Remarks by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance at Reko International in Windsor, Ontario

February 6, 2023

Let me begin by acknowledging that the land on which we gather is the traditional territory of the Three Fires Confederacy of First Nations.

I love coming to Windsor. You built the Canadian economy of the 20^th century, and you are building the Canadian economy of the 21^st century. I am always inspired and energized watching you do it.

And I am especially glad to be here at Reko International for many reasons, but I do want to acknowledge Diane Reko’s role as a Canadian woman business leader. We need more of them and Diane sets a great example for our whole country.

Windsor is home to one of the most important border crossings in the world, and businesses here, like Reko, are essential to the Canadian and the North American economy.

Having had the chance to tour this great facility and talk to a lot of people here, one of the things I was really struck by was the pride that people working here quite rightly take in their work.

The work that you do and the problems you solve are hard. And this is the kind of work that our economy really depends on.

So thank you to Diane, and thank you team Reko for your warm welcome. And above all, thank you for everything you do every single day. I’m really glad that the federal government has been able to support your work over the past few years. We are going to continue to do that.  

It’s the expertise and the innovation at places like Reko that will help our economy grow and create good jobs for a long time to come.

But before I speak about the work we need to do to build our 21^st century economy, I want to highlight a few important points on the Canadian economy today.

We are certainly facing some global headwinds.

The global economy is slowing down, and interest rates and inflation are elevated around the world.

Everyone is also contending with the impact of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and the difficult-to-predict consequences of China’s economic reopening.

These are challenging times in the global economy, and times of great uncertainty. And I know the people here at Reko are intimately familiar with that in the decisions you have to make every day. Fortunately, Canada is operating from a position of fundamental economic strength in this uncertain global environment.

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

Our economy added almost 70,000 jobs in December and our unemployment rate is at 5 per cent—close to our record low.

Canada has recovered 121 per cent of the jobs lost to COVID, compared to just 106 per cent in the United States.

In December, Canada’s labour force participation rate rose to a record high of 80 per cent for people between 15 and 64—and that compares to just 74 per cent in the United States.

And supported by our national system of early learning and child care introduced by our government, that labour force participation rate includes a record high 85 per cent participation rate for working-age women—and that compares to just 76 per cent in the United States.

I am so proud of that number. When we brought in the national program of early learning and child care, we said this was going to make life more affordable for Canadian families, it was going to create opportunities for women, and it was going to drive economic growth—and we are already seeing that reflected in the numbers.

All of this means that, in communities big and small across Canada, Canadians are able to find good jobs—and the stability and prosperity for their family that comes with them.

In fact, more Canadians have good jobs today than ever before.

There is no country in the world that is better placed to navigate the global economic slowdown than Canada.

And I very much believe that the next few years are going to be critical to the Canadian economy for a generation to come—for a century to come.

We are today at the brink of a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build the industrial Canadian economy of the 21^st century.

And you are an essential part of it, so thank you.

The global net-zero transition is the most significant economic transformation since the Industrial Revolution itself. And at the same time, our democratic partners are seeking to shift their economic dependence away from dictatorships and towards democracies like our own.

Whether it’s in critical minerals, or batteries, or EVs that will be built in places like Windsor, it is absolutely essential that Canada seizes the historic opportunities that these global shifts represent.

That will be one of our government’s primary focuses this year. And we can’t do it alone. This is a time when it’s important for the federal government to be fiscally responsible, and as Finance Minister I definitely recognize that our ability to spend is not infinite.

So as I told my provincial and territorial counterparts at the Finance Ministers’ Meeting in Toronto, we are counting on the provinces, very much including Ontario, to invest alongside us to create more good jobs and build a thriving 21^st century Canadian economy.

That’s critical to the Canadian economy and to the Ontario economy. And it is critical to a place like Windsor.

We have in front of us a generational opportunity.

If we make smart investments today, we can build an economy that works for everyone here in Windsor and from coast-to-coast-to-coast.

Where Windsor helps build the next generation of vehicles that have powered our economy for more than a century, and will drive our economy in the 21^st century.

And where everyone is able to roll up their sleeves and earn a good living—and buy a house—with a good, middle class job.

Today, tomorrow, and for generations to come.

Thank you very much.