Remarks by the Deputy Prime Minister on the launch of the 2024 pre-budget consultations

December 12, 2023 - Ottawa, Ontario

Good morning. Thanks everyone for being here.

I am delighted to be here today for this year’s final update on our economic plan—and I will have some news to share about the 2024 budget in a moment.

Then I’ll pass it to Minister Sean Fraser, who will provide an update on our government’s work to build more homes, faster, as well as a new tool to do so, in the form of a new housing catalogue.

Minister François-Philippe Champagne will then speak about our government’s work to enhance competition and stabilize prices.

Minister Mark Holland will then speak about the new Canadian Dental Care Plan and the dental coverage that we are expanding to Canadians across the country.

And finally, Minister Anita Anand will speak about regulatory modernization and provide an update on the spending review.

A key tool our government uses to update Canadians on our economic plan is our annual federal budget.

And as we develop our budgets, the most important thing I do is listening to Canadians about the challenges they are facing, about their hopes for the future, and about what they want their government to focus on.

That is why I am so happy to announce that our government’s pre-budget consultations for 2024 are officially open—starting today.

Whether it is building more homes, faster, making life more affordable, or growing our economy and creating great careers for people right across Canada, we want to hear about what matters most to Canadians.

And Canadians can share their priorities for Budget 2024 at LetsTalkBudget24.ca until February 9, 2024.

Before I close, because this is our last weekly update for 2023 about our economic plan, I want to recap some of the progress we have made for Canadians over the past 12 months.

We have unlocked billions of dollars in new financing to build over 100,000 new homes. 

We are helping 300,000 Canadians—and counting—save up for their first downpayment through the new tax-free First Home Savings Account, and with the new Canadian Mortgage Charter, we are protecting Canadians who are struggling to renew their mortgages.

More than 2.3 million Canadians have been lifted out of poverty since we formed government in 2015.

Child care fees have been reduced by an average of 50 per cent across the country, and child care now costs just $10-a-day in six provinces and territories, saving families across Canada thousands of dollars a year.

Inflation is down, wage growth has outpaced inflation for nine months in a row, and private sector economists now expect Canada to avoid the post-pandemic recession that many had predicted.

In the first half of this year, Canada received the third-most foreign direct investment of any country in the entire world—and more investment per capita than any of our G7 allies.

Most importantly, our economic plan is creating great jobs for people from coast to coast to coast—and, indeed, compared to before the pandemic, over a million more Canadians are employed today.

Our government is working hard but we still have more work to do—and I look forward to hearing from Canadians as we prepare our 2024 budget, the next step in our economic plan.

Thank you very much.