Debates of Oct. 23rd, 2025

The Economy

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Prime Minister made a very depressing speech. He said that there were plenty of opportunities when he was young, but that our young people's future will not be as bright as his past. He said that young people will have to make sacrifices.

Young people have been making sacrifices for 10 years, while the Liberals doubled the cost of housing, cut jobs and racked up intergenerational debt.

The Prime Minister is saying that young people will have to make more sacrifices. What do they have left to sacrifice?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Minister of Government Transformation]

Mr. Speaker, do you know what young people sacrificed in the last election? They sacrificed the Leader of the Opposition's narrow, negative, pessimistic view of Canada.

They chose a serious leader and an ambitious government that is building one Canadian economy to create opportunities. This will generate $215 billion for Canada's GDP, according to the Montreal Economic Institute. We are supporting major projects across the country that will create good jobs for young people and for future generations.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, apparently the minister did not hear the speech in which the Prime Minister said that young people are going to have to make even more sacrifices after 10 Liberal years that have already forced them to make at least three major sacrifices. The Liberals have made housing unaffordable. They have killed jobs and they have the worst employment numbers in 30 years. They have created intergenerational debt.

Why are they not tabling an affordable budget now so our young people can have an affordable life?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Minister of Government Transformation]

Mr. Speaker, every day in the House, during every question period, it becomes increasingly clear to all Canadians that the Prime Minister, an economist with private-sector experience, is leagues apart from the Leader of the Opposition, a career politician.

What the Prime Minister talked about yesterday is spending less to invest more and delivering a budget that will have a transformative impact on the country through major capital investments to create opportunities for young people across the country.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Prime Minister made a very depressing speech to Canada's youth. He said they would have to make more sacrifices.

This is more sacrifices after 10 Liberal years that doubled the cost of housing and drove out the possibility that youth could own their own homes, after the sacrifice of their jobs with the worst employment numbers since the 1990s and after the sacrifice of a lifelong shouldering of high debt.

Young people need hope, jobs and homes. Why will the Prime Minister not reverse his disastrous decade of policies so that we can restore that hope?

[John Zerucelli, Liberal, Secretary of State (Labour)]

Mr. Speaker, I had the honour of presenting Red Seals to three new apprentices of IBEW Local 230, Victoria, B.C. They are proud of what they accomplished. They are optimistic about the future, because we are going to put them to work. We are going to build homes. We are building major infrastructure projects in the national interest, with thousands of jobs and thousands of opportunities for apprenticeship.

While the Conservatives come to the House and talk Canada down every day, we are going to be supporting workers who are building Canada up.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, three apprentices do not account for the countless job losses and the highest jobless rate in 30 years, outside of COVID, caused by this government, nor does it account for the doubling of housing costs and that 80% of young people believe they will never be able to afford a home.

The Prime Minister tells our youth that they have to sacrifice even more. All he offers is more costs, more debt and more despair. What Canadians actually need is more homes, more jobs and more hope.

Why will the Prime Minister not introduce an affordable budget for an affordable life?

[John Zerucelli, Liberal, Secretary of State (Labour)]

Mr. Speaker, every day, the Conservatives come to the House and talk down the Canadian economy.

We are supporting our workers. We are going to build, build bold and build now with Canadian lumber, Canadian steel and Canadian unionized workers. We are defending our workers. We will be there for Canada. I hope the Conservatives join us.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, apparently nobody on the other side listened to the depressing, miserable, hopeless speech the Prime Minister gave to Canadian youth yesterday. He said that Canadian youth need to sacrifice more, when in fact quite the opposite is true. The youth of this country have sacrificed enough. They cannot afford homes, they cannot get jobs and now they have a generational lifetime of debt to shoulder.

What Canadian youth need are homes, jobs and hope. Yesterday, I provided the Prime Minister with a plan to do it. Will he put that hopeful plan in his budget?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Minister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the only person who is miserable when the Prime Minister speaks is the Leader of the Opposition.

What the Prime Minister is talking about is spending less and investing more: investing in careers for young people, in building major national projects, in being a technology leader in the world today with Premier Ford, leading the world in small modular nuclear reactors.

The young people of this country are proud to be Canadians. They are proud to see a future from coast to coast to coast in this country. The young people of this country have a bright future—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. Leader of the Opposition has the floor.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, it is too bad that the minister did not write the Prime Minister's speech yesterday, because it would not have bored and depressed to tears all the poor students stuck in the room where the Prime Minister spoke about how they would have to sacrifice more and about how it would take time to reverse all the misery that has built up over the last 10 years.

Young people want to have homes, they want to have jobs and they want to have hope. They want a budget that is affordable so they can have a life that is affordable. Will the Prime Minister introduce that budget so Canadians can restore the promise of their country?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Minister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, you can be sure we are going to introduce a budget. The question is whether the Leader of the Opposition is going to support that budget.

Here is what that budget is going to do. It is going to give young people all over this country the ability to stand up and say, “That is where my future lies: in Canada in skilled trades, in technology and in the professions, in careers that are going to give me and my family hope, a home, a community, a job and a future in the best country in the world.”

Let us build Canada.

Government Priorities

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in the lead-up to the budget, the government has accused the opposition parties of playing political games. I need them to explain to me how we are playing political games by demanding that the government provide funding for health care, support seniors with the cost of living and address the housing, home ownership and infrastructure crisis.

Our demands are based on the needs of Quebeckers. They are public and they have not changed.

If the government is ignoring those demands, then who is the one playing political games?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, the leader of the Bloc Québécois seems to change his mind as often as he changes his shirt. After the election, he told us that he was prepared to work with the government and that he wanted to give us time so that we could help Canadians and Quebeckers.

Now what is he saying before he has even read the budget? He is telling us that he will not vote in favour of it. I would like to know, and I think that everyone in the House would like to know, where the Bloc Québécois stands.

Will the Bloc members at least read the budget before saying that they will not vote for it?

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I will tell my colleague what political games and a reluctance to collaborate look like. It is when the Prime Minister meets with party leaders to discuss their budget expectations, when a speech has already been written for that very evening in which he completely ignores their requests. There is not a word about seniors or health care, nor any commitment to transfer money unconditionally to Quebec for infrastructure or for social and community housing. There is nothing about the $814 million that was stolen from Quebeckers to write vote-buying cheques to Canadians.

Why is the Prime Minister playing political games instead of addressing Quebeckers' needs?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons met with the leader of the Bloc Québécois to talk about the budget. The Minister of Finance and National Revenue met with the leader of the Bloc Québécois to talk about the budget. The Prime Minister met with the leader of the Bloc Québécois to talk about the budget. I myself met with the leader of the Bloc Québécois to talk about the budget.

Even before the budget was made public, the Bloc Québécois told us that it was not interested and that it would not vote for it. The Bloc members will not vote for measures that will allow millions of Canadians to save on their taxes. They will not vote for a budget that will help build hundreds of thousands of housing units.

To me, the Bloc Québécois's position is unacceptable.

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons says that if the budget does not pass, it will be the opposition parties' fault. The Minister of Finance and National Revenue is accusing us of playing politics. However, our demands have been a matter of public record for a long time. It was their Prime Minister who chose to ignore all of them in his pre-budget speech last night.

This is a minority government. It should act like one. It should make deals if it wants its budget to pass.

Why is it so hard to just address the needs of Quebeckers?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Minister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the needs of Quebeckers are very well represented on this side of the House, which has 44 members from Quebec. These are people who are well-established in their communities, who talk to us about their communities, about issues affecting the forestry sector, seniors and young people and about creating a prosperous future for all young Quebeckers.

We know what a strong and united Canada is. We do not need a lesson from the Bloc Québécois when it comes to Quebec's future.

Youth

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister told young Canadians that there would be more sacrifices in their future. Young people are already facing a bleak future because of Liberal policies exploding housing and food prices and historic highs in unemployment. Past generations sacrificed to make life better for their children, but now young people are being told to sacrifice their future because of elite Liberal policies.

Will Liberals stop breaking their promises and restore hope for the future of this country?

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Secretary of State (Canada Revenue Agency and Financial Institutions)]

Mr. Speaker, do members know what youth of this country want? They want a leader who does not spin conspiracy theories, attack democratic institutions and suggest that other leaders be jailed.

On November 4, we are going to table a generational budget. We are going to invest in Canada and build Canada. I suggest the leader opposite sacrifice his ego, put the rhetoric aside and help us build Canada.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, respectfully, that nonsense answer obviously had nothing to do with the question. When we are talking about youth unemployment, I think it is time for the Liberals to sacrifice their tired talking points and actually get serious about addressing the problem.

Last week, we introduced the Conservative youth jobs plan to unleash the economy, fix immigration, fix training and build homes where the jobs are, so instead of preaching sacrifice, why do the Liberals not propose a youth jobs plan? Better yet, why do they not simply adopt ours?

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Secretary of State (Canada Revenue Agency and Financial Institutions)]

Mr. Speaker, while the Conservatives are in damage control mode, we are in build mode. On November 4, we are going to table a generational budget, we are going to invest in Canada, we are going to build at a scale not seen since the Second World War and we are going to invest in infrastructure and national projects.

We believe in Canada. We will build Canada's economy into the strongest economy in the G7. I ask the party opposite to come out of the shadows and support our budget.

[Vincent Ho, Conservative, Richmond Hill South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Liberal Prime Minister told a room full of students that they are going to have to make some sacrifices.

Young people have already sacrificed enough over the last 10 years. They have sacrificed by paying skyrocketing food costs. They have sacrificed with an entire summer without jobs because Liberal job-killing policies have driven youth unemployment to recessionary levels. They have sacrificed the dream of home ownership because the Liberals created the worst housing crisis ever, and last month rents were up by another 4.8% nationally.

Canadians should not have to sacrifice for Liberal failures.

When will the Liberals stop doubling down on the same failed policies and get spending under control so young Canadians can finally afford to buy a home?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, that speech really freaked out the Conservatives because it was all about ambition. It was about investing in ourselves. It was about building major projects. It was about the project that Prime Minister Carney announced with Premier Ford—