The sitting was dominated by debate on Bill C-15, the Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 1, which occupied most of Government Orders. The central political argument pitted the government’s claim that the budget was a necessary generational investment in housing, infrastructure, defence and productivity against opposition charges that it was a reckless, inflationary spending plan that would saddle future generations with unsustainable debt while failing to address affordability or the trade war with the United States.
Bill C-15, the budget implementation bill, would enact the government’s November 2025 budget. It includes measures to create a new Build Canada Homes agency to accelerate affordable housing construction, a $51-billion infrastructure fund, a productivity superdeduction for business investment, a permanent national school food program, a tax credit for personal support workers, and the repeal of the underused housing tax and the luxury tax on aircraft and boats. The government argued the bill would strengthen Canada’s economic sovereignty and competitiveness. The Conservatives opposed the bill as a “costly credit card budget” that would add $78 billion to the deficit and $321 billion in new debt over five years, driving up inflation and interest costs. The Bloc Québécois criticized the bill for lacking new health transfers, ignoring seniors aged 65-74, and failing to support private media, while also objecting to provisions that would allow ministers to exempt certain projects from environmental assessments. The NDP supported some measures, such as the school food program and the PSW tax credit, but opposed the bill overall, arguing it cut public service jobs, removed the digital services tax, and failed to fund pharmacare or adequately address the housing and cost-of-living crises.
Oral Questions was dominated by the Prime Minister’s trade record and his personal financial ties to Brookfield Asset Management. The Leader of the Opposition repeatedly accused the Prime Minister of failing to reduce any U.S. tariffs, noting that tariffs on softwood lumber, steel, aluminum and autos had increased since the election, and contrasted this with the Prime Minister’s pre-election promise to “negotiate a win.” The opposition also pressed the Prime Minister on his refusal to unilaterally approve a new oil pipeline to the Pacific coast, arguing he was hiding behind provincial and Indigenous consultation requirements. A recurring theme was the Prime Minister’s remark that he did not have “a burning issue to speak with the president about right now,” which the opposition characterized as indifference to job losses in the auto, steel and forestry sectors. The government’s answers focused on securing new trade deals with Indonesia and the UAE, a $70-billion investment pledge from the UAE, and the budget’s investments in infrastructure and productivity. On the ethics front, the Conservatives cited testimony from Brookfield’s COO that when Brookfield does well, the Prime Minister does well, and pressed the Prime Minister to divest his holdings. The government dismissed these as “conspiracy theories” and pointed to Canada’s strict ethics code.