliberate Liberal choices, such as the choice to take on mountains of debt early on; the choice to use the cover of a global pandemic to undertake a massive, permanent expansion in inflationary spending; and the choice to kill private sector oil and gas projects that would have provided immense economic and security benefits to Canadians today. JFK once famously said, “Things do not happen. Things are made to happen.” It is time someone in the Liberal government took some responsibility for the economic disaster it has made to happen here in Canada.

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Government Orders

Spring Economic Update 2026 Implementation Act

2026-05-25

“Our party balanced the budget in 2015. But now 11 years later the budget is not balanced. That's bad. I think it's very bad.”

“I want to cut Bill C-69 and Bill C-48. They make it hard for Alberta oil to compete with foreign oil. I care about vulnerable people. The Liberals are spending too much. Interest payments on the debt will be huge. C.S. Lewis said going back is sometimes progress. We need a plan to balance the budget and help everyone.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I listened closely to the hon. parliamentary secretary's speech. At one point she did ask what we would cut. Let me be very clear, because she also referenced my home province of Alberta in kind of a flippant way. The first things we would cut would be Bill C-69 and Bill C-48, which have made it impossible to compete in the global environment where, believe it or not, oil coming to Canada from Algeria, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia faces fewer restrictions and less rigorous regulation around reporting than oil coming from Alberta being sold in our own country. Bill C-69 and Bill C-48 are where we would start cutting. An hon. member: Oh, oh! Hon. Mike Lake: I know the member is heckling me, Mr. Speaker, but I do want to talk about something fairly serious to me. She made the assertion that Conservatives do not care about the most vulnerable. The member is new to the House and is mocking me as she smiles. The member might not know that I have a son with autism. He is 30 years old. I talk about this a lot in the House. In 1995, when we were in a similar situation to what we are in now and we had a Liberal government dealing with a generation after the 14 out of 15 deficits that the former Trudeau government had run, that Liberal government, under Paul Martin, was forced to cut 32% from transfers for health, social services and education. Every province in the country and every vulnerable Canadian in the country had to pay the consequences of those devastating cuts. Those devastating cuts happened for exactly the same reason, because of the exact same type of fiscal policy that the current Liberal government is running. We have massive deficits, a situation I mentioned a few minutes ago in which we are paying more on interest today than we are on the Canadian health transfer. Because of deliberate spending decisions made by the member's government, today we are spending more on interest than we are on the Canadian health transfer. The Liberals' own budget documents presented in the spring economic statement indicate that by 2030, we are going to be using the entire deficit to pay off interest on the debt. It is the equivalent of going to a bank, getting a mortgage and convincing the bank to allow payment of only the interest on that mortgage, not paying off any of the principal but only making interest payments on the mortgage. That is the situation we are in today. Another Liberal member just called that the best fiscal situation in the world. That is laughable. There is no Canadian who believes that right now. I have a quote from C.S. Lewis. This goes back a while, but I find it a perfect quote for where we are right now. Lewis said: We all want progress. But progress means getting nearer to the place you want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turning, then to go forward does not get you any nearer. If you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; and in that case the [one] who turns back soonest is the most progressive.... We need to turn back. We need to get this country's fiscal situation back on track. We need to have a plan, at least someone on the government side who indicates that it is important to one day get back to a balanced budget and a time when we have the flexibility to make the best decisions we can for all Canadians, including the most vulnerable.

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“In 2015 Canada was doing well. Now the government is spending too much. Many people need help to buy food. The government will spend more on interest than on health care. By 2030, all the deficit will be from paying interest. This is bad. The government spent too much.”

“I want to call out the Liberals for not showing up to debate their own spending. Let's check if we even have quorum.”

“I want the government to stop blocking oil sales from Alberta. They have one rule for our oil and a looser rule for foreign oil. The government should get out of the way and let us sell it.”

Oral Questions

Finance

2026-04-29

“In the real world, borrowing has consequences. The government is spending more on interest than on health transfers. In 2030, the entire deficit will go to paying interest on new Liberal debt. When will this experiment end?”

“In 2015 everything was great. Now the debt is too high and I want you to feel bad about it. Someone should stop spending so much of other peoples' money.”