The sitting was dominated by debate on Bill C-15, the Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 1, with the central political argument revolving around the government’s fiscal record: the Liberals defended the budget as a generational investment in housing, defence, and social programs, while the Conservatives attacked it as a reckless, inflationary spending spree that would saddle future generations with debt and fail to deliver on promises to build homes and protect jobs.
Bill C-15, the budget implementation act, consumed the vast majority of the day. The bill would enact the government’s November 2025 budget, including measures to increase defence spending to 2% of GDP, create a new Build Canada Homes bureaucracy, remove the consumer carbon tax, and introduce a national school food program. Conservatives opposed the bill throughout, arguing that it would add $78 billion to the deficit, increase the national debt past $1.3 trillion, and do little to lower the cost of living. They pointed to the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s estimate that Build Canada Homes would add only about 26,000 units over five years, far short of the government’s promise to double housing construction. Liberal speakers countered that the budget represented the largest infrastructure investment in Canadian history and that the PBO’s own report showed the program would contribute to 86,000 affordable homes. The Bloc Québécois also opposed the bill, citing the government’s failure to increase health transfers, compensate Quebec for carbon-pricing rebates paid to other provinces, or raise old age security for seniors aged 65. Several Bloc members highlighted a provision in the bill that they said would allow any minister to exempt projects from federal laws for up to three years, calling it a dangerous concentration of power.
Oral Questions focused on three recurring themes: the Prime Minister’s handling of trade talks with the United States, the government’s housing record, and the appointment of a new minister responsible for official languages. The Leader of the Opposition pressed the Prime Minister on the 1,000 layoffs at Algoma Steel, accusing him of breaking a promise to protect steelworkers and of saying “Who cares?” about trade negotiations. The Prime Minister replied that the government was in a trade war and had provided $400 million to support the company. On housing, Conservatives repeatedly cited a PBO report that they said showed the government’s new housing agency would build only a fraction of the promised homes; Liberal ministers responded that the PBO had actually estimated 86,000 affordable units and accused the Conservatives of voting against housing investments. On official languages, the Bloc Québécois criticized the appointment of a minister who had said he was “fed up” with debate on the decline of French; the minister replied that he would defend French and pointed to a $4.1-billion francophone strategy.