Hello, everyone.

Thank you, Merran, for those kind words and for your leadership over so many years on clean solutions. It’s always great to be back here on Vancouver Island, particularly on such a gorgeous day. It reminds me of trips I made out here with my young… my mom when I was really young, trips to visit my family in Brentwood Bay more recently, and trips out here with my own kids.

This is a beautiful part of the country and it's a great place to ground ourselves in the kind of future we're trying to build.

I want to begin by acknowledging that we're gathering on the traditional territory of the Esquimalt and Songhees First Nations.

I'm here today with Laurie and David who, like all parents, are thinking about their daughter Alexandria's future. We are, too.

A few weeks ago, in Vancouver, we unveiled our Emissions Reduction Plan for Clean Air and a Strong Economy. Last week, we continued to move forward with Budget 2022.

We know we need to cut emissions; we know we need to reduce pollution, and one of the best ways of doing that is to get more clean cars on the road. As Laurie and David were telling me, their EV works great and is much cheaper to power than their gas car. Too often, though, electric vehicles aren’t in reach, so we're making smart, targeted investments to change that.

First of all, we're making EVs easier to buy. We're extending the program of up to $5,000 to help people buy electric vehicles; we're bringing in new mandatory sales targets of 20% by 2026, 60% by 2030, on the way to 100% by 2035. We're also going to make EVs easier to charge. We're building a national network of chargers on top of the thousands already installed or under construction.

And to create good jobs, we’re making Canada a leader in electric vehicle manufacturing, we’re investing in the auto industry of the future, we’re implementing the first critical minerals strategy to build jobs and a stronger economy. We’re doing this to reduce pollution, lower bills for families and make our economy even stronger. All of this is just one concrete example of how our plan will help the environment, the economy, and families.

With this budget, with everything we've been working on, we're moving forward on everything from a new tax credit for clean tech, to protecting old growth forests, to retrofits for people's homes. This budget and the Emissions Reduction Plan of the week before, is about real results for people like Laurie and David, and especially Alexandria.

Whether it's climate action or making housing more affordable, we're investing in Canadians and in our future.