Remarks by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance to the Committee of the Whole

May 29, 2023

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

There are 907,000 more Canadians working today than when COVID first hit.

In the first four months of 2023 alone, the Canadian economy added nearly a quarter of a million jobs.

We have now recovered 129 per cent of the jobs that were lost in the first months of the pandemic—compared to just 115 per cent in the United States.

Supported by our Canada-wide system of affordable early learning and child care, the labour force participation rate for Canadian women in their prime working years hit a record high of 85.7 per cent in February—compared to just 77.2 per cent in the United States.

Today, more Canadians have good jobs than ever before—and at just five per cent, our unemployment rate is near its record low. 

Inflation has fallen from 8.1 per cent last June to 4.4 per cent last month. The Bank of Canada predicts it will fall to 3 per cent this summer.

Since February, the average wage for Canadians has been growing by 5 per cent or more. That means paycheques have been outpacing inflation, which means more money in Canadians’ pockets after a hard day’s work.

At 3.4 per cent, we had the strongest economic growth in the G7 over the course of last year.

Our deficit is down from a projected 1.5 per cent of GDP last year to 1.4 per cent this year.

In April, S&P reiterated our AAA credit rating, and we have both the lowest deficit-to-GDP and the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7—lower, also, than other major AAA-rated economies, such as the Netherlands.

With this remarkably strong economic foundation, our 2023 budget comes at an important time for our country.

In the short term, we are facing a slowing global economy and elevated interest rates around the world. We must also reinforce our universal public health care system to ensure it delivers the high quality, timely public health care that Canadians deserve.

In the months and years to come, we must seize the remarkable opportunities for Canada that are presented by two fundamental shifts in the global economy: the race to build the clean economies of the 21st century, and our allies’ accelerating efforts to friendshore their economies by building their critical supply chains through democracies like our own.

Our budget is a direct response to the challenges and opportunities we face.

First, our budget includes a one-time Grocery Rebate that will deliver targeted inflation relief to those who need it most.

On July 5^th, 11 million Canadians and Canadian families can expect to see the Grocery Rebate arrive in their bank accounts or their mailboxes.

A couple with two children will receive up to an extra $467, and single Canadians without children will receive up to an extra $234.

Second, we are delivering the $198 billion investment in public health care we announced earlier this year.

Our plan will help ensure Canadians have access to a family doctor. It will tackle the backlog of surgeries and combat the opioid crisis that has devastated so many families.

And, Madam Chair, even as we reinforce the public health care system we have today, we are also expanding its reach.

By 2025, the new Canadian Dental Care Plan will provide dental coverage for up to nine million uninsured Canadians.

That will mean no Canadian, ever again, will need to choose between taking care of their teeth and paying the bills at the end of the month.

And it means you will no longer be able to tell how much money a Canadian makes—or how much money their parents make—by their smile.

These are significant and necessary investments, Madam Chair. Because a strong and effective health care system is essential for a strong and healthy Canadian workforce.

And we need a strong and healthy Canadian workforce now, more than ever.

That is because today, countries around the world are investing heavily in building the clean economies of the 21^st century.

And at the same time, our democratic partners are seeking to shift their economic dependence away from dictatorships and towards democracies like our own.

Our allies need the expertise of Canadian workers, the ingenuity of Canadian businesses, and the resources that Canada has in such fortunate abundance.

As a country, we must meet this historic moment, or we will be left behind as the world’s democracies build the clean economy of the 21st century.

That is why our budget makes transformative investments to build Canada’s clean economy, fight climate change, and create new opportunities for Canadian workers and Canadian businesses.

This includes major investment tax credits for clean electricity and clean technology manufacturing—adding to major investment tax credits for carbon capture, utilization, and storage; clean hydrogen; and clean technology adoption that we announced last year.

We are going to make Canada a clean electricity superpower by building a national electrical grid that connects Canadians from coast-to-coast-to-coast, and delivers cleaner, more affordable electricity to Canadians and Canadian businesses.

From energy, to 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 deliver investments to put Canadian workers and Canadian businesses at the heart of essential global supply chains.

And we are going to build big things here in Canada—from a Volkswagen battery plant in St. Thomas, to the Galaxy Lithium mine in Quebec, to the Trans Mountain Expansion in Alberta, to the Atlantic Loop, to the LNG terminal in Kitimat, BC.

Madam Speaker, our plan is about creating good-paying jobs—good careers—for everyone, everywhere.

And it is about the investing 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.