Sitting 4 — May 29, 2025

The fourth sitting saw the introduction of two private members' bills: NDP MP Gord Johns tabled Bill C-201, the Mental Health Parity Act, seeking to bring mental health, addictions, and substance use services into the universal public health care system; and Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet introduced Bill C-202 to protect supply management in trade negotiations. The centrepiece of the sitting was Prime Minister Mark Carney's maiden speech in the House in response to the Speech from the Throne, his first official question period appearance as Prime Minister. He outlined a plan to shift spending from operational to investment priorities and pledged that supply management would never be on the table in U.S. trade negotiations.

Question period saw the Conservative opposition, led by deputy leader Melissa Lantsman, challenge the Prime Minister directly on the main estimates, which proposed $486 billion in spending—an 8% increase—hours after the throne speech promised a 2% spending cap. The Prime Minister characterized the estimates as shifting resources toward investment spending, while the Conservatives pointed to a record $26.1 billion for consultants as evidence that "nothing has changed." Bloc Québécois MPs pressed on the throne speech's centralizing language about "one Canadian economy, not 13," with MP Christine Normandin arguing this represented an attempt to run Quebec's economy from Ottawa. Transport and Internal Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland confirmed she had spoken with Quebec minister Christopher Skeete and that Quebec's distinct status would be respected.

The throne speech debate drew participation from all parties. Conservative MPs, including Greg McLean and Carol Anstey, argued the government was burdening future generations with unsustainable debt while refusing to present a budget until fall. Liberal backbenchers, including newly elected members Jake Sawatzky and Corey Hogan, defended the government's focus on affordability through the middle-class tax cut and GST elimination on new homes. The housing minister faced pointed questions about comments that home prices did not need to come down, with Conservatives citing GTA sales data showing an 89% drop below the 10-year average. Youth unemployment, at 14%, and the OECD's warning that the trade war would cost Canadian jobs also featured prominently.