OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney promised the nation Wednesday evening that the fall budget will spur unseen levels of private sector investments, but at the same time he warned that sacrifices are in store.
The prime minister said in a speech that the core of his government’s strategy will be to spur “unprecedented” investments in Canada over the next five years, and the federal government has the “fiscal capacity to act decisively.”
“Now is not the time to be cautious because fortune favours the bold,” Carney said in a speech at the University of Ottawa Wednesday evening, designed to set the stage for his first fiscal plan, due to be released Nov. 4.
The prime minister warned Canada can no longer overly rely on the U.S. as a trading partner after President Donald Trump lashed out with tariffs at levels not seen since the Great Depression.
Carney said he is setting an “ambitious” goal to double Canada’s non-U.S. exports in the next decade to generate $300 billion more in trade.
But in the same speech that touted “generational investments” at a time for bold decisions, the prime minister also warned of coming sacrifices, and vowed he will “always be straight” about the challenges Canada faces.
“We won’t transform our economy easily or in a few months. It will take some sacrifices and some time,” Carney said.
The coming budget will include a climate competitiveness strategy, a new immigration plan and an international talent-attraction strategy.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said he told Carney earlier in the day in a private meeting that to secure his party’s support in the House of Commons, the prime minister must present an “affordable budget” that slashes taxes and caps the deficit.
“My message, of course, to the prime minister is that people can’t afford to pay more, that they’re tapped out; the grocery bills, the rent is too high after 10 years of excess spending,” Poilievre said to reporters after the meeting.
The minority Liberal government is three votes shy of being able to pass measures on its own and will need either the support or abstention of members of other parties to pass the budget.
A vote in the House of Commons on a budget motion is a confidence matter — meaning the Carney government could fall if it loses, which could trigger a general election.
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet, who spoke with Carney earlier Wednesday, has put forward a list of conditions to be met before his party supports the Liberal budget.
After the meeting with Carney, Blanchet said the Bloc’s demands have been clear to the Liberals for many months.
“They know our conditions, and if they wake up a little bit late, it’s once again their problem,” he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2025.
Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press
