Conservatives Push for Budget as FINA Committee Highlights Deep Economic Divides

A tense House Finance Committee session saw Conservatives demand immediate fiscal transparency, challenging the Liberal government’s refusal to table a budget amid rising debt and inflation

Ottawa, June 17, 2025 – Canada's economic crisis took center stage yesterday as the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance (FINA) erupted into fierce debate over the Liberal government’s refusal to deliver a federal budget before summer. A Conservative motion demanding fiscal transparency exposed sharp partisan fault lines on inflation, energy, crime, and mass immigration—highlighting why voters stripped the Liberals of their majority and handed the opposition a clear mandate to hold them accountable.

Conservatives Blasts Liberal Mismanagement

Let’s be honest—Canada is on the brink. The numbers don’t lie: inflation’s exploding, debt’s out of control, and food banks are overwhelmed. So what does the Trudeau–Carney regime do? Delay the budget. Again. Because transparency is the last thing they want. But one Conservative isn’t having it.

Conservative MP Jasraj Hallan delivered a torpedo straight into the heart of Liberal mismanagement, demanding the Finance Minister table a real budget before Parliament breaks for the summer. Not a press release. Not a tweet. A budget. Imagine that.

Hallan tabled a motion demanding that the Minister of Finance present a full federal budget before Parliament’s summer recess, citing spiraling inflation, surging debt, and widespread public hardship. He painted a grim picture of an economy in turmoil, laying blame squarely on Liberal policies that have led to the highest inflation rate in the G7, a 7% unemployment rate, doubled housing costs, and a doubling in food bank usage across the country.

Hallan condemned the carbon tax, Bill C-48 (tanker ban), and Bill C-69 (impact assessment) as deliberate attacks on Canada’s energy sector—warning they could cost over 110,000 jobs, according to Deloitte, and have already driven $600 billion in investment south of the border. He pointed to the government's $486 billion in main estimates and $600 billion in planned spending as evidence of reckless fiscal management, warning that the $1.27 trillion national debt risks triggering tax hikes or a credit downgrade.

“Canadians are desperate to know the state of the nation’s finances,” Hallan declared, noting that families are skipping meals and newcomers are sleeping in cars or under bridges. He accused the Liberals of stalling, shifting from denying the need for a budget to floating a “mini-budget” only after mounting Conservative pressure—suggesting the delays are a cover for deeper fiscal mismanagement.

And if that wasn’t enough, Hallan connected the dots between the Liberals’ mass immigration agenda and the housing collapse. He cited the Bank of Canada’s own warnings that population surges—engineered by this government—are making housing unaffordable for everyone. Fewer homes. Higher prices. More strain. And for what? “To get more votes,” Hallan said

As a former newcomer himself, Hallan contrasted Canada’s past affordability—when “one paycheck could cover a household”—with today’s realities, accusing the Liberals of using immigration policy as a political tool to “get more votes” while leaving both Canadians and newcomers without jobs, housing, or access to basic services.

Hallan called for a budget now—not in the fall, not when it’s politically convenient. One that includes a real plan on immigration and housing. Because that’s what Canada needs to get back on track: truth, fiscal sanity, and a government that serves the people—not itself.

Liberal Excuses and Mulroney Misfire: Budget Dodge Sparks Backlash

So what’s the Liberal excuse this time? Ryan Turnbull, ever the loyal foot soldier for Trudeau’s ex-banker heir Mark Carney, tried to defend the government's refusal to deliver a spring budget by invoking—wait for it—Brian Mulroney. Yes, Liberals now want us to believe that Carney’s fragile, scandal-soaked minority is somehow comparable to Mulroney’s 1984 Conservative juggernaut that swept 211 of 282 seats.

Turnbull’s argument? There’s “no statutory requirement” to deliver a budget quickly. Translation: "We’re not legally obligated to be transparent, so we won’t be." He even tried to water down the Conservative motion by proposing a toothless amendment that just says “please table a budget”—without a deadline. Pathetic.

But then came the reality check—not from the Conservatives, but from Bloc Québécois MP Denis Trudel, who torched the Mulroney comparison as both outdated and irrelevant. Trudel reminded the committee that he was two years old when Mulroney was elected—back in a time when public servants still had integrity and deficits were measured in billions, not trillions.

Mulroney inherited a Liberal-made $37.2 billion deficit and had the strength of a parliamentary majority to wait. This Liberal government has no majority, no mandate, and no excuse for hiding a $486 billion spending spree and a $1.27 trillion debt from Canadians.

This isn’t 1984. It’s 2025. The country is facing mass immigration pressures, a housing collapse, record food bank usage, and runaway inflation. And the Liberals want to delay a budget while quoting 40-year-old history books?

Bill C-4 Delays and Broader Policy Clashes

Turnbull expressed frustration that the motion debate delayed discussion on Bill C-4, a tax relief bill unanimously supported in the House, which FINA must review. He proposed an in-camera session to prioritize Bill C-4, underscoring the Liberal focus on voter-backed relief. The delay highlights minority parliament dynamics, where opposition motions disrupt government priorities, fulfilling the public’s mandate for scrutiny.

Hallan accused Liberal “soft on crime” policies, specifically Bills C-5 and C-75, of enabling repeat offenders, contributing to a 300% surge in extortions, and making Canada a “safe haven for criminals.” He demanded repeal to prioritize victims. On energy, Hallan called for scrapping anti-energy laws to make Canada an “energy superpower,” claiming Liberal restrictions favor foreign dictators over workers. Liberals sidestepped crime and immigration critiques, emphasizing Bill C-4 and their platform’s affordability measures. The debate showcased contrasting visions: Conservatives urging immediate action, versus Liberals banking on strategic planning.

Final Thoughts: A Plan Without a Plan Is Still a Plan—to Fail

Let’s stop pretending this is incompetence. It’s not. It’s a strategy. The Liberals aren’t lost. They’re executing—badly, cynically, and destructively—but executing nonetheless.

They don’t have a plan to fix Canada because this is their plan:
Make energy unaffordable. Flood the housing market. Soften the justice system. Inflate the currency. Drive up debt. Import votes. Blame the weather. Rinse and repeat.

They knew the books were bad a year ago. That’s why Chrystia Freeland ran for the hills, dropped the Finance portfolio, and pretended to “stand with Canadians” while the ship was already halfway underwater. Now Trudeau’s gone, Carney’s in, and nothing’s changed—because it was never about who’s at the podium. It’s about the machine.

So here we are: food bank lines, unaffordable homes, skyrocketing crime, and a government refusing to produce a budget before summer while $600 billion vanishes and a $1.27 trillion debt hangs over our heads.

When pressed, they quote Mulroney. They call for closed-door sessions. They talk about affordability while pushing policies that make life unaffordable for everyone except themselves.

So here’s the bottom line: if this is the best the Liberals have got—and it is—then Conservatives need to hammer this message home. Relentlessly.

Because frankly, that Toronto-Ottawa bubble still doesn’t get it. They’ll keep sleepwalking through the collapse unless someone spells it out: this isn’t accidental. It’s ideological.

Just saying “build the pipeline” isn’t enough anymore. Conservatives need to make it crystal clear: They need expose the plan (or lack of it). Name it. Shame it. And make sure every Canadian knows: the Liberal agenda is not a plan to govern. It’s a plan to fail. And we’re all living in the wreckage.