Capital Dispatch: PM Carney says ‘Canada strong’ is more than a ‘slogan’

Capital Dispatch is a weekly newsletter, sent when Parliament is in session every Friday. To stay on top of what’s happening on the Hill, you can sign up to receive the latest political news and insights directly in your inbox, here.

Carney’s ‘Canada Strong’ economic update, majority wrangling begins

This week Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne unveiled the federal government’s first spring economic update, “Canada Strong For All.”

Now, that’s not to be confused with the 2025 federal budget, titled “Canada Strong” or the the new “Team Canada Strong” skilled trades training strategy, or the “Canada Strong Fund” or the existing “Build Canada Strong” plan.

“It’s a slogan, but it’s more than a slogan,” Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters on Thursday.

So what all did the document detail? And how is it going over? Here’s what you need to know.

The week that was

In its first-ever spring economic update, tabled on Tuesday, Carney’s newly minted majority government promised a grab-bag of new measures, the marquee piece being a multi-billion-dollar strategy to train more skilled workers to help deliver on its plans to build big.

The revised fiscal outlook also showed that while the federal deficit is $11.4 billion lower in the last fiscal year than what was projected in the 2025 federal budget, the deficit is tracking to only decline nominally in the years ahead.

For example, in the current 2026-27 fiscal year, the deficit is projected to be $65.3 billion, down just slightly from the $65.4 billion estimated in the 2025 federal budget.

The document — at 167 pages cover to cover — is illustrative of how the government is gearing up to execute on Carney’s ambitious agenda, while steering the country through geopolitical headwinds and uncertainty.

“Canada is resilient... Canadians are resourceful people,” Champagne said in the House of Commons after tabling the spring economic statement.

Though, after promising to emphasize how their economic plan will benefit all Canadians, the government’s spring statement offered few new line items geared towards consumers’ pocketbooks.

In total, there is $37.5 billion in net new spending in the spring economic update. For all the details, — from new sports funding to the creation of a sovereign wealth fund — here’s my main piece written in the lockup.

For more specifics on the items included for everyday Canadians, colleague Spencer Van Dyk has you covered here.

Sources told CTV News ahead of the embargoed reading of the spring economic statement that Champagne met with opposition parties in the lead up to Tuesday.

Though, while previous Liberal governments have had to make pre-budget consultations more of an earnest effort, given the need to secure opposition votes to pass any proposal, their current majority posture has eliminated that need.

As a result, all motions and legislation approving the spending within the spring economic statement, are expected to pass with ease, once debate concludes. This is the first time the federal Liberals have been in this position in several years.

That’s perhaps a good thing for them, given the immediate reaction coming from the opposition parties was not favourable.

“This Liberal prime minister has now doubled the deficit that Justin Trudeau left behind, from $31 billion to $65 billion. Everyone thought it would be impossible to outspend the reckless Justin Trudeau. But then this new Liberal prime minister came along and said, ‘hold my champagne,’” Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said, following Minister Champagne in the Commons.

Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet called the refreshed financial outlook “something of a show,” because the deficit was reduced this year due to some planned spending not going out the door.

Avi Lewis, the new federal NDP leader, called the spring statement a missed opportunity. “The Liberal government had a big opportunity today to actually address the everyday emergency of the crisis of the cost of living for Canadians, with concrete measures (and) new programs that would actually make people’s everyday lives better. It didn’t do that,” he said.

Champagne has made quick work of tabling the implementation legislation, and the clock is now ticking on whether he can get it passed before the summer parliamentary hiatus that’s now at most five sitting weeks away.

Not to be missed

W5 investigation prompts private member’s bill

A W5 investigation exposing a network of men who prey on their wives and girlfriends has inspired a bill that seeks to change the Criminal Code to treat the creation of rape videos closer in line with child pornography laws. As colleague Avery Haines reports, Conservative MP Burton Bailey has introduced a private member’s bill called Melanie’s Law, named for a woman featured in the W5 documentary Sleeping With the Enemy. “Hearing their story, I felt compelled to bring justice for Melanie and do whatever I can to help heal their hurt,” Bailey told MPs as he introduced the bill. Private member’s bills face significant hurdles in Parliament and rarely become law. But Bailey says he believes Melanie’s Law can win support across party lines. “I’m very optimistic. I believe that this is a real, true, non-partisan bill.”

Liberals get majority on committee, drama ensues

The federal government passed their motion to install a majority at committees this week and it did not take long for the Liberals to leverage it. The Conservatives all week have been sounding alarms about Carney’s MPs shutting down debate at House committees. The move that seemed to rile the Conservatives the most, was moving a meeting of the health committee in-camera amid discussion of having the auditor general investigate a $300-million program called PrescribeIT. Launched in 2017, the program was supposed to modernize the way doctors’ offices send prescriptions, but it appears to be underused and is set to be shut down next month. Asked Wednesday whether this is the way parliamentary business is going to go now, Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon said “committees are masters of their own agenda. We discuss issues every day. There’s going to be lots of debate, I can assure you, in the weeks and months ahead.”

Former minister named next EU ambassador

And in what was perhaps the worst kept secret in Ottawa, Carney has named former cabinet minister Jonathan Wilkinson as the next ambassador to the European Union. Wilkinson confirmed the news in a post to X after sources close to Wilkinson confirmed the new role to CTV News. The appointment has been speculated upon since as early as last September. In a letter posted online, Wilkinson said the decision was “not easy.” Asked in an interview on CTV’s Power Play what took so long to seal the deal, Wilkinson said “part of it was just mechanics.” “I would say it’s not a simple thing to decide to leave your country and to go somewhere else. I wouldn’t say that I’ve ever aspired to be an ambassador. And so it took me a while to sort of think my way through it,” he said. The Prime Minister’s Office says Wilkinson will begin his new appointment at the beginning of summer. Once he vacates his seat, a byelection will be triggered at a later date. His departure will bring the Liberal government down to 173 seats. Asked if any of the timing was connected to a desire to protect the Liberals’ majority standing, he said “no that was never a part of the conversation.”

Quote of the week

The week ahead

MPs are back at it again next week before a two-week constituency break and Monday will bring a slate of fresh audits for them to dig into.

Auditor General of Canada Karen Hogan and Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development Jerry DeMarco will jointly deliver five performance audit reports to the House of Commons. Among the topics this time: flood hazard mapping, climate resilience of federal assets, accessibility in the public service, and avian influenza preparation.

There are also a pair of political events worth noting, given the special guests taking part.

In Ottawa, the right-leaning Canada Strong and Free Network is hosting a conference and among the speakers will be former CIA director and U.S. secretary of state Mike Pompeo. And in Toronto, the left-leaning Canada 2020 think tank is hosting its 20th anniversary gala, featuring former U.S. president Barack Obama as the keynote speaker

Covering the latest political news from CTV’s parliamentary bureau in Ottawa, Rachel Aiello offers exclusive analysis on political developments straight from Ottawa.