Mr. Speaker, it is with great honour and humility that I rise today to speak in this House. I would like to start by thanking the people of Elmwood—Transcona for putting their trust in me to represent them in this House of Commons. I would also like to thank my amazing campaign team and caucus colleagues for working tirelessly, day in and day out, to support me and the Conservative Party. Without all of them, I would not be in this House today.

To my three amazing sons, Cameron, Jordan and Brendon, my two wonderful daughters-in-law and three incredible grandchildren, I thank them for being there for me. I thank my father Herb, my mother Linda, my brother Mark and my sister Shannon for working so hard to help me get here and having my back. I would like to thank my mother-in-law and father-in-law, as well as my sister-in-law and three brothers-in-law. Lastly, to Sandra, my beautiful wife of 30 years, I thank her for always unconditionally supporting me and believing in me.

People with my story do not end up here. I was raised by a teacher and a homemaker in the Valley Gardens area of Winnipeg. I graduated from Kildonan-East Collegiate, where I met my wife. Fresh out of high school, we became very young parents, and our life together did not start out easy. Working full-time as a printing press operator, we struggled, working opposite shifts for many years to save on child care. We saved every penny, and eventually we were able to buy a house. Home ownership did not make life easier, but it did mean that we had a place to call our own. Now, for so many, home ownership is just a dream.

After many years establishing our family together, I changed careers and became a construction electrician. After working as an apprentice for a number of years and experiencing first-hand how employees in the trades are often poorly treated, I joined the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. My involvement with the IBEW increased over the years as my passion for workers' rights grew. Now I am the sitting vice-president. As a long-time union member, I have always paid attention to politics and watched every day as the NDP-Liberal government turned its back on workers like me.

The community I grew up in is made up of hard-working people, tradespeople, blue-collar workers and union workers. These are the people who build this country and keep it running. With the runaway NDP-Liberal spending that caused excessive inflation and the out-of-control immigration that caused ballooning house prices and rapidly rising food costs, I decided it was time to stand up and do something. The message from Pierre Poilievre was clear, that the Conservative Party is the party for the working class, so I joined the fight.

As I knocked on thousands of doors and spoke to people just like me, I realized I was not the only one who feels this way. Working-class people felt abandoned by the NDP-Liberal government, and everyday Canadians are struggling to make ends meet. It was not always like that. In 2015, before the lost Liberal decade, the middle class was doing well. We were outperforming the United States, and our dollar was stronger. Now that is gone, and the only thing the Liberals are doing about it is the same thing they have been doing for 10 years: spend more money. However, now it is even worse. They are spending more money with no budget and no accountability.

I spoke with a young family on their doorstep, and they were worried about what they were going to do later this year when their mortgage comes up for renewal. Interest rates have soared over the past five years, and we know that the raising of interest rates is a measure to slow inflation, the same inflation that was caused by government overspending, the same inflation that is driving up food prices and the same inflation that is forcing hard-working, everyday Canadians to line up at food banks just to make ends meet.

During the campaign, I spoke with a colleague of mine, a construction electrician. He was concerned with the future of employment in the construction industry in Manitoba. With no large projects on the horizon and only a few months left to complete the projects already under way, the work picture does not look good. Without any policy changes from the Liberal government regarding mining and energy, and with a looming recession brought on by dangerous and destructive tariffs from the United States and the Liberal government's lack of action, the outlook will not change. This is the same government with the same policies and the same economic outcome.

The ministerial musical chairs will not solve Canada's problems. It is clear that the same Liberal ministers with the same Liberal policies are delivering even worse results. Canadians need a real plan that will unleash Canada's economic potential and deliver powerful paycheques for our people. Under the current Prime Minister, bloated bureaucracy will grow by 6%, more than double the combined rate of inflation and population growth.

Consultant spending will increase by 37% to $26 billion a year, requiring the average family to pay $1,400 on consultants alone. None of the extra spending the Liberals have asked for will actually help Canadians. Almost all of it is for bureaucratic administration and high-priced consultants, who will be out the door and gone forever. It seems the Liberal government thinks that this country is built by consultants sitting in an office shuffling paper. I assure members that it is not. Canada is built by people who get up every morning, put on their boots and do hard work. These are the people who serve and protect, deliver our goods, bring our mail, teach our future generations, pick up their tool boxes, manufacture our products and grow our food.

I love this country. I have lived here my whole life. I raised my kids here, and now they are raising their kids here. It is a great honour to serve in this House. I am here to stand up and protect the future of Canada, the future of our children and the future of our grandchildren. I am here to fight for workers and their families. I am here to fight for workers' rights and good-paying union jobs. I am here to protect hunters, sport shooters and law-abiding gun owners. I am here to represent the hard-working people of Elmwood—Transcona and all the hard-working people in Canada, the greatest country in the world.

As a Conservative, I believe in removing barriers to work, reducing the tax burden on working Canadians and getting government out of the way so businesses can grow, hire and thrive. Canadians deserve a government that works for those who do the work and a government that works for students and young people desperate to pursue their dreams.

I am thankful for this opportunity to stand before the House and speak to the nation. It is an honour and a privilege to serve the Canadian people.

Colin Reynolds