Foreword

Tuesday, November 4, 2025

Meeting the Moment, Building Canada Strong

The world is changing, profoundly and in real time; we are no longer living in an era of calm, but of significant change. The nexus between energy security, economic security, and national security is clearer than ever before.

The systems that long underpinned our prosperity and enabled decades of economic growth—stable global trade alliances, predictable supply chains, a cooperative international order, and reliable partnerships—are being redrawn and constantly challenged.

What we are contending with is not a transition, it's a generational shift. One that challenges our assumptions, tests our institutions, and demands a fundamentally different response—not one of caution, but of courage. Not one of passive stewardship, but of active, ambitious nation-building.

This is the context for Budget 2025.

Just as Canadians mobilised in the 1940s to defend freedom and rebuild the global economy, and just as we restored fiscal sustainability in the 1990s to secure future growth, today we stand at another crossroads. A new era of disruption demands a new era of leadership—and a new economic foundation built on resilience, sovereignty, and innovation.

Canada is ready. Because Canada is strong.

We are rich in natural resources—critical minerals, clean and conventional power, and endowed with a world-class agri-food industry that give Canada a real competitive advantage. We are powered by a skilled and diverse workforce, home to leading researchers, entrepreneurs, and innovators. We have one of the strongest fiscal foundations in the G7, and well-established stability and democratic values.

Budget 2025 is our plan to harness these strengths and meet the moment. It is our roadmap to spend less so we can invest more.

It lays out a generational investment strategy—to supercharge growth and build a clean electricity grid, unlock the full value of our critical minerals, accelerate housing construction, and drive innovation in sectors like artificial intelligence, life sciences, and advanced manufacturing, the kind of investments that will restore growth.

It is a strategy to build at a speed, scope, and scale not seen in generations. With Canadian workers at the centre, and the national interest at the heart of every decision.

It is also a blueprint to defend our sovereignty—through historic investments in national defence, security, and the capabilities we need to protect Canadians in an increasingly fractured world.

And it is grounded in fiscal responsibility. Because leadership means making smart, strategic investments—while preserving the strength that comes from having the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio of the G7, a strong fiscal position, and a clear path to long-term sustainability.

Among the G7, Canada is being recognised as one of the few advanced economies with the fiscal space and discipline to invest in its future.

As the International Monetary Fund Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, recently said, "Canada stands out in the G7… The Canadian authorities have been very decisive to take action in the context of changing relations with their main trading partner. One of these actions is to modernise the budget framework—separating operating spending from investing, and focusing strategically on pro-growth investments that can lift up productivity… in areas like housing, infrastructure, and energy—Canada is making the right choices."

This is not a time for small plans. It is a time for clear vision and decisive action.

Budget 2025 reflects a simple but powerful truth: Canada has what the world needs and increasingly wants—and importantly what this moment demands. The work ahead will not be easy, but we have faced defining challenges before. We overcame them—and emerged stronger. We will do so again.

Let us meet this moment. Let us build a Canada that is confident, secure, and resilient—for today, and for generations to come.

Now is the time to build Canada Strong.

The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Finance and National Revenue