Remarks by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance at the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal on building Canada’s clean economy and investing in Canadian workers

April 6, 2023 - Montreal, Quebec

First, I would like to acknowledge that we are gathered on the traditional territories of many First Nations, including the Mohawk Nation territory.

Before I begin, I would like to start by saying that my thoughts are with the people of Montreal and Quebec who were affected by yesterday's ice storm. I also want to thank the crews on the ground who are working hard to clear roads and bridges and restore power. Our government stands ready to provide assistance if needed.

Canada’s economy has made a remarkable recovery from the COVID recession.

Last year, Canada delivered the strongest economic growth in the G7, and in the first quarter of this year, our economic growth surpassed expectations.

There are 865,000 more Canadians working today than when the pandemic started.

We have recovered 128 per cent of the jobs that were lost in the first months of the pandemic, compared to just 114 per cent in the United States.

Today, there are more Canadians with good jobs than ever before.

As we all know, Vladimir Putin and the pandemic drove up inflation around the world. Central banks have responded with one of the fastest and most synchronized monetary tightening cycles since the 1980s.

Now today, here in Canada, inflation is coming down.

Inflation has declined for eight months in a row, and the Bank of Canada predicts it will drop to just 2.6 per cent by the end of this year. In March, the average wage for Canadians went up by 5.3 per cent.

That meant paycheques outpaced inflation for a second month in a row, which meant more money in Canadians’ pockets after a hard day’s work—from coast to coast to coast.

We are reducing government spending by more than $15 billion while taking great care not to reduce the services and direct support that Canadians rely on. Even with the slowing economy both in Canada and around the world, our deficit is lower than it was last year, down from 1.5 per cent to 1.4 per cent of GDP.

With this strong economic foundation, the budget that I presented last Tuesday comes at an important time for the country.

In the short term, we face a slowing global economy, high interest rates around the world and inflation that is still too high.

Our budget is a direct response to these significant challenges.

First, we will introduce a new one-time grocery rebate that will provide up to $467 for a family here in Montreal.

We are also going to strengthen our universal public health care system through an investment of $198 billion—announced by the Prime Minister in February—that includes a plan to provide dental care to millions of Canadians. Here in Quebec, this investment means an additional $37.4 billion over the next ten years.

At the same time, Canada must also navigate two fundamental shifts in the global economy.

First, in what is the most significant economic transformation since the Industrial Revolution, our friends and partners around the world—chief among them, the United States—are investing heavily to build clean economies and the net-zero industries of tomorrow.

Putin and the pandemic have cruelly revealed to the world’s democracies the risks of economic reliance on dictatorships. As a result, our allies are moving quickly to friendshore their economies and build their supply chains through economies like our own.

Last month, in her address to our Parliament, President von der Leyen of the European Commission said she wants Canada and Europe to “join forces for the climate, for our economies,” and to end what she called Europe’s “dangerous dependencies” on authoritarian economies.

In his address a couple of weeks later also to our Parliament, President Biden told us that we are at an inflection point in history.

He said that we had all learned the hard way that just-in-time supply chains expose us to significant risks and he urged us to work together to build a future based on our shared prosperity—“where Canada and the United States can anchor the most competitive, prosperous, and resilient economic region in the world.”

These are our closest friends and our steadfast democratic allies. These are our two greatest trading partners.

And like so many of our partners around the world, they need the expertise of Canadian workers, the ingenuity of Canadian entrepreneurs, and the resources that Canada has in such fortunate abundance. They need us.

Today, and in the years to come, Canada must either meet this historic moment—this remarkable opportunity—or we will be left behind as the world’s democracies build the clean economy of the 21st century.

In the budget I tabled last week, we announced our plan to build Canada’s clean economy, and that plan includes over $80 billion in investments.

Our budget includes significant investment tax credits for clean electricity and clean technology manufacturing, in addition to the substantial investment tax credits we announced last year for carbon capture, utilization and storage, clean hydrogen and the adoption of clean technologies.

Whether it’s clean energy, clean technology or battery manufacturing, Canada is becoming a world leader in the clean economy. And this is thanks to Quebec workers who have the expertise and Quebec businesses like Gazifère, FLO, Nano One and many others that are making what the world needs.

Our government’s choice is clear and unequivocal. We will fight for Canadians, and we will fight for Canadian businesses. We will ensure that Canada seizes this historic opportunity.

We are going to build a clean electrical grid that connects Canadians from coast to coast to coast, protects our environment, and delivers cleaner, more affordable electricity to Canadians and Canadian businesses, just as Quebec already does now.

We are going to make Canada the very best place in the world for businesses to invest because that means more vibrant, prosperous communities and more good careers for Canadians.

Canada is the only G7 country with free trade deals with each of our other G7 allies. We are making Canada a reliable supplier of clean energy to our allies and to the world.

And from critical minerals to electric vehicles, we are going to ensure that Canadian workers mine, and process, and build, and sell the goods and the resources that our allies need.

We are going to make sure that the unions who built the middle class can continue to thrive, and we are going to make it easier for Canadian workers to learn the skills they need.

When the Government of Canada buys things from other countries, we are going to make sure that those countries offer Canadian businesses the same access we give their businesses.

Our plan is about creating good-paying jobs—good careers—for everyone, everywhere, from big cities to small towns. From here in the heart of downtown Montreal to Val-d’Or.

And that is what our budget invests in: the possibility for every single Canadian to share in the remarkable opportunities that Canada provides—and in the new era of prosperity that we will build together.

Thank you very much.