Minister Morneau in New York City to Promote Canada's Economic Plan

From: Department of Finance Canada

News release

April 1, 2019 – New York, New York – Department of Finance Canada

In a challenging global environment, Canada's economy is strong and growing.

Canada's solid economic performance—bolstered by continued investments in the middle class—has helped drive the unemployment rate to 40-year lows, and affirms that Canada continues to be a good place to invest and do business.

Today, Minister of Finance Bill Morneau met with members of the New York Stock Exchange to promote Canada's economic plan and encourage continued investment.

Minister Morneau also spoke with members of the Canadian Association of New York at the Yale Club and discussed how Canada's 2019 Budget, Investing in the Middle Class, takes steps to further increase Canada's competitiveness on the international stage.

Through Budget 2019, the Government is attracting global investments by proposing to:

  • Build much-needed infrastructure through public-private partnerships, including a new, coordinated plan that would deliver as much as $6 billion in new public and private investments in rural broadband over the next 10 years, giving every Canadian home and business access to high-speed internet.
  • Support modern, livable communities with a one-time local infrastructure top-up of $2.2 billion. This will double the federal commitment in 2018–19 and help municipalities and First Nations communities pay for crucial repairs and other important local projects.
  • Encourage businesses to innovate by making the Scientific Research and Experimental Development Tax Incentive Program more accessible for growing innovative firms.
  • Assist the next generation of workers by helping 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 still in school, and develop the skills employers need.
  • Help working Canadians learn new skills with the creation of the 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.
  • Lower energy costs by partnering with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities to increase energy efficiency in residential, commercial and multi-unit buildings.

With Budget 2019, the Government is continuing to invest in people and growing the economy for the long term in a fiscally responsible way—keeping the federal debt-to-GDP ratio on a steady downward track. A declining federal debt-to-GDP ratio will help further reduce Canada's net debt-to-GDP ratio, which is already the lowest among G7 countries. 

Quotes

"Canada and the United States enjoy a partnership that has long served as a model for the rest of the world. Our shared borders, values and history give us the building blocks for true economic cooperation—strengthened by Canada's strong, growing and competitive economy. Our Government's plan will build on past successes and set the stage for cooperation and growth over the long term, with investments that will help the middle class and businesses succeed today and the promise of an even brighter future tomorrow."

- Bill Morneau, Minister of Finance

Quick facts

  • Since 2015, the Government has been working to secure trade opportunities that can make Canada the most globally connected economy in the world. 

  • Canada currently has the lowest overall tax rate on new business investment in the G7, significantly lower than that of the United States.

  • In the 2018 Fall Economic Statement, the Government made three immediate changes to Canada's tax system to enhance business confidence: 

    • Allow businesses to immediately write off the full cost of machinery and equipment used for the manufacturing or processing of goods. 
    • Allow businesses to immediately write off the full cost of specified clean energy equipment, to spur new investments and the adoption of advanced clean technologies in the Canadian economy.
    • Allow businesses of all sizes and in all sectors of the economy to write off a larger share of the cost of newly acquired assets in the year the investment is made.  

  • The Fall Economic Statement also introduced an Export Diversification Strategy aimed at increasing Canada's overseas exports by 50 per cent by 2025, with a focus on three key components: investing in infrastructure to support trade; investing to help Canadian businesses export and grow; and enhancing trade services for Canadian exporters. 

  • To create good, well-paying jobs and build strong, resilient communities, the Government committed to invest more than $180 billion through the 12-year Investing in Canada infrastructure plan, bolstering federal investments by bringing private sector and institutional investors to the table and becoming a world leader in the use of public-private partnerships.

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Contacts

Media may contact:

Pierre-Olivier Herbert
Director of Media Relations
Office of the Minister of Finance
pierre-olivier.herbert@canada.ca
613-369-5696

Media Relations
Department of Finance Canada
fin.media-media.fin@canada.ca
613-369-4000

General Enquiries

Phone: 613-369-3710
Facsimile: 613-369-4065
TTY: 613-369-3230
E-mail: fin.financepublic-financepublique.fin@canada.ca

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