Good evening, everyone. Hello. We have just concluded our first cabinet planning forum at Wilson House at Meech Lake. And while we were there as a team, we sat down and we discussed how we can best deliver the major changes that are needed to overcome the many challenges that Canada currently faces. In a more dangerous and divided world, geopolitical risks are rising, threatening our sovereignty. The global trading system, which has helped power Canada's prosperity for decades, is undergoing its biggest transformation since the fall of the Berlin Wall. At home, our longstanding weak productivity is making life less affordable for Canadian families. It's straining government finances and threatening to undermine the sustainability of vital social programs on which Canadians rely.

So, Canada's new government has an immense responsibility to address these challenges head on with focus, new strategies, and determined execution, and that new approach animates the mandate letter that I shared with all members of our ministry at the end of our meeting. It reflects a unified mission. This one letter outlines the core priorities of Canada's new government, reflecting the mandate that Canadians have given to us. In particular, the government is charged to build the strongest economy in the G7, an economy that works for everyone. We're to bring down the cost of living for Canadian families, to keep our country secure and our communities safe, to develop a new economic and security relationship with the United States, and to build new partnerships with reliable allies around the world.

Our team is already acting on this mandate with urgency and determination. This past weekend, I met with U.S. Vice President Vance in Rome where I reiterated what workers and businesses on both side of the border have long known, that Canada and the United States are stronger when we work together. Minister LeBlanc is currently in Washington to continue negotiations with members of President Trump's cabinet, and Minister Champagne is meeting with his American counterpart as the Minister leads the G7 finance ministers meeting in Banff.

Our new team of ministers was built for this pivotal moment, to bring about the changes that Canadians deserve. It is built to enable a true Cabinet government, so that everyone has the capacity and responsibility to show leadership, bring new ideas to the table, and act decisively.

The next few weeks and months will be crucial to catalyze the changes that Canadians deserve. This next Tuesday, May 27th, in the Speech from the Throne, His Majesty King Charles III will outline our government's plan to build Canada strong. On June 2nd, I will chair a major First Ministers Meeting in Saskatoon to strengthen the partnerships that are needed to build one Canadian economy out of 13 and to catalyze the significant nation-building projects that will diversify and strengthen our economy. In the middle of June, I will host the G7 and other world leaders in Alberta to address global challenges ranging from energy security to the future of the new global commercial trading system. By Canada Day, our government intends to take action to eliminate all remaining federal barriers to internal trade.

This fall, the Minister of Finance will deliver Budget 2025, a budget based on a clear fiscal outlook shaped by a higher degree of confidence in the perspective, efficiencies, and cost savings across government, greater clarity on the economic impacts of the trade war, and the commitments on new defence investments necessary to secure Canadian sovereignty and to meet our responsibilities to our allies as will be agreed at the upcoming NATO summit towards the end of June. This budget will be guided by a new fiscal discipline, spending less on government operations so that Canadians can invest more to build a stronger economy. Government must become more productive by deploying AI at scale, by focusing on results over spending, and by using scarce tax dollars to catalyze multiples of private investment.

As our workers are continuing to face unjustified tariffs imposed by the United States, my government is fighting to get the best deal for Canada. We will take all the time necessary but not more to do so. And in parallel, we are strengthening our relationships with reliable trading partners and allies. Canada has what the world needs and the values the world respects.

To strengthen our ties with partners and allies around the world, I have stepped up the number of calls and meetings. Last weekend, I spoke with several international leaders, including Italian Prime Minister Meloni, German Chancellor Merz, and European Commission President von der Leyen. In the weeks and months ahead, I will seize every opportunity to engage with leaders around the world to create new opportunities for Canadian workers and businesses. First and foremost, we will strengthen our own economy—an economy that creates jobs, raises wages and is resilient to shocks. We will build one Canadian economy instead of 13, and we will identify projects of national interest that will connect and transform our country and accelerate their delivery.

We will always be guided by our conviction that our economy is only strong when it serves everyone. That means bringing down costs for Canadians and helping them to get ahead. We will put more money in Canadians’ pockets with a middle-class tax cut that will take effect by Canada Day, saving two-income families up to $840 a year. We will unleash the power of public-private cooperation, catalyze the housing industry, and create hundreds of thousands of new careers in the skilled trades by building homes faster, at lower costs, and with smaller environmental footprint in construction and greater efficiency once families move in.

We will ensure Canada’s security as a sovereign nation and the safety of Canadians in their communities through the Canadian Armed Forces, police forces, and a strengthened border and Criminal Code. We will build trust in our immigration system, bring targets back to sustainable levels, and cap the number of foreign workers and international students, while attracting talented workers who will help us build a strong economy.

In the mandate letter released today to Canada's ministry, I encouraged my colleagues that we can more than meet our challenges with energy and ambition. That is how Canadians have built the best country in the world, and that is how we will build it even better. It's time to build, build big, build bold, build now.