Latest news with #FrançoisPhilippeChampagne
CTV News
11 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
Ottawa collects extra $617M from import duties in March as counter-tariffs hit U.S.
The Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa is seen past construction cranes on Sunday, May 25, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang OTTAWA — Ottawa collected an extra $617 million in import duties this past March compared to a year earlier as counter-tariffs against U.S. trade restrictions came into effect. The federal government's latest fiscal monitor report, published late last week, shows revenues from customs import duties topped $1 billion in March, more than double the figure from a year earlier. In March the federal government slapped retaliatory tariffs on billions of dollars in U.S. goods entering Canada — costs that are paid by Canadian businesses importing the items. The Liberal party projected during the recent federal election campaign that counter-tariffs against the United States would raise an estimated $20 billion over 12 months. Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said in an interview with CBC last week that the figure in the Liberal platform was 'a projection at a moment in time' and noted the tariff situation has been changing rapidly. The Liberals are forgoing publishing a spring budget but have promised a fiscal update in the fall. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 2, 2025. Craig Lord, The Canadian Press
CBC
4 days ago
- Business
- CBC
U.S. court decisions on Trump's tariffs shows volatility of situation: Champagne
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne tells Power & Politics two U.S. court decisions that blocked, then reinstated, President Donald Trump's broadest tariffs show Canadians how 'volatile' the trade situation is.
National Post
5 days ago
- Business
- National Post
Michel Maisonneuve: Canadians must hold their new government's feet to the fire
Complacency is returning to the Canadian consciousness. The election is over and Canadians have made their choice for change — though not too much change. The new prime minister has chosen his cabinet. The House is sitting for the next few weeks, and Canadians are starting to forget about politics and look forward to the summer. But this is not the time to take our eyes off the ball. Article content Article content Article content There was little outrage over the ridiculous statements made by some new ministers. Steven Guilbeault, newly appointed as minister of Canadian identity and culture, falsely stated that pipelines are not being used to their full capacity, and that demand for oil will peak in a few years. Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand showed tacit support for Hamas. Article content Article content Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne declared that there would be no budget, only to be corrected by Prime Minister Mark Carney. And one of the most egregious cabinet appointments, Housing Minister Gregor Robertson, stated that house prices do not need to come down. Article content Evidently, the prime minister has difficulty disciplining his cabinet. Carney should have made an example of Guilbeault and fired him 'pour encourager les autres.' If the prime minister absolutely wanted to keep him, he could have had Guilbeault stand beside him in front of the media to retract his statement. Article content But no matter. We Canadians now have the government we deserve. That's democracy. Many of the old faces are back: those above, plus Mélanie Joly, Dominic LeBlanc, Sean Fraser and others. Time will tell if the old Liberal team will change its extremist progressive approach to virtually every issue, or if, as the saying goes, 'the deception is exposed, the mask falls off and their true colours emerge.' Article content Canadians thought Mark Carney would be the better leader to deal with Trump, but that is yet to be evident. The Oval Office meeting between the two in front of the media can be looked at in two ways: did the prime minister stand up to the president or was he too obsequious? Article content Article content Carney's line about having consulted the 'owners of Canada' was a good one, and he did remind Trump that some real estate is never for sale. At least we didn't see the obvious disdain for the prime minister that we saw when Trump was dealing with Justin Trudeau. Article content Top of mind should be the economy. When the budget is released in the fall, we'll see what the plan is. Whatever it might be, a $60-billion deficit will not help redress our financial ailments or reduce the horrendous debt we are financing. Our productivity needs to be dealt with, and our energy and other resources need to be exploited to make Canadians richer.
National Post
5 days ago
- Business
- National Post
Mark Carney pressed on lack of spring budget in first question period as prime minister
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney was pressed on his government's decision to punt the budget until the fall and his promise to make Canada an 'energy superpower' during his first question period on Wednesday. Article content Article content Interim Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer started by welcoming Carney to his first official question period and reminded him 'this is where we provide rigorous scrutiny on every word he says and every dollar he spends on behalf of Canadians.' Article content 'Now, let's talk about those words and dollars,' he said. Article content Article content Scheer went on to enumerate how he believes Canadians are still suffering from the consequences of Liberal policies — pointing to increased household debt and food bank usage — and asked how a man who promised to act at 'great speed' won't table a budget right away. Article content Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said two weeks ago there would be no federal budget in the spring, but a fall economic statement instead. Days later, Carney announced his government would present a budget during the fall session instead. 'If he's the man with the plan and the guy you hire in a crisis, why won't he table a budget before he goes on summer vacation?' Scheer asked. Article content Carney shot back by saying that Scheer was probably 'very busy' and 'did not have a chance to study closely the 100-day plan' of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre which made no mention of tabling a budget in that timeframe. Article content 'They must be really afraid to come clean with Canadians if they're going to punt it off into the fall,' retorted Scheer. Article content Article content Scheer went on to question Carney on his 'claim that somehow the Liberals have changed' and said he had 'a chance to prove it to Canadians.' 'If he's serious, will he tell Canadians that pipelines are part of his values by repealing Bill C-69?' Article content Ottawa's impact assessment act, also dubbed the 'no pipelines bill' by its critics, came into force in 2019 and has been a hot-button issue ever since. Article content Carney insisted that his 'new government' would act immediately to grow the economy, support 'nation-building projects' and work with provinces to build them. Article content The Conservative opposition went on to question many of his ministers on pipelines and housing — with a particular focus on rookie ministers Tim Hodgson and Gregor Robertson. Article content The prime minister's office confirmed earlier this week that Carney would not be pursuing his predecessor Justin Trudeau's tradition of answering all questions put to the government by the opposition in the House of Commons every Wednesday.
Reuters
22-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Canada's Champagne says G7 ministers not 'skating around' tariff issue
BANFF, Alberta, May 22 (Reuters) - Canada's Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said on Thursday that the discussions on tariffs did come up during a G7 finance leaders' meeting, even though there was mention of them in the final communique that was published. "They are not skating around the fact that tariffs are an issue," Champagne, who is also the chair of the G7 finance leaders, told reporters in a news briefing at the end of the meeting. U.S. President Donald Trump's barrage of tariffs on Canada and other G7 members have started hurting the economies of these countries and fragmented world order of global trade. With U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent present at the meetings, there was speculation on whether common ground would be achieved. "We are trying to enhance growth and stability, and obviously tariffs are something in that context that you can't avoid discussing," he said.
