Remarks by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance at a press conference following the Finance Ministers’ Meeting

Today I hosted a provincial and territorial Finance Ministers’ meeting. This was a return to in-person meetings and it was helpful to get together and to see each other face-to-face. We had a very rich, wide-ranging conversation today working together on key priorities for Canadians.

February 3, 2023 - Toronto, ON

Good afternoon.

Today I hosted a provincial and territorial Finance Ministers’ meeting. This was a return to in-person meetings and it was helpful to get together and to see each other face-to-face. We had a very rich, wide-ranging conversation today working together on key priorities for Canadians.

We are a group of Ministers from every major political party in Canada and, of course, we do not always agree on everything—but we all know we are most successful when we can work together to serve Canadians.

We saw that when we came together to support Canadians during the pandemic. David Naylor, a former president of this university, noted in a study published by the Canadian Medical Association Journal last summer that if Canada had had the COVID mortality rate of the United States, nearly 70,000 additional Canadians would have died.

That’s such a big number. It is the population of some provincial capitals. And one of the things we did reflect on together is how Canadians working together from coast-to-coast-to-coast helped prevent that from happening.

By focusing relentlessly on jobs together we were able to keep millions of Canadians employed, to keep millions of Canadian households solvent, and to keep Canadian businesses and small businesses afloat.

We avoided serious economic scarring during the COVID recession. That is one of the reasons why Canada has experienced such a remarkable economic recovery from the pandemic recession.

The IMF is predicting that Canada will see the second fastest economic growth in the G7, both this year and next.

Our economy added 69,000 jobs in December. Our unemployment rate is at 5 per cent—close to our record low.

659,000 more Canadians are employed compared to pre-pandemic, and we have recovered 121 per cent of the jobs lost to COVID, compared to just 106 per cent in the United States.

Our labour force participation rate rose to 65 per cent in December, including a record high of 80 per cent for people between 15 and 64—compared to just 74 per cent in the US.

And because of the agreements on affordable early learning and child care that every province and territory signed with our government, that labour force participation rate includes a record 85 per cent participation rate for women in their prime working years—compared to just 76 per cent in the US.

So when I say we are at our best when we work together, that’s not a hopeful assertion—that’s the reality.

Another issue we spoke about today was how we can work together to ensure better health care outcomes for Canadians across the country. We also heard from the Governor of the Bank of Canada, Tiff Macklem, and discussed the economic outlook for Canada and the world.

As Finance Ministers, all of us around the table were very aware of the uncertainty in the global economy right now. Inflation is high and interest rates are high. Things are tough for a lot of Canadians and a lot of Canadian families today.

At the federal level this is a time of real fiscal constraint. We know that one of the most important things the federal government can do to help Canadians today is to be mindful of our responsibility not to pour fuel on the fire of inflation, and not to force the Bank of Canada to raise rates even higher.

It was important for us to speak about why any new spending has to be targeted and focused on building an economy that is more sustainable and more prosperous—one that will create good-paying, stable jobs for Canadians for generations to come.

The global net-zero transition is the most significant economic transformation since the Industrial Revolution. Today, our democratic partners around the world are seeking to shift their economic dependency away from dictatorships and towards democracies like our own—what Secretary Yellen has called “friendshoring.”

We need the provinces and territories to chip in and work with the federal government in our response to the Inflation Reduction Act. We need to work together to build Canada’s 21st century economy. This is a huge economic opportunity and it is the challenge of today.

We need to rise to this moment for Canada and for Canadians. We have the chance to create prosperity, good jobs and more vibrant communities for generations to come. This is a truly historic once-in-a- generation economic moment and it will take a Team Canada effort to seize it.

I was glad to spend time today with my fellow Finance Ministers. I know that we can accomplish so much when we all work together, and today was an important opportunity to talk about that.

Thank you very much, and I’m happy to take your questions.