The sitting was dominated by a Bloc Québécois opposition motion demanding that Quebec be paid $814 million, its estimated share of the $3.7 billion in Canada Carbon Rebate payments the government issued on April 22, 2025—six days before the federal election—after eliminating consumer carbon pricing on April 1. The central political argument was whether the rebate was a legitimate transitional payment for provinces that had paid the fuel charge or an election gift funded by all taxpayers, including Quebeckers, who were excluded because Quebec operates its own cap-and-trade system.
The Bloc Québécois moved a motion calling on the government to pay Quebec, without conditions, an amount equivalent to its contribution to the $3.7 billion in spending, estimated at $814 million. The Bloc argued that because the carbon tax was eliminated before the April-June quarter, the rebate was not funded by fuel-charge revenue but from general tax revenue, to which Quebeckers contributed. They said Quebec was being penalized for having its own carbon market and that the payment was a vote-buying scheme. The Liberals opposed the motion, arguing that Quebec never paid the federal fuel charge and therefore was never entitled to the rebate, and that the final payment honoured a commitment to families in provinces where the charge had applied. The Conservatives supported the principle of fairness but proposed an amendment to include British Columbia and to tie the payment to Quebec ending its cap-and-trade system; the Bloc rejected that amendment. The NDP and Green Party did not state a formal position during debate. The motion was put to a recorded vote at the end of the day.
Oral Questions focused on two Auditor General reports tabled that day. The first concerned the procurement of F-35 fighter jets, which the Conservatives said was 50% over budget, behind schedule, and plagued by pilot and technician shortages. The second concerned contracts awarded to GC Strategies, the firm linked to the ArriveCAN app, with the Conservatives alleging $64 million was paid with little evidence of work or security clearances. The government’s answers emphasized that GC Strategies had been suspended and banned from contracts for seven years, and that the F-35 contract was being reviewed. A recurring theme was the government’s failure to table a spring budget; the government replied that a budget would come in the fall.
During Routine Proceedings, three private members’ bills were introduced and read the first time: Bill C-205, to amend the National Housing Strategy Act to prohibit forced encampments on federal land; Bill C-206, to establish a national strategy on brain injuries; and Bill C-207, to amend the Canada Pension Plan to require approval of two-thirds of participating provinces before a province could withdraw. Two petitions were presented, one calling for a guaranteed livable income and one calling for withdrawal from the World Health Organization’s Pandemic Agreement. All questions on the Order Paper were allowed to stand. The government informed the House that Thursday would be an allotted day. After the opposition motion was disposed of, the House proceeded to consideration of the Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates (A), 2025-26, where debate continued until the end of the sitting.