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Good morning, everyone. Welcome.

I will first speak about support we are providing for renters and for people experiencing homelessness.

I will then pass it over to Minister Champagne, who will provide an update on our work to crack down on corporate greed and to make groceries more affordable.

And finally, Minister Anand will speak about auto theft.

We all know that housing is the central challenge in Canada right now. It’s a central challenge in people’s lives—and this is especially true for Canadians who are struggling with the high cost of rent.

That’s why today I’m announcing a $99 million top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit.

This benefit helps make rent affordable by delivering rent support payments directly to Canadians.

The Canada Housing Benefit was launched in 2020 and has helped many Canadians since then—and today’s announcement means that by 2027-2028, this benefit will have helped make rent more affordable for over 300,000 low-income households.

The Government of Canada is committed to supporting the most vulnerable Canadians among us—and that includes people who are experiencing homelessness.

That is why we are also providing $100 million in emergency winter funding for more shelter spaces across Canada.

This funding, which is delivered through the Reaching Home program, will go to 85 communities across the country to help them provide shelter spaces for people experiencing homelessness.

This investment will help shelters increase their capacity and deliver essential services like temporary rental assistance and hot meals—which is so crucial during these cold winter months.

The announcements we are making today build on the significant action we took last week to top-up the Interim Housing Assistance Program.

The Government of Canada is delivering a $362.4 million national top-up to the program, which will give communities the resources they need to help newcomers get settled in Canada.

I also want to highlight that on Sunday, we announced a two-year extension on the existing ban on foreign buyers of Canadian housing. This means the ban will now be in place until January 1, 2027.

For years now, foreign money has been coming into Canada to buy up residential real estate. This has fueled worries about Canadians being priced out of housing markets in cities and towns across the country, and particularly in major cities like Vancouver and Toronto.

By extending the foreign buyer ban, we will ensure houses are used as homes for Canadian families to live in—and not as a speculative financial asset class. 

The Government of Canada’s economic plan is about building an economy that works for everyone—and that means fighting for Canadians every day.

Things are still hard for a lot of people in Canada today—but each day is also bringing more evidence that our economic plan is working.

Inflation is now down to 3.4 per cent from its peak of 8.1 per cent. Wage growth in Canada has now outpaced inflation for 11 months in a row.

There are one million more people working in Canada today compared to just before the pandemic. And just last week, we had some good news: according to a Statistics Canada forecast, Canada’s economy grew 1.5 per cent in 2023, and that exceeded expectations. Private sector economists are predicting that Canada will now avoid the recession that many had thought was inevitable.

And we started this week with some more good news: according to a report released yesterday by Bloomberg, Canada has the best battery supply chain in the world!

Out of the 30 countries that were ranked, Canada came first—dethroning China for the first time. This is a really big deal for Canada. It is a big deal for auto workers, it is a big deal for people who work in mining, it is a big deal for Canadians across the supply chain.

It means tens of thousands of Canadians have great careers today and great careers tomorrow. It means we’re unlocking the promise of Canada for the 21^st century.

And it is further proof that our economic plan, built on the foundation of our Investment Tax Credits, is working—making Canada a leading foreign investment destination. That is already the case.

In fact, in the first half of 2023, Canada received the third-most foreign direct investment, in gross terms, of any country in the world—and per capita, more investment than any other country in the G7.

We know that many Canadians are struggling to make ends meet, struggling to juggle all of their bills at the end of the month, and struggling to pay the rent.

And that’s why we have put in place the measures I’ve announced today.

We also know that we have an economic plan and that we have a lot more work to do on that plan, to unlock a brighter future for everyone in our amazing country.

Thank you.