'I feel like I’m in the presence of students': Carney fires back at Poilievre on inflation criticism

Added: 2026-05-05

[00:00:00]Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. There are three liberal taxes on gasoline.

[00:00:05]Number one, there's the excise tax. Then there's the new liberal carbon tax they call the fuel standard. And then they charge the GST on those other two taxes.

[00:00:16]Now with Canada having the highest grocery price inflation in the G7 and paying 20% more at the pumps, we put the pressure on the Prime Minister and he's partially backed down removing only one of those taxes and only for a third of the year. Why doesn't he follow our full plan to reduce gas prices by 25 cents a liter by getting rid of all the taxes for all the year?

[00:00:39]The right honorable Prime Minister.

[00:00:41]>> [applause] >> Mr. Speak Mr. Speaker what the government is proposing is to cut the excise tax 10 cents a liter for gasoline, 4 cents on diesel. We've already cut the consumer carbon tax 18 cents per liter. We are recycling all the excess revenues from higher oil prices to Canadians. What we are not doing is what the leader of the opposition is proposing which is to substantially increase the deficit.

[00:01:25]>> [applause] >> The honorable leader of the opposition.

[00:01:31]What he is not doing is increasing the deficit. It's only up by 100% since he took office Mr. Speaker.

[00:01:40]Does he even read his own budget? Or does he want Canadians not to know what's inside? In fact, all the money printing that he does because he's famous for causing inflation. He's made a career out of it. Statistics Canada has made it clear that the gap between rich and poor is now greater than it's ever been in a report published just this week. One of the biggest taxes on the poor is the gas tax. Instead of just removing a third of the tax for the third of the year, why not get rid of the entire liberal tax on gas for the whole year?

[00:02:11]The right honorable Prime Minister.

[00:02:15]Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker one thing I've learned in one thing I've learned in my economics education is you've got to study history and you've got to look at numbers. My record as the Central Bank Governor is inflation less than 2% at the Bank of Canada. Inflation less than 2% at the Bank of England. But let's get back let's get back to where we are today which is wages in this country are growing at more than twice the rate of inflation and I'll spell it out for the member opposite. That means Canadians are getting ahead.

[00:02:47]The honorable leader OF THE OPPOSITION.

[00:02:50]>> [applause] [cheering] >> IT'S CLEAR THAT HE'S LEARNED ALL the wrong lessons. Not only did he cause the housing crisis in London. Not only did he cause the worst inflation in the G7 when he was the Bank Governor over there. He advised Justin Trudeau to print money here causing inflation and since arriving in Canada, he's given us the worst food price inflation in the G7, the worst investment in the G7, the worst housing costs in the G7, the worst household debt in the G7. So why doesn't he learn his lesson from all the failed economic experiments that only benefit insiders with tax havens like him and get rid of all the taxes on gas for all OF THE YEAR?

[00:03:31]THE RIGHT HONORABLE PRIME MINISTER.

[00:03:34]OH dear oh dear oh dear oh dear. Mr. Speaker I feel like I'm in the presence of students and on any [laughter] exam I don't think I don't think you would pass the exam with those answers. Mr. Speaker, [cheering] as the IMF confirmed yesterday Canada will have the second fastest growth in the G7 this year. As the IMF confirmed yesterday we have the best fiscal position in the G7.

[00:03:58]Laughing out. As we have confirmed we have the highest invest foreign direct investment per capita in the world.

[00:04:12]The honorable leader of the opposition.

[00:04:14]Oh the liberal arrogance.

[00:04:33]The honorable leader of the opposition may continue.

[00:04:36]Yeah we have Mr. Speaker what we have over there is inflation of liberal arrogance. Right now he wants to tell Canadians that they've never had it so good when food prices are rising faster in Canada than any other country in the G7.

[00:04:53]When Canadian households are the most indebted in the G7. When Canadian housing costs are the most elevated in the G7 and when just today RBC reported that we have the worst investment in the G7. The question again is Canadians cannot afford gas at the pump. Why not get rid of all the taxes for all the year?

[00:05:14]The right honorable Prime Minister.

[00:05:20]>> [laughter] >> You have Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker to learn a lesson you have to have ears to hear.

[00:05:28]>> [laughter] >> SOME THERE ARE SOME ON THE BENCHES OPPOSITE who've been listening Mr. SPEAKER.

[00:05:36]>> [laughter] >> AND THEY WILL NOTICE THEY WILL NOTICE THAT WAGES ARE GROWING more than twice the rate of inflation in this country.

[00:05:48]They will notice that rents have gone down relative to incomes for 33 straight months. They will notice that I am out of time.