Thank you! Good! Thanks very much. Thank you, Madame Fortier, thank you, Madame Mona. Thank you, Madam President. It’s a great pleasure to be here with you.

Good evening. Look, it's been a while since I was in your shoes at university. It’s been a long while actually. It's been a long while but one of the things is that there are some similarities to our experiences, okay? Trust me, I'm going to draw them out. The fact is, in particular, we will have both studied and entered the workforce, you will soon enter the workforce, during times of immense change, okay? And I've learned a few things since I graduated and I've increasingly understood this point, that life doesn't proceed in a straight line and that the history and the progress of nations are punctuated by hinge moments, times when the future literally hangs in the balance and when our actions can be decisive.

And in moments like these, we must be bold. We must chart a new course. And we must do it together. Canada is going through one of those moments today. Technological change is accelerating.

The world is more dangerous and divided. The U.S., as we all know, has fundamentally changed its approach to trade. It's raising its tariffs to levels last seen during the Great Depression, and the scale and the speed of these developments are not part of a smooth transition. They're a rupture and they mean that our economic strategy needs to change dramatically, and they mean as well, even though we both lived through time… are living, you living, I lived, through times of immense change, your future will not be the same as my past because my time as a student was marked by events of a similar magnitude but in a very different direction. When I was your age, the Berlin Wall fell, leading to a long period of liberalization of the movement of goods, capital, and people, leading to a peace dividend.

It was a time of optimism, of hope, and of promise, and those dynamics particularly benefited Canada. Our enviable geography gave us access to the largest and most dynamic economy in the world, while keeping us far from most wars and terrorist attacks of the time.

So, because of these advantages, over decades, our economy grew steadily more integrated with the United States through the free trade agreement of the 1980s, the NAFTA accord of the 1990s, and eventually the USMCA agreement signed in 2018. Canada's trade increased by over 400% during that period and our economy doubled in size, but this process, this decades-long process of an ever closer economic relationship with the United States, is now over. And as a consequence, many of our former strengths as a country, former strengths more particularly as our economy, strengths based on close ties to America, have become our vulnerabilities. And as a result of that, the jobs of workers in our industries most affected by the U.S. tariffs in autos and steel and lumber are under threat, and our businesses are holding back investments restrained by the pall of uncertainty that's hanging over all of us. Our relationship with the United States will never again be the same as it was even though in this new world of protectionism, we have the best trade deal of any other country and we're working to make it even better still.

Now, at the same time that all of this is happening, technology is changing the way we work, live, and communicate. When I was in graduate school, the World Wide Web, as we then called it… that was the modern term of the information superhighway if you ever heard of that. The World Wide Web, as we then called it, was just beginning. We actually used pen and paper in class. We talked on the telephone to each other, and we talked about the same news stories, the same movies, and the same bands. My generation was connected by wires, yours is connected by code, and yet our society today is becoming ever more disconnected. Our public square is fragmented by online echo chambers where truth and fiction can be hard to tell apart, and where contrasting ideas tend to polarize, not persuade. Now, in the context of all this, as Canadians, we have re-learned some key lessons over the course of the past year. First, we have to take care of ourselves because we can't rely on one foreign partner. We have to take care of each other because we are stronger together, and we've learned that now is not the time to be cautious because fortune favours the bold.

We can give ourselves far more than others could ever take from us. We are masters in our own house. It is Canadians who will decide what happens here.

It's our country, it's your future, and we are going to give it back to you.

(Applause)

Now, to confront a more dynamic, more competitive, more hostile world, we must chart a new course, drawing on our many strengths as a country, relying on our values, and being inspired by our history. First, on strengths, Canada has what the world wants.

We are bordered by three oceans, and we are the only country with trade agreements with every G7 economy — giving our businesses unparalleled access to global markets.

We're an energy superpower. We start with the third largest reserves of oil, the fourth largest of natural gas. We have an electricity grid that is 85% clean, and we have the vast potential to power the clean economy of the future. We possess one of the largest resources of critical minerals and rare earth.

Canada is a leader in artificial intelligence, life sciences, and quantum computing. Our universities are among the best in the world – thank you, Madam. Our scientists are among the most cited, and they attract and train top talent – you.

Our government has the fiscal capacity to act decisively and we must draw on these strengths now. Our second advantage is that Canada has the values to which the world aspires. Canada has always been and we always will be committed to fundamental human rights, to human dignity, and to individual freedom. We are a pluralistic society. Our cities are the most diverse in the world, places where people bring the best of their cultures. We have a public square that's loud, it's diverse and free.

And Canadians value collaboration and partnership, and we are committed to building a sustainable future. These deep values are also economic strengths. They give investors the confidence to build here. They give innovators the stability to take risks here. They give the world reasons to trust Canadians as reliable partners. 

Canada’s history is filled with adventurers, risk takers, and builders. Over the centuries, to succeed and prosper, we have had to go further, build faster, and dream bigger. It’s important to remember pre-Confederation Canada — it was an age of boldness and risk-taking.

Long before Confederation, our country was forged by Indigenous peoples, coureurs du bois , voyagers who mapped this continent and built vast trading networks from coast to coast to coast before the Americans had even left St. Louis. When the Second World War ended, Canada was ambitious, determined, and united in a mission to build big things, the St. Lawrence Seaway, the Trans-Canada Highway, Expo 67, the CN Tower.

We built new neighbourhoods for hundreds of thousands of veterans and their families, and opened new universities to launch their careers. That feeling that we had control over our future.

We used to build things in this country. We can build again. We used to explore this country. We can chart new courses again. We used to take big, bold risks in this country, it is time to swing for the fences again.

(Applause)

We learned a little lesson about swinging for the fences a couple nights ago, as I recall.

(Laughter)

And this is what the upcoming budget will be about, building, taking control, and winning. We will make generational investments, with a plan to protect our communities, our borders, our way of life. We will build a stronger economy where everyone has a chance to get ahead, and we will empower Canadians with new opportunities, better careers, and a lower cost of living. 

Now, we start with protection because to build more of what we need, we must protect what we have. Safe communities attract people and families to put down roots, get a home, build a rewarding career, and ensure their children get a good education. So, as soon as Parliament opened in the spring, we introduced the strongest legislation in Canadian history to secure our borders and crack down on gun trafficking and illegal drugs such as fentanyl. We introduced new legislation to combat the horrifying, horrifying rise in hate and violent intimidation, including to protect against antisemitism and Islamophobia. And as I shared last week, we will table legislation for stricter bail and sentencings laws. 

To help secure our communities, we're hiring a thousand new RCMP personnel, and to secure our borders, we're hiring a thousand new border services officers. As we build safer streets and stronger borders, we also must reinforce our sovereignty in that more dangerous and divided world, and that's why Canada's new government is undertaking the largest increase in defence spending in a generation, or in generations to be more precise, and we're forging new partnerships with allies such as the European Union to strengthen our shared security.

Because you deserve a safe home. Because you deserve to feel secure in your community. Because you-… because we will defend Canada’s sovereignty, and because there is no prosperity without security.

(Applause)

But look, protection is not enough. We have to build, and our plan to build, first and foremost, is here at home so we can take control of our future and, as I said, give you back yours. In the last six months, we've worked to create the right conditions to get big things built faster. At the end of June, we passed the One Canadian Economy Act to remove federal barriers to internal trade and to fast-track the approval of nation-building projects. In August, we opened the Major Projects Office which serves as a single point of contact to get those nation-building projects build faster.

Projects that will connect, diversify, and propel (inaudible). Projects that will expand exports to new partners around the world. Projects that will create hundreds of thousands of good, well-paid unionized jobs for Canadian workers.

Now, last month, we announced the first tranche, the first group of these major projects, with over $60 billion of investments in nuclear power, in LNG, in carbon capture, in critical minerals, and in new trade corridors. And we outlined strategies from offshore wind to high speed rail and a sovereign cloud to drive hundreds of billions in further investment all while creating the conditions for a better connected, more productive, and more ambitious country, and the thing is we are just getting started. Our next tranche of nation-building projects will be announced by the Grey Cup, after the World Series but by the Grey Cup.

(Applause)

And at the core of our strategy will be to catalyze unprecedented investments in Canada over the next five years. That's what's going to come above and beyond these projects.

Because we are also focusing on building millions of new homes to strengthen our communities. Building faster with Canadian technologies, Canadian workers, Canadian wood, and Canadian steel. Building homes that Canadians can truly afford.

We launched Build Canada Homes here in Ottawa to help double the pace of housing construction within a decade, using new factory technology, cutting building times by 50%, reducing costs by 20%, and lowering emissions by 20%. Now, it's not just what we build, it's also how we build. We will build inclusively in full partnership with Indigenous peoples, First Nations, Inuit, and Métis, every step of the way. We will build in solidarity with workers, creating good union jobs. And Budget 2025 will introduce our Climate Competitiveness Strategy, with a focus on results over objectives, on investments over prohibition, we will build sustainably.

The budget will introduce a new strategy for building sustainably and competitively for Canada’s future. We will focus on results over objectives. On investment over prohibition. We will build sustainably, focusing on low-emission energy, transport, housing and manufacturing to strengthen our competitiveness — because reducing emissions is not only a moral duty, it is also an economic imperative.

Our strategy will recognize that in today's global economy, we have to build sustainably. It's not just a moral duty, it's also an economic imperative. It is a moral duty but it's an economic imperative. Now, above all, we will build Canadian. The new security threats the world is bringing to our shores means we're making the biggest investments in our military in generations. But up until now, more than 70 cents of every dollar of military spending, military capital spending by our government goes to the United States. With our new Defence Investment Agency, we will make sure we build more of our security and defence capabilities here at home, creating new careers in aerospace, in shipbuilding, in cyber, and AI for Canadian engineers, technicians, and scientists. 

It's the same thing in steel. Consider that while 80% of the steel that Europe buys is manufactured in Europe, 75% of the steel that the U.S. buys is manufactured in the U.S. Only 40% of the steel that we use is made here. That doesn't make sense, not when we have the people, the resources, and the companies to build right here in Canada. So, our upcoming budget will move forward with our Buy Canadian policy, prioritizing Canadian steel, aluminum, lumber, manufactured good, and technology for Canadian projects, and with new orders for homes, infrastructure, and defence equipment becoming orders for Canadian suppliers. We will be our own best customer. So, the welder who's working on a contract in St. John's can get a full-time job.

And so that an engineer from the University of Ottawa has a high-quality career waiting for them here in Canada.

Now, our partners around the world are already taking note of new Canadian ambition. Last month, we signed a historic free trade deal with Indonesia, the world's fourth-largest country by population. We've just signed foundational agreements with the United Arab Emirates in AI, and with the EU in defence and trade, and with Germany in critical minerals. We're re-engaging with global giants India and China while we deepen our partnerships with our traditional allies. And to build on this momentum and to put it in context, our goal for Canada is to double our non-U.S. exports over the course of the next decade, generating more than 300 billion more in trade, and that's new orders for Canadian resources, technologies, and expertise. 

Now, I spoke of protection and building, we move to empowering. Each of this… of you in this room and in the overflow room, each of you is here to get an education that you need to go out and build a future that you want, to be empowered with a better shot at the life you want for yourself and your family. We will keep building a country where more people have more of those opportunities.

We will continue to support the most vulnerable, to offer relief to those struggling to get ahead, by building a country where life is affordable. That’s the third objective of our plan: to give all Canadians the means to succeed.

So, we start by lowering costs with programs and services that provide strong foundations for a good life. So, the first thing that we did, the absolute first thing we did after the election, was to cut taxes for all Canadians who pay tax, delivering tax savings for more than 22 million Canadians. We cut taxes to reduce the cost of housing for first-time homebuyers, some of whom I hope are in this room, immediately making the goal of homeownership a reality for more Canadians with young families. 

All of the big projects that we're driving forward, from new housing and new ports and clean energy, will create high-paying careers, many of them union careers, here in Canada. It will be a great time to be in the trades. But as well, in the budget, we will unlock new apprenticeships, new skills training programs, and a new talent strategy for the next generation of scientists and innovators who will build our country. And as we build new industries and create new markets, you will be equipped with the skills you need to succeed with those opportunities. Because when Canadians empower each other, everyone benefits and Canada prospers.

To seize this moment (inaudible)…

(Applause)

… To seize this hinge moment, we will have to make tough choices. We will have to transform how government operates — spending less so that Canadians can invest more, build our country, and create better careers.

The upcoming budget will balance the operating deficit in three years by reducing wasteful government spending and doing more with less. See, the fact is that federal spending has been growing over the course of the last decade by more than 7% year over year. We've been spending faster than our economy was growing. So, we have to change that, and our government is changing that. 

As one example, we just completed a 60-day red tape review that identified nearly 500 new ways to streamline government services, cut duplication, and reduce costs. And when we saw that Canada Post was losing $10 million a day… Madam President, would you like to have $10 million a day? Imagine what you could do for the university with $10 million a day. Canada Post is losing $10 million a day, we made responsible choices. But the fact is, even with such efficiencies and with better management, we will have to do less of some of the things that we want to do so we can do more of what we must do to build a bigger and better Canada.

This budget will protect the essential programs that give every Canadian a fair chance to get ahead. We will protect the Canadian Dental Care Plan, which finally allows more than five million Canadians to access affordable dental care. And we will make permanent the National School Food Program, which helps 400,000 children receive healthy meals every day.

(Applause)

We will protect the National Child Care Program for the over 900,000 children who are getting a strong start that they deserve, and for their parents who no longer have to choose between raising a family and keeping their careers. And as well, our budget will also bring in automatic federal benefits so that the millions of low-income Canadians who aren't part of the system can get the support that they need. Now, we need to be clear-eyed about where we stand today so we can build for tomorrow. Let me give the current economic context – I'm channelling my old central banker days here. 

Look, the situation in Canada now, the actual situation, is that the rate of inflation has come down. It's come down sharply, but it's also the case that the cost of living is still far too high. It's also the situation in Canada right now that we're building a lot more homes. Housing starts are up this year, and affordability of those houses are improving, but it's still challenging. We need to build many, many more homes and we need to build them a lot faster. This government is getting immigration under control, with asylum claims down by a third, and new temporary foreign workers down by more than 70% this year. To match immigration levels with our needs and our capacity to welcome them, this budget will include Canada's new immigration plan to do better for newcomers and for everyone.

It's also a fact that in this economy, we are creating jobs as a whole across it, and it is a fact that we are forecast to be the second fastest growing economy in the G7 over the course of the next two years, even though some critical sectors I mentioned earlier, autos, steel, lumber, forest products, aluminum, in some regions are facing big, big pressures. So, the facts are that at present, despite everything, despite these big changes, our economy is holding up, but it's equally true that if we don't act now, these pressures will only grow. And more fundamentally, our goal is not just to do reasonably well but to grow stronger than the rest of the G7. And as we work to do so, I want to make this promise to Canadians. I will always be straight about the challenges that we face and the choices that we must make. 

And to be clear, we won't transform our economy easily or in a few months; it will take some sacrifices and it will take some time. Our government will work relentlessly to cut waste and drive efficiencies. And when we have to make difficult choices, we will be thoughtful, we’ll be transparent, and we’ll be fair. We will work collaboratively with our colleagues across the aisle to build, protect, and empower Canadians. We won't play games, we won't waste time, and we won't hold back. We will do what it takes. We will play to win. We will bet on Canada and all Canadians.

(Applause)

I make this promise to Canadians: I will always be straight about the challenges we have to face and the choices we must make. We won’t transform our economy easily or in a few months — it will take some sacrifices and some time. Our government will work relentlessly to cut waste and drive efficiencies, and when we have to make difficult choices, we will be thoughtful and transparent

We will work collaboratively with our colleagues across the aisle to build, protect and empower Canadians. We won’t play games. We won’t waste time. And we won’t hold back. We will do what it takes. We will play to win. We will bet on Canada and all Canadians. This is our country. This is your future. We are going to give you back control.

(Applause)

And to finish, because we're all in this together, I ask you to get involved. The fact that you're here this evening – you could be doing many other things – shows your interest in being involved. Get involved. Look out for each other, look after each other. 

I know from the history that I read in university and the history that I've lived since graduating that fortune truly does favour the bold, and the hinge of fate will turn on what Canada does right now. We're going to have to change how we do some things but we will never change who we are. This moment has revealed, yes, the limits to our economic independence, limits that we must tackle head on, and we will. But more importantly, what it's revealed is a nation that's more determined, generous, hard-working, compassionate, and ambitious than any other on earth. We are Canada strong. Long live Canada.

(Applause)