Mr. Speaker, it is with great humility that I rise to respond to the Speech from the Throne, delivered by His Majesty King Charles III. The royal visit was a reminder of the bond between Canada and the Crown, one forged over generations, shaped by shared history and grounded in common values. This bond has evolved over time, just as Canada has, to reflect the strength, diversity and confidence of our people.

The historic honour of having Canada's sovereign open this new Parliament matches the weight of our times. Serving Canadians at this hinge moment of our history is a privilege of the highest order, one that I share with every member of this chamber.

I would like to congratulate all of my colleagues in the House of Commons on their election. Canadians have given us the honour of serving them. Every member of Parliament has a great responsibility, one that is greater still given the nature of our mandate to overcome the tremendous challenges that define this hinge moment for Canada's future.

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 the biggest transformation since the fall of the Berlin Wall.

At home, our long-standing weak productivity is straining government finances, making life less affordable for Canadian families and threatening to undermine the sustainability of vital social programs on which Canadians rely. Canada’s new government has an immense responsibility to address these challenges head-on, with focus, with determination and with innovation. In this, our government will be guided by the priorities His Majesty the King outlined in the Speech from the Throne.

The government welcomes yesterday’s decision by the U.S. Court of International Trade, which is consistent with our long-standing position that the U.S. IEEPA tariffs were unlawful and unjustified. That said, we recognize that our trading relationship with the United States is still profoundly and adversely affected and threatened by similarly unjustified section 232 tariffs against the steel, aluminum and auto sectors, as well as continuing threats of tariffs against other strategic sectors, including lumber, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals. It therefore remains the top priority of Canada’s new government to establish a new economic and security relationship with the United States and to strengthen our collaboration with reliable trading partners and allies around the world.

We welcome yesterday's United States Court of International Trade ruling, but there are still other unjustified tariffs and too much uncertainty. Our economy is still under threat. We therefore remain relentlessly focused on obtaining the best possible trade agreement for Canadian businesses and workers, no matter how long it takes.

In parallel, we will work with the provinces and territories to build one Canadian economy by removing internal barriers to trade and labour mobility and by identifying and expediting nation building projects that will connect and transform our country. We will bring down costs for Canadians and help them get ahead, including through the middle-class tax cut and cutting the GST for first-time homebuyers, measures that are now before the House.

We will make housing more affordable by unleashing the power of public-private co-operation, catalyzing the housing industry and creating new careers in the skilled trades. We will protect Canadian sovereignty and keep Canadians safe by strengthening the Canadian Armed Forces, securing our borders and bolstering law enforcement. We will return our overall immigration rates to sustainable levels while attracting the best talent in the world to help build our economy.

We will spend less on government operations, so Canadians can invest more to build Canada strong. Day-to-day government spending, the government’s operating budget, has been growing by an unsustainable 9% every year. We will bring that rate down to 2%, less than half the average nominal rate of growth in the economy.

We will not cut transfers to provinces, territories or individuals. Instead, we will balance the operating budget over the next three years by cutting waste, capping the public service, ending duplicative programs and deploying technology to boost public sector productivity. Government must become much more productive by deploying AI at scale, by focusing on results over spending and by using scarce taxpayer dollars to catalyze multiples of private investment.

In all our initiatives, Canada’s new government will be guided by our conviction that our economy is only strong when it serves everyone. That means bringing costs down. That means helping Canadians to get ahead. Canadians will keep more of their hard-earned money with a middle-class tax cut that will take effect by Canada Day, saving a two-income family up to $840 every year.

We will protect and expand the programs that are saving Canadian families thousands of dollars every year. These include pharmacare and child care. We will expand the Canadian dental care plan to cover eight million Canadians, saving them more than $800 per year.

We will work to bring about the change that Canadians deserve, without losing sight of what defines Canada. Here in Canada, we celebrate our diversity, we are proudly bilingual, we promote the French language, we take care of the most vulnerable, we appreciate and showcase our natural heritage, we have confronted the truth and are working toward reconciliation with first nations, Inuit and Métis peoples, and we respect and defend the rule of law and democratic institutions.

Canada's new government will protect, reinforce and promote our official languages. We will ensure the sustainability of the vital social programs on which Canadians rely. We will protect our natural heritage and fight climate change. We will advance reconciliation with indigenous peoples. We will uphold the rule of law, protect our democratic institutions and reinforce the unity of our country. We will protect what makes Canada Canada.

In his speech, His Majesty the King touched on Canada's unique history. Our sovereign embodies Canada's British heritage, which is a source of pride for many of us. I am speaking to you today in French, thanks to the cultural contribution of Quebeckers and francophones across the country that defines the Canadian identity.

This Parliament, built on lands stewarded by indigenous peoples since time immemorial, now has a record number of first nations, Métis and Inuit members.

In short, Canada is more than a nation. It is a confederation based on the union of peoples, and our government's approach will reflect that reality.

To deliver the change that Canadians deserve, we will work constructively across parties in Parliament. We will work in true partnership with territories, provinces and indigenous peoples. We will bring together labour, business and civil society to advance the nation-building projects and investments needed to create the strongest economy in the G7.

Canadians voted last month for big, bold changes. They called for a transformative plan for a confident, independent nation. They called for unity. Our plan is bold. Our plan is transformative. Our plan is unifying. Its success will breed more success. As Aristotle taught, and as Canadians instinctively know, we become just by doing just acts and brave by committing brave acts. When we work together, unity grows. When we work together, Canada grows.

Throughout our history, there have been turning points when the world's fortunes were in the balance. That was the case at the start of the Second World War, just as it was at the end of the Cold War. Each time, Canada chose to step up, to assert ourselves as a free, sovereign and ambitious nation, to lead on the path of democracy and freedom, and to do so with compassion and generosity. We are once again at such a hinge moment. Now is the time to address the challenges and seize the associated opportunities with urgency and determination.

We are masters in our own house. To shape our destiny, we have to accomplish things that once would have seemed impossible, and we have to do so at an unprecedented pace. We need to ensure our prosperity in a world that has been profoundly transformed.

Now is the time to build a Canada worthy of its values, a Canada worthy of its people, and a Canada for all and for all times.

Mark Carney

Transcript

Speech from the Throne

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