Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney has launched a strong response to former U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed 100% tariffs, signaling a major shift in global trade strategy. In a bold counter move, Carney is reportedly expanding economic engagement with India and China, reshaping Canada’s trade priorities amid rising geopolitical tensions. The move highlights growing friction in North American trade relations and a potential realignment toward Asia’s major economies.
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NewsTranscript
00:00with my Ottawa Greater Ottawa caucus colleagues this place is a temple
00:07veritable temple to the ingenuity and drive that has built our great country
00:10Canada has always been a nation of risk takers and builders country was
00:18originally forged by indigenous peoples and voyageurs who map the continent and
00:23build vast trading networks from coast to coast to coast before the Americans
00:27had even left st. Louis and by the early 1870s a young Canada was a vast land of
00:36provinces bound together has to be said mainly in name a mere geographical
00:42expression in Sir John a McDonald's memorable phrase facing at that time an
00:49economic depression and threats to our sovereignty from our southern neighbor
00:53Canadians chose to build and the Canadian Pacific Railway became the
00:59connective tissue of a new country the iron spine from east to west expanding
01:04Canada and bringing British Columbia into Confederation our resources were
01:10unlocked our trade increased our industries grew in a stronger more
01:14united and more prosperous Canada emerged the CPR itself Canadian Pacific Railway
01:22became one of the most profitable enterprises in the British Empire and its
01:27founders Lord Mount Stephen and Lord Strathcona numbered amongst its wealthiest
01:32people now today Canada faces new challenges from a world that's changing
01:39not gradually but suddenly technological change has accelerated the foundations of
01:45the international order the order which Canada helped to build and from which we
01:50have long benefited that order is crumbling and many of our former strengths
01:56built on our close ties to the United States have become our weaknesses the US has
02:02changed that's their right and we are responding that is our imperative we are
02:10responding with speed and ambition focusing on what we can control which is to
02:16build our strength at home and diversify our partnerships abroad abroad we've
02:23secured more than 20 economic and security partnerships across four continents in
02:28less than a year we're re-engaging with global giants like India China and Brazil and we're
02:34deepening our partnerships with our closest allies including the European Union the
02:39Nordic countries in Australia as a result we're attracting the strongest
02:45investment in the g7 and we're on track to double our non-US exports within a
02:51decade that's 300 billion dollars of new orders for Canadian resources goods and
02:57expertise at home we're catalyzing a series of nation building projects in
03:03energy trade critical minerals transport data and beyond we've announced 21 nation
03:10building initiatives that will connect diversify and propel our economy through
03:15over a hundred and twenty five billion dollars of new investment we're realizing
03:20Canada's full potential and clean and conventional energies to power Canadian
03:25homes build Canadian businesses and reinforce Canadian sovereignty we're
03:32building a strong economy where everyone has a chance to get ahead where we can
03:39take care of the vulnerable in our society where we pull together to make life
03:44more affordable today and better tomorrow these are still early days but we're
03:52already delivering results we're already delivering results we have on deja sue me
03:57venti on proje strategy or bureau hold a grand proje depot is auto-route the mean
04:04a decoder do a commercial energy tic and a danya the construction de la nouvelle
04:10central nuclear de darlington a come on say on Ontario who told some was see nous avons done a
04:18long way the coût d'envoi d'un project d'expansion de terminal de contre-court port de Montréal un
04:24projet
04:25qui a fait l'objet de debat pendant plus de quatre décennies et finalement en construction et nous venons
04:36d'approuver le projet d'engrandissement sunrise et l'augmentant la capacité
04:42principal réseau de transport de gaz naturel de la Colombie-Britannique le projet d'une valeur
04:50de quatre millions de dollars aidera à répondre à la croissance à la demande de la demande énergétique
04:55de la province cet été nous lancerons le projet de route de la vallée du Mackenzie dans les territoires
05:05du nord-ouest un projet dont j'attends parler depuis mon enfance nous avons signé 56 accords sur les
05:18minéraux critiques avec plus de 10 pays ces accords contribueront à débloquer 18,5 milliards de dollars
05:28pour des projets liés aux minéraux critiques au Canada et on ne fait que commencer nous réaliser
05:39des projets à travers notre vaste territoire les installations de GNL en Colombie-Britannique
05:45aux mines de la Saskatchewan du Québec et du Nouveau-Brunswick en passant par une nouvelle ligne
05:52de train à très grande vitesse reliant Toronto à Québec ainsi que le premier grand projet d'aérien
06:01en mer du Canada au large des côtes de la Nouvelle-Écosse.
06:08Tomorrow the Minister of Finance will release our first spring update and it will show how
06:17Canada's new government is combining responsible fiscal management with new measures to ensure
06:23that all Canadians can participate in building a more independent and a more resilient Canadian
06:29economy building Canada strong means building a Canada where everyone has a stake where growth is
06:37shared and where prosperity reaches every region every community and every family so today we're proud to
06:47announce a new pillar of our plan the Canada strong fund Canada's first national sovereign wealth fund
06:56this will be a government of Canada fund but more importantly this will be a people's fund it will be
07:06your fund
07:08The new government of Canada has created a new fund sovereign fund which investira in the
07:17grand project ambitious canadiennes, projects in the domain of energy, infrastructure, mines, agriculture and technologies
07:30And, for the first time in the history of Canada, Canadians and Canadians will not only contribute to the
07:43realisation of these projects, they will directly benefit from their retombées.
08:02So here's how it works a sovereign wealth fund is essentially a national savings and investment
08:10account it's designed to grow wealth for future generations of Canadians many countries many countries
08:19countries that are blessed with natural resources like Norway have sovereign wealth funds
08:24Canada hasn't had one until now
08:28The new Canada strong fund will give all Canadians a direct stake in building Canada strong
08:35Now to be clear
08:37Just like with the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway 150 years ago
08:43Canada's major projects will mostly be built by private companies
08:50And just as in the 1870s the federal government will support these projects through loans grants and other incentives
08:59And we do this because these projects have wider benefits to our economies benefits that exceed the private returns
09:08To give an example expanding the port of Montreal at Contrecoeur will unlock
09:15New markets for thousands of Canadian businesses and create hundreds of thousands of jobs for Canadian workers
09:23So until now
09:26While those wider benefits flowed to the Canadian economy flowed to our country
09:32The financial returns of the projects themselves flowed only to those who built and ran them
09:39That changes today
09:42When the CPR was built the government of the day granted a private monopoly to the company
09:49Today to create wealth for Canadians
09:53Today and our kids tomorrow
09:54The Canada strong fund will invest alongside the private sector and nation building projects on a fully commercial basis
10:03We will begin with an initial endowment of 25 billion dollars
10:08Over time the fund will grow
10:10Through asset recycling and reinvestment creating even greater opportunities for future generations
10:18We will also do something
10:21Something else that's new and important
10:25For those Canadians who want to participate in an even more direct way
10:30We will make it easy for individual Canadians to invest in the fund
10:34And therefore own a small piece of nation building projects and share in their returns
10:40The fund will be professionally managed and operate as an arms-length independent crown corporation
10:47And we'll consult over the coming months on the specific aspects of the fund
10:52But one thing is sure
10:54It will be accessible to everyone not just a few
10:59Because the Canada strong fund is about solidarity amongst Canadians no matter where they live
11:06So whether a project is in alberta quebec or in the far north high north
11:11All Canadians will have a stake
11:14Because this is about ensuring that you and your children and your children's children
11:19Benefit from the prosperity that we are creating today
11:24You know in many ways we're walking today the same path as our predecessors did
11:32We have the same conviction that ambition and drive can change the course of a nation
11:36We have the same catalytic role for government to make nation building projects happen
11:43We have the same reliance on private enterprise to build and run these businesses
11:49But at the same time we've also learned from our past
11:54The Canadian Pacific Railway transformed Canada
11:58But it did so in a way that also left deep scars
12:03Indigenous peoples were displaced from their lands
12:06Thousands of workers toiled in appalling conditions
12:10And the wealth that was created accrued to the few not the many
12:18Three things are different this time
12:22This time we are building with Indigenous peoples as full partners
12:26Ensuring meaningful Indigenous ownership and major economic benefits
12:33This time we are building in solidarity with Canadian workers
12:37Creating hundreds of thousands of high-paying union jobs
12:41And this time for the first time in our history every Canadian will hold a direct stake in what's built
12:48Because we know that nation building is not just about what we build
12:54It's also about how we build
12:58We are building together with all Canadians and for all Canadians
13:04We build a stronger economy, more autonomous and resilient for everyone
13:11An future that is not only solid but also promising
13:18A Canada that is not only prosperous but just
13:21A Canada that is not reserved for a few, but who is for everyone in every time
13:29Jean Lesage, the father of modern Quebec, said
13:34Our historical and geographical situation has forced us to become what we are
13:41We want to become what we can become
13:47It's this same philosophy that inspires us today to create the CanadaFour.
14:13A Canada where everyone can find their own camp
14:20It's a way to be prepared
14:23It's our world
14:25country it's your future we're building by canadians for all canadians we are
14:30building canada strong for all thank you very much merci beaucoup and I look
14:36forward to your questions good morning Prime Minister Stephanie Levitz from the
14:46Globe and Mail the government's running deficits and cutting spending across the
14:50board so where is this 25 billion dollars going to come from well the
14:54first thing I won't front run the Minister of Finance too much too much tomorrow
14:59but there will be good news tomorrow with the the spring update on the fiscal
15:06situation the government's performance against our deficit targets the
15:11government performance on getting spending under control and the
15:14government's performance at the main time and this has been core to our strategy
15:18which is to spend less it's spending under control so that Canada can invest
15:23more and what today is about is ensuring that as Canada invests more Canada is a
15:28country the Canadian private sector foreign investors in Canada that all
15:33Canadians share in the benefits of that we have ample resources in order to do so
15:38alongside and remember last point and I'll hand back is that there's a series
15:43and this is what governments have done over the years series of measures that
15:47governments are taking to create the possibility of these projects we're doing
15:51that on a different scale now and now we're making sure at the same time that all
15:56Canadians benefit all you keep referencing the Canadian Pacific Railway as a
16:01benchmark here and that was funded by private investment but a lack of
16:06transparency around that financing led to one of the earliest political
16:10scandals in Confederation so I'd like to know about the transparency on this fund
16:14who is going to manage it yeah absolutely look I and I'm glad you raise it because there are there
16:20are lessons on the
16:21I'm glad you're going to be here and I'm glad you're going to be here on all in all respects
16:23on how from our past and from the
16:26specific example I drew out some of the most important ones about partnership with
16:31indigenous peoples full partnership with workers and full full participation of
16:37Canadians alongside this will be a independent Crown Corporation reports to
16:43Parliament arms length as I say independent full disclosure professionally managed and the
16:50investments that are made will be clear the objective is to grow wealth for Canadians over the long term
17:00next question next question
17:02Bonjour Monsieur le Premier ministre Valérie Gamos de Radio-Canada sur cette question de la transparence pourriez-vous être plus
17:07précis je comprends que vous parlez de cette société d'État qui sera créée elle aura des comptes à rentre
17:13mais comment pourriez-vous vous vous assurer qu'il n'y ait pas d'ingérence politique dans ce fonds-là
17:18? Est-ce qu'il y a des choses que vous voulez dire ?
17:20Est-ce que vous voulez mettre en place que vous avez en tête ?
17:21Ce qui est fondamental est d'avoir des objectifs clairs pour le fonds. On va faire une consultation sur les
17:31objectifs du fonds. Premièrement, il faut avoir des objectifs clairs. Deuxièmement, il faut avoir une gouvernance indépendante. C'est un
17:39conseil d'administration indépendant et il faut avoir la transparence avec tous les investissements du fonds.
17:48Le fonds doit être dévoilé en temps réel et dans une manière annuelle, tous les investissements et tous les rendements.
18:03Et surtout parce qu'on va donner la chance pour tous les Canadiens et des Canadiens d'investir dans le
18:12fonds.
18:13Alors, il y aura une large transparence de le fonds. On a beaucoup de temps de préciser tous les détails
18:23de ce fonds-ci et on va le faire.
18:26Je comprends qu'à terme, tous les Canadiens vont profiter des retombées de ces grands projets d'intérêt national. Je
18:33comprends que ça, c'est votre objectif à moyen terme. À court terme, on est dans une crise quand même
18:38de l'abordabilité. En quoi offrir aux Canadiens une possibilité d'investir dans un fonds? C'est vraiment réaliste et
18:46ça vient vraiment les aider dans leur quotidien.
18:47Merci encore pour votre question. On va voir dans la mise en jour demain tous les efforts que le gouvernement
18:57fait afin de régler cette crise d'abordabilité.
19:01Et l'emphase que le gouvernement fait d'avoir, de donner un coup de pouce maintenant pour les Canadiens, les
19:12Canadiens, les familles canadiennes, afin de créer pendant le temps que nous créerons un Canada plus fort, plus prospère, plus
19:23acquittable.
19:24Alors, il faut faire plusieurs choses en même temps comme le gouvernement et on va le faire. On va le
19:30faire. Et avec ce fonds-ci, les retombées… OK, je recommence un aspect de ma réponse, si vous me permettez.
19:45Dans des grands projets, par exemple, contre-cours à Montréal, il y a des retombées, des grandes retombées économiques pour
19:53le Québec, pour tout le Canada à cause d'une augmentation de 60 % de la capacité d'exportation du
20:00Canada.
20:00C'est évident. Mais, de plus, on va avoir une occasion, pas dans cet exemple, mais il y a d
20:10'autres ports et d'autres exemples à l'avenir, on va avoir une occasion d'investir directement, côte à côte,
20:20avec le secteur privé.
20:22Les mêmes rendements du secteur privé, les retombées financières pour tous les Canadiens et Canadiens. Alors, ça, c'est la
20:31différence.
20:33Next question. Question, Tonda.
20:35Good morning, Tonda McCharles, Toronto Star. Just following up on that line of questioning, in terms of the individuals that
20:43you want to be able to enable investment in this fund,
20:48could you elaborate on what you envisage that as? Because not everyone, obviously, has the means to invest, and so
20:56does this stand to benefit richer people than others?
21:00Well, I think this, so this, thank you, Mr. Charles, for the question. There's several aspects here. One is the
21:07design of the fund, all Canadians will benefit because it's a sovereign fund of Canada.
21:15It's the people's fund. We all benefit. And the question, what we're proposing to do on top of that, on
21:22top of that, is to provide all Canadians the opportunity,
21:26if they have a little bit of money, we're not talking big money, but a little bit of money to
21:30invest alongside, to put into the fund alongside.
21:33And that increases the participation. I will tell you that one of the things that is striking going across the
21:40country over the last year is Canadians want to get involved.
21:44They want to get involved in building the country. In some cases, they can be directly involved in their, in
21:49their business or their day-to-day lives.
21:51In other cases, it's in consumer choices or where they travel, where they vacation, what they, what they choose to
21:57eat or drink.
21:57That's a way to get involved. But if there's a way to align with what is a very exciting time
22:04for the country, where we're really building,
22:07we'll make that available to people. It is not something for, I'm going to use the term from your question,
22:15rich people.
22:16It's, it's something for Canadians, for all Canadians, everyday Canadians on that scale to provide it.
22:22And we'll provide it in a way, you know, again, we'll consult and we'll go through the details.
22:27So I don't want to overly finalize it, but we intend to provide it in a way where the investment
22:33itself, the actual amount of money is protected.
22:36It's something consistent to buying a government bond, but has the upside, the additional return when these projects realize their
22:45potential.
22:47And on, you said the goal of it is to grow wealth. And so I'm wondering to what extent, though,
22:53the, you have already coordinated or consulted with the provinces that really have control over,
22:59there is a lot of the oil and gas, for example, generating sectors at Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland.
23:06Why, how can you persuade them it's not ultimately a resource wealth grab?
23:11Well, it's not. The, there is a series, sometimes, if I may, the, the discussion of how we're building the
23:22country, how Canadians are building the country,
23:24gets reduced to one sector or one type of infrastructure in one sector.
23:30There is a very broad range of things that we're, Canadians are doing to grow Canada strong.
23:36Uh, that involves entirely new ports in the Arctic. Uh, it involves a host of, uh, of critical minerals.
23:44It involves, um, data infrastructure and other infrastructure that will be necessary.
23:49It involves, uh, a series of, a series of investments above and beyond the TG, the, the high-speed rail
23:56and, and others.
23:56Where there is, at the heart of all of these projects, including in resources, provincial jurisdiction, including resources,
24:07where the federal government is catalyzing, helping to make the project happen, through a tax incentive, um, through, uh, some
24:17other support, regulatory or other support.
24:19And, at the core, there is a commercial business, a commercial project that is making a profit.
24:26It is fair, right, just, smart for Canadians to have a share directly of those profits.
24:34Um, and that's what the fund is going to make possible.
24:37And this is a great thing for Canadians, uh, today and, uh, and very much, uh, tomorrow,
24:42because it's going to spread the benefit over time.
24:44Next question. Question, yes, sir.
24:46Hi, Prime Minister Gillian Piper with Global News.
24:49Is asking Canadians to invest in these projects an admission that we don't have a good enough business climate for
24:54the private sector to step up and finance major projects?
24:57Absolutely not. It's the exact opposite.
24:58We have a great climate. We have a great business climate, uh, and it's getting better every day.
25:03And we're, this government's committed to make sure that it continues to improve for business investment.
25:08You only have to look, and again, I won't front-run, uh, my finance minister,
25:12but I would suggest a careful study during that five-hour lock-up tomorrow, if you're going to attend, uh,
25:17of the, uh, update.
25:18We'll detail just the scale to which foreign direct investment has increased in Canada,
25:24how it's outpacing all other major economies right now. We intend to that continue.
25:28And so the question is, the capital is there. The interest is there.
25:33Yes, certain things have to be done for each project to, uh, to get the move forward.
25:37And the question we asked ourselves as the government of Canada is, as all that capital comes in from abroad
25:46or is invested from, uh, domestically,
25:49why shouldn't Canadians invest alongside, not with preferential treatment, not with different things,
25:56but alongside the private sector and get the same reserves so that Canadians themselves,
26:01but our kids and our grandkids, uh, benefit from this transformation of the economy.
26:06That's what we're doing. So capital, foreign investment, uh, you know, we can always get better.
26:11This is not the issue we have. Making sure that the, this transformation benefits as many Canadians, all Canadians.
26:20That's what we're focused on, and that's what this is going to help to do.
26:23Follow up.
26:24Thank you. And will this fund only be able to invest in projects that your government has deemed or in
26:29the national interest?
26:30Uh, we'll consult. I don't think that it will be that restricted, but it will be a focus on investing
26:36in Canada.
26:37Next question.
26:38Invest in Canada. So it doesn't have to be, I, I, your question, I'm going to interpret it even more
26:44specifically,
26:44which is under, um, the Build Canada Act. There are, there are certain requirements for projects of national interest,
26:51a designation and others. So it wouldn't be restricted to that in, in my judgment. We'll consult on the specifics
26:57of that.
26:57So it's a broader range, uh, than would be just specifically C5 to be specific, uh, national interest projects.
27:05Next question. Kate.
27:06Good morning, Prime Minister. Kate McKenna, CBC News. Uh, just to follow up on my colleague's question,
27:10it sounds like, uh, this fund will be for Canadian investments.
27:13I believe that puts it at odds with other, uh, similar funds around the world. Could you explain
27:18why you made that? Uh, well, there's a couple of things. One is, um, partly we're taking lessons from
27:24our history, uh, which is that, um, a lot of wealth has been created in these transformative projects,
27:30uh, including catalyzed and, and supported by, uh, government action. That's appropriate because
27:35the broader economic benefits, but also it creates an opportunity to invest alongside for Canadians and
27:41spread that wealth over time. That's the first thing. Secondly, we take a lesson from other
27:46jurisdictions that had the foresight many decades ago to start sovereign wealth funds and benefit
27:52from their broader, uh, resources. Uh, the third thing is, and in some cases, they began with a
27:59domestic focus, then outgrew the scale of the domestic focus. You can think of, uh, Temasek in, uh,
28:06Singapore would be an example of that. Um, we are, you hear this and you're going to continue to hear
28:14this, and this is one of the demonstrations of it. We're, we're focused on generational investments,
28:19a scale, on a scale not seen for generations, a huge range of that. It creates a, a tremendous
28:26opportunity, uh, for the country. And this is one way, one way, many others, but it's one way that we
28:34can
28:34ensure that all Canadians benefit from what's happening, including, uh, you know, today,
28:40but very much tomorrow in terms of, uh, the next generations to come, younger Canadians. This,
28:45in many respects, is a fund in terms of the ultimate impact will be, uh, felt by younger Canadians and
28:52their kids. Follow up. Um, could you elaborate a little bit about why the deficit is said to be less
28:59than was projected? Because we're good fiscal managers. We are focused on, we're focused,
29:06I mean, and that's not like, uh, the minister of finance, myself, the government, the cabinet,
29:12uh, we focus, uh, on, on the numbers. Uh, and, uh, we were determined to get spending down with a
29:19lot
29:19of very difficult, my colleagues have participated in, uh, some of these decisions, difficult decisions,
29:24that you can't do everything at the same time. Uh, the minister of national defense is here and,
29:30you know, we have a need to build up, uh, and to secure Canada. So we're making decisions in order
29:36to create room for that. We're making decisions that question earlier about affordability. Uh,
29:41you will see that the decisions we make, a very large number of them, proportion of them, uh, are to
29:47address the affordability challenges that Canadians are facing today. Uh, but, uh, you know,
29:53in order for the numbers to be better, you have to be on top of them and we're on top
29:56of them.
29:57Next question. Question.
29:58Sarah Richie with the Canadian Press. Can you help us understand how this is going to be in its goals
30:04different from the Canada Infrastructure Bank that was launched under the previous government
30:08and why you need an entirely new agency to do what you're doing?
30:11Yeah. Uh, well, thank you for the question because it's, it's a crucial one. So the Canadian
30:15Infrastructure Bank, I mean, I'll start, there's multiple levels of this, but the Canadian Infrastructure
30:21Bank provides debt. Uh, it lends and, and in lending, it helps make projects possible. And it,
30:29it does, and this is an effective institution. It's, it's got real traction and we'll see the
30:35Canada Infrastructure Bank increasingly involved in a series of, uh, financings. I'm leaning a bit on
30:40Contra Cour, but I'll use another, you know, they lent a billion something into Contra Cour. There,
30:44there's lots of other examples of that. So, but that's debt. And when you invest, when you,
30:50when you lend money, you hope to get it paid back and then you move on. That's what the Canada
30:54Infrastructure Bank does. You don't get the returns that the underlying business or project gets,
31:02the equity returns, the returns to the owner, which are substantially, if it's well run,
31:07substantially higher than the returns for debt. That's what this does. This comes in on a commercial
31:13basis. It gets those returns alongside the private sector. And it will spread the benefits of those
31:21returns over a much longer horizon. It's good to have the Canada Infrastructure Bank. It's good to
31:26have Export Development Canada, which helps with export finance. Uh, BDC, which helps for small,
31:32medium-sized enterprises. But all of those entities are helping underlying businesses
31:37businesses at the core to move forward. And what we're doing is, uh, getting returns because we're
31:44helping them, getting returns alongside them.
31:47Follow up. Between this initiative you're announcing today, the Infrastructure Bank,
31:52the Major Projects Office. Is your government getting too involved, uh, in picking winners and
31:58losers in the economy? Uh, no, is the, is the short answer. Because what you're still driving on all of
32:04these cases is private proponents who are making the decisions whether or not to move forward. Um,
32:11and the scale of investment, uh, even if it's a small amount, there's the discipline of the private
32:16sector. But the scale of investment is tens, hundreds of billions of dollars that, uh, is only going to
32:22happen if, if the project, the underlying project itself makes sense. And it's when it gets to that
32:27point that the people of Canada deserve a share alongside. Next question. We're just about at time,
32:35so this will be the last question. Sorry. Hi, Prime Minister Graham, Richardson CTV. Um,
32:39this all feels very macro. And, and I appreciate that it's, it's, um, it's important, it's impactful,
32:46and, uh, but you go out on St. Laurent Boulevard right now and you ask people, hey, sovereign wealth
32:52funds been created. They don't understand that, but they do understand where the grocery price is.
32:57Well, I mean, I'm, I'm looking forward to CTV, uh, explaining it to them. But to my, to my point,
33:03it feels, it feels up here. And for people, um, groceries, gas, all those, all those real life
33:10things. And recent polls have shown that, well, Canadians appreciate where the country's standing
33:16is macro now and give you credit for it. Uh, they, uh, or your government credit for it. They,
33:22they, they say it's been failing on affordability issues in the first year. So what does, is there
33:30a connection here from this to those affordability issues? Can you make that argument? Well, I think,
33:36so a couple of things, Graham, and thanks for the question. The one is government has to do,
33:41good government has to do several things at one time. You need to defend the country. You need to
33:48make communities safe. We've got the toughest, uh, uh, crime legislation just now finally making it
33:55through, uh, through the house, the reinforcements to the RCMP and the border guards alongside that.
34:00Um, you need to build for the future. What we're doing with Canada strong, that core element,
34:07and you need to help people where they are today. Your question goes to the heart of that,
34:11which is the very real challenges on affordability, affordability that the fact that the country has not
34:17built enough affordable homes for decades, build Canada homes focused on that. Shorter term measures on
34:24housing affordability. And by the way, Bill, we're in Ottawa. Uh, uh, we were together, uh, on Thursday,
34:32I guess, Thursday or Friday, uh, announcing, uh, 1100 new rental properties, build Canada homes,
34:39catalyzing alongside 2000 from the city of Ottawa, big shift for an agency that was only set up six
34:45months ago. Now, do I expect everyone on, on San Laurent Boulevard, uh, to know about build Canada homes?
34:51No, they're busy people. They don't have to know about that, but they will notice, uh, the new homes
34:55in Sandy Hill, the new homes in, uh, the new homes across, uh, across Ottawa that are starting
35:02construction this summer, um, and will be on that market as well. They will, if they're in a position
35:08and not everyone is, and I'll come to other elements of affordability, they will notice that we in the
35:14province of Ontario combined have removed GST and HST on new home purchases and cut development
35:21charges in half, which mean up to $200,000 off the cost of a home in Ottawa, in Ottawa. Okay.
35:29That's,
35:30that's real affordability. They will notice on June 5th, 12 million Canadians, three and a half million
35:35plus in, uh, Ontario, uh, will notice more than that. Actually, I'll check that number and get back to
35:41you. Um, they will notice on June 5th when they get a check for more than $500 for the groceries
35:47and
35:48essential, uh, benefit. They are, they may not notice, but they are getting in their account,
35:53um, the benefits of the middle class tax cut, the 22 million Canadian taxpayers benefit from,
35:59which was the first thing this government did. They will notice, and they did notice, uh, the day after
36:04we cut the federal fuel excise tax, that the price of the pump here in Ottawa went down 12 cents.
36:10So all of these things, and they may, um, uh, they may not notice or associate with them,
36:18but they certainly would notice if they benefit from child care, the Canada child benefit,
36:22the dental care program, pharma care, all of these programs that this government
36:29is absolutely dedicated to has either enhanced national school food program, 800 plus dollars for
36:37families. Um, all of these programs that we put in, uh, place were reinforced. And it's the reason we
36:44burned the midnight oil on the, on the numbers for spending is to ensure that we continue to deliver
36:49those and we're dedicated. So yes, Graham, I, you know, the day to day is hard. Government has to do,
36:56and this government is doing more than one thing at one time, getting up in the morning,
37:00thinking about affordability. How do we preserve the benefits Canadians have? How can we enhance
37:05them? How can we give that boost today and the bridge to a better tomorrow? But at the same time,
37:10we have to be thinking about how to build a better tomorrow and in building a better tomorrow,
37:14building Canada strong. How do we ensure that all Canadians benefit today's announcement? Canada
37:21strong fund is part of ensuring that all Canadians, it's another mechanism by which all Canadians,
37:27not just some, because, you know, lesson of the CPR, you go across this country, there's a lot of things
37:32named after, uh, Strathcona, right? Edmonton, old Strathcona district, all that stuff. Uh, you know,
37:39these CP hotels, somewhere CP, these palaces they built, it was pretty nice. Um, not sure there was, uh,
37:45the benefits of the profits of the CPR were broadly, uh, shared amongst Canadians. Uh, we're going to
37:52change that with nation building projects now. Last follow-up. Follow-up. Uh, you, you said you're
37:56good fiscal managers, but inflation and energy prices have helped the books too, have they not?
38:02Uh, well, inflation, I would, I'd remind that inflation in this country, uh, is, uh, for the entire
38:09life of this government, it has been in the Bank of Canada's, uh, target range, okay? So there's not been
38:14a
38:15inflation, uh, a shift, uh, in overall inflation. I understand grocery prices, uh, fuel prices,
38:22that's why we've taken targeted action. Um, uh, the, um, is, well, I, I, I'm, I'm pushing inflation out of
38:31your, uh, pretext, because, uh, that's, that's not factually, uh, correct. I'm sorry, if you can ask a
38:37factual question, you'll get a factual answer. Um, uh, or do we have some revenue, uh, improvements? We have
38:43some revenue improvements, but you will see, and the Minister of Finance will go through in detail,
38:48and I would encourage to go through the annexes and look at the spending, uh, that we're on top
38:53of the spending. We're delivering on our spending commitments, um, and that's what's necessary, uh,
38:57in this environment. One last thing, um, this country and Canadians have made sacrifices over the years,
39:06and decisions made over the years. We are the strongest fiscal position of all the major economies.
39:12This government is not just preserving that, we're reinforcing it, and we're doing it in a way
39:16that's building a country that's more independent, fairer, stronger, more resilient, um, and, you know,
39:25today's announcement is part of, uh, part of ensuring that all of that happens. Thank you very much.
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