Canada has now been the first G7 country to cut interest rates for the first time, the first G7 country to cut interest rates for a second time, and the first G7 country to cut interest rates for a third time, and we have now seen wages outpacing inflation for 19 months in a row.
Today, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, alongside the Honourable Rechie Valdez, Minister of Small Business, and the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Public Services and Procurement, announced a comprehensive suite of measures to help small- and medium-sized businesses start up, grow, and thrive.
By the end of this year, a portion of fuel charge proceeds from 2019-20 through 2023-24 will be returned to approximately 600,000 Canadian-controlled private corporations with 1 to 499 employees through this new refundable tax credit.
Canadian workers, the auto sector, the steel and aluminum industries, and related critical manufacturing supply chains are threatened by unfair competition from Chinese producers, who benefit from China’s intentional, state-directed policy of overcapacity and oversupply, as well as its lack of rigorous labour and environmental standards. That is why the federal government is taking further action to protect Canada’s workers and investments from China’s unfair trade policies.
The federal government will apply a 25 per cent surtax on imports of steel and aluminum products from China, effective October 22, 2024. The surtax will not apply to Chinese goods that are in transit to Canada on the day on which this surtax comes into force.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance will provide an update on the government’s economic plan. She will be joined by the Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Jean-Yves Duclos, the Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development, Mary Ng, and the Minister of Small Business, Rechie Valdez.
Today in Toronto, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, alongside Gary Anandasangaree, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, and Olivia Chow, Mayor of Toronto, highlighted how the federal government is working with the City of Toronto to accelerate public transit for Torontonians.
Canadians work hard to be able to afford a home. However, the high cost of mortgage payments is a barrier to homeownership, especially for Millennials and Gen Z. To help more Canadians, particularly younger generations, buy a first home, on September 16, 2024, the federal government announced the boldest mortgage reforms in decades.
The federal government has the most ambitious housing plan in Canadian history—including building 4 million new homes—to make housing more affordable for Canadians. This plan will build a Canada that is fairer for every generation of Canadians, where they can get ahead, where their hard work pays off, and where they can buy a home.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance will provide an update on the government’s economic plan. She will be joined by the Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Jean-Yves Duclos, and the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, Sean Fraser.