This week, from October 23 to 25, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, will attend the Fall Meetings of G7 and G20 Finance Ministers and the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank in Washington, D.C.

At these meetings, the Deputy Prime Minister will advance work with Canada’s allies to strengthen supply chains with trusted trading partners to create jobs and economic growth that is shared by all Canadians.

While in Washington, the Deputy Prime Minister will discuss with allies further efforts to support Ukraine through to victory and into reconstruction. Canada was an early champion of G7 efforts to make full use of frozen Russian sovereign assets, and provided a CA$5 billion (US$3.7 billion) contribution to the G7’s CA$68 billion (US$50 billion) Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration Loans for Ukraine.

The Deputy Prime Minister will further Canada's work to build resilient economies and reduce economic inequalities – as demonstrated by the government’s historic investments in early learning and child care, national dental care coverage, and free contraception and diabetes medication. The Deputy Prime Minister will also advance Canada’s work on international tax cooperation.

An itinerary of events will be released in advance of the meetings.

Quote

“Canada is leading the G7 in cutting interest rates four times this year and reducing inflation to target for all of this year. The wages of Canadian workers have outpaced inflation for 20 months. And, the IMF expects Canada’s economic growth to be the best in the G7 next year. Together, Canada and our allies are working to ensure recent economic gains are not unwound, but rather built upon, so we can create more good-paying jobs, help people get ahead, and build a fairer future for every generation.”

The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance

Quick Facts

• Canada is leading the G7 in:
  • Cutting interest rates; the first to cut rates twice, the first to cut rates a third time, and now the first to cut rates a fourth time;
  • Economic growth expectations, with the IMF predicting that Canada’s GDP will be the fastest growing in 2025;
  • Maintaining the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio – by a significant margin – in the G7; and,
  • Securing AAA credit ratings from at least two of the world's three major credit rating agencies, along with only Germany.
• Inflation has been within the target range of 1 per cent to 3 per cent for all of 2024, with inflation in Canada falling to 1.6 per cent in September – a 43 month low.
• Wages in Canada have outpaced inflation for 20 months in a row, which means Canadian workers today on average have larger pay cheques, even accounting for inflation, than they did before the pandemic.
• The Annual Meetings of the IMF and World Bank, which generally take place in October, have customarily been held in Washington for two consecutive years and in another member country in the third year.