The sitting was dominated by debate on Bill C-12, the Strengthening Canada's Immigration System and Borders Act, and by Conservative attacks on the government’s immigration and economic record, particularly over food prices and the appointment of Mark Wiseman as ambassador to the United States. The central political argument pitted Conservative claims that Liberal policies have driven up the cost of living and broken the immigration system against government assertions that it is delivering affordability measures and border security.
Bill C-12, the Strengthening Canada's Immigration System and Borders Act, was debated at report stage with numerous amendments proposed. The bill would tighten border security and asylum rules. Conservatives, through Frank Caputo and Michelle Rempel Garner, argued the bill was a weak half-measure that would not deter bogus claims and moved amendments to restrict benefits for failed claimants, bar claims from those transiting G7 or EU countries, and impose cost-sharing on educational institutions. Green Party leader Elizabeth May moved a series of amendments to delete clauses she said violated international human rights law, including the one-year bar on refugee claims. The Bloc Québécois supported some Conservative amendments at committee but noted the government later used House procedure to strip out amendments it had agreed to. The government, through Kevin Lamoureux, defended the bill as a necessary step to secure borders and argued that opposition parties had forced the breakup of the larger Bill C-2 to get this legislation through.
Oral Questions focused on three recurring themes: the cost of living and food prices, the proposed appointment of Mark Wiseman as ambassador to the United States, and justice policy. Conservatives repeatedly accused the government of driving up grocery costs through hidden taxes and cited a food price report predicting an extra $1,000 per family in 2026, while also criticizing the Prime Minister’s $800,000 chartered flight to Egypt. The government answered by listing affordability programs such as the Canada child benefit, the national school food program, and dental care, and dismissed the taxes as “imaginary.” On the Wiseman appointment, Conservatives and the Bloc Québécois attacked his role in the Century Initiative, which aims to triple Canada’s population, and his alleged contempt for Quebec. The government replied six times that the Century Initiative has never been and will never be government policy. On justice, Conservatives accused the Liberals of blocking bail reform at committee to instead prioritize hate speech legislation, while the government accused Conservatives of filibustering and said it had tabled multiple public safety bills.
During Routine Proceedings, the government tabled a visiting forces agreement with the Philippines and environmental reports. A single committee report was presented, on a question of privilege. Twenty petitions were presented on topics including payment platform censorship, taxation of massage therapy, striped bass management, Gaelic publishing, brain injury strategy, Gaza aid, human rights in Bangladesh, sport fishing regulations, religious freedom, public safety, synthetic food dyes, Falun Gong persecution, firearms confiscation, nuclear disarmament, brain cancer treatment, organized crime, opioid consumption sites, and the Gaza blockade. The government’s responses to 13 written questions were ordered returned, and all remaining questions and motions for papers were allowed to stand. The Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 1 was passed on division.