Minister Morneau Talks Budget 2019, Investing in the Middle Class, in Québec City

March 29, 2019 - Québec City, Quebec - Department of Finance Canada

In 2015, Canadians chose a plan to invest in the middle class and offer real help to people working hard to join it. Over the past three years, that plan gave more help to those who need it, and less to those who don't. It invested in building a better Canada—a stronger, more connected country. It created better opportunities for people today, and the promise of a better future.

Today, Finance Minister Bill Morneau spoke with members of the Chambre de commerce et d'industrie de Québec in Québec City about how Budget 2019, Investing in the Middle Class, will help build an economy that works for everyone. Minister Morneau also highlighted how the Budget forms the next step in the Government's plan to make sure everyone feels the benefits of Canada's economic growth.

The Government proposes to support Canadian businesses and people through Budget 2019 by:

• Making homeownership more affordable for first-time buyers by implementing the First-Time Home Buyer Incentive, a shared equity mortgage program that would reduce the mortgage payments required to own a home; and by providing greater access to their Registered Retirement Savings Plan savings to buy a home.
• Helping workers gain new skills with the creation of the new Canada Training Benefit, a benefit that will give workers money to help pay for training, provide income support during training, and, with the cooperation of the provinces and territories, offer job protection so that workers can take the time they need to keep their skills relevant and in-demand.
• Providing more on-the-job learning opportunities to young Canadians by providing funding to create up to 84,000 new student work placements per year by 2023-24 so that more students can gain relevant, real-world work experience while they are still in school, and develop the skills employers need.
• Supporting municipalities' local infrastructure priorities by providing a one-time top-up of $2.2 billion, doubling the federal municipal infrastructure commitment in 2018–19. This will help municipalities and First Nations communities with the funds needed to pay for crucial repairs and other important local projects. This includes $504 million for Quebec.
• Expanding access to high-speed internet so all Canadian homes and businesses have access to download speeds of at least 50 megabits per second (Mbps) no matter where they are located.
• Lowering Canadians' energy costs by partnering with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities with $1.01 billion in investments to increase energy efficiency in residential, commercial and multi-unit buildings.
• Supporting low-income Canadian seniors who choose to stay in the workforce by enhancing the Guaranteed Income Supplement earnings exemption so that they can effectively keep more of their hard-earned income.
• Making it easier and more affordable for Canadians to choose a zero-emission vehicle by expanding the network of zero-emission vehicle charging and refuelling stations and creating new incentives for people and businesses to purchase zero-emission vehicles.
• Enhancing support for innovation by improving the Scientific Research and Experimental Development Tax Incentive Program for growing innovative firms.

With Budget 2019, the Government is continuing to invest in people and growing the economy for the long term, in a fiscally responsible way—ensuring that Canada's federal debt-to-GDP ratio continues on a steady downward track.