The time has come for Canada to reinvent its economy like it did in 1945, Finance Minister Francois-Phillipe Champagne said on Thursday.
“I often make an analogy between 2025 and 1945. In 1945, Canada reinvented itself, and I think this is one of those moments,” Champagne said, referring to the post-war industrial and construction boom in Canada.
“It’s a moment when we have to reinvent the Canadian economy,” Champagne said, speaking to reporters at the Liberal cabinet retreat in the Greater Toronto Area.
The urging comes as Canada continues to navigate the trade war launched by U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this year, which imposed significant tariffs on Canada and multiple specific sectors.
In response, Prime Minister Mark Carney ran an election campaign urging Canadians to keep their “elbows up,” vowing he had a plan to pivot the Canadian economy away from closer ties with the U.S.
“We have done it before. Look at 1945, Canada turned completely to be this great industrial nation. We’re going to build on that. We’re going to look at new technology (such as) AI,” he said.
He added, however, that Canada’s public sector could see job cuts as the government tightens spending.
“There will be adjustment in different places,” Champagne said when asked if the government’s efforts to curb spending will lead to layoffs in the public sector.
“We’ve been adding a lot of people over the last few years, during the COVID period.”
Champagne said the government’s efforts will be focused on “using technology, delivering better services, making sure that Canadians find value for money.”
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He echoed Carney’s statement from Wednesday calling for the federal budget to “rein in spending.”
“Canadians have been tightening their belt for quite some time. Times have been challenging for many families across the nation. So, it’s only normal that from a government perspective we do the same,” he said.
Champagne said the budget will balance cuts with making big investments in major projects.
“We’ll present a budget where you’ll look at operational expenses (going down). But on the other end, you’ll look at capital expenses, that’s where you invest in the future. That’s where you make the country more resilient, and that’s where you grow the economy,” he said.
Champagne was also asked if he was comfortable with the invitation that had been extended by the Prime Minister’s Office to have Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts — a key ally of Trump who was associated with the controversial Project 2025 — attend the Liberal retreat.
Roberts was invited to the cabinet retreat to lead a crash course on understanding Trump’s economic ambitions but cancelled on Thursday.
“We invite different guests to come to our event. We want to hear different perspectives,” Champagne told reporters.
Carney and his cabinet ministers met for the second day of their two-day retreat in Toronto on Thursday ahead of Parliament’s return on Sept. 15.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Carney said the government would focus on reducing its operational budget, which is the day-to-day costs involved in running the government.
“The federal government has been growing spending as a whole at over seven per cent a year on average for over a decade. That’s twice the rate of growth of the economy on average. It’s not a sustainable situation. We need to rein in spending,” Carney told reporters in Toronto.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Carney had not shown any indication that he would be able to bring the deficit down.
“Mark Carney is not a change. He’s worse. We need to cut consultants, bureaucracy, corporate welfare, foreign aid, handouts to fraudulent refugees and other wasted money. We need to bring down the cost of government to bring down the cost of living with lower taxes, inflation and debt,” Poilievre said in a statement to Global News.
In a statement, Carney’s office referred to the retreat as a “Cabinet Planning Forum” and added that it would be “focused on building a stronger economy.”
The retreat and the return of Parliament come as Carney is ramping up plans for building more homes through a new government agency and also getting the new office for major national projects running.
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