An Affordable Budget for Affordable Lives
Ottawa, ON — Today, the Hon. Pierre Poilievre, Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and the Official Opposition, asked Canadians a simple question: Are you better off than you were before?
Under Mark Carney, Canada has the fastest-shrinking economy in the G7, Canadian food inflation has surged to double the Bank of Canada’s target, food prices are rising nearly 40 per cent faster in Canada than in the U.S, and homebuilding is predicted to drop up to 13 per cent.
Life under Mark Carney has gotten so unaffordable that the highest number of Canadians in history visited food banks, with 2,165,766 million visits in March of this year. Nearly one in five visitors are employed but still unable to afford food, as Food Banks Canada found “employment is no longer a reliable buffer against poverty.”
“Canadians don’t need more sacrifice, as Mark Carney demanded,” said Poilievre. “They need homes, jobs, and hope with an affordable budget for an affordable life. Carney wants you to pay for his costly broken promises and then blame you for his failures. We can’t trust Mark Carney abroad and we can’t afford him at home.”
Mark Carney’s signature promise to Canadians was to “negotiate a win” with the United States. Since he made that boastful promise, tariffs have doubled, negotiations have stalled, and Premiers have been left to fend for themselves as foundational sectors face collapse while Carney blames everyone except himself.
Conservatives offered clear, practical solutions to the Liberals so they could deliver an affordable budget for affordable lives. They include:
- Bringing down the deficit to the level Liberals promised in their last fiscal update. They promised $42 billion last year—if Carney is truly spending less, the deficit should be lower.
- Scrapping hidden taxes on food, including the industrial carbon tax on farmers, the food packaging tax that adds billions in costs, and the fuel standard tax that adds 17 cents per litre to diesel and gasoline for farmers.
- Ending the inflation tax by bringing down the cost of government instead of printing money to pay Liberal bills.