Hastings-Lennox and Addington-Tyendinaga MP Shelby Kramp-Neuman has issued a statement on the federal budget delivered on Thursday, saying it fell short of expectations.
The full statement is included below.
STATEMENT FROM HLAT MP SHELBY KRAMP-NEUMAN – With the tabling of the federal budget today, the government has outlined its priorities and the direction it intends to take our
country. A budget, however, is more than an accounting exercise. It is a measure of a government’s judgment, its willingness
to make difficult choices, and its commitment to the kind of country we intend to leave to the next generation.
For families, seniors, farmers, and small businesses across Hastings-Lennox and Addington-Tyendinaga, the expectations
were reasonable: a credible plan to address our growing national debt, meaningful relief from the rising cost of living, lower
taxes on fuel, and a renewed commitment to the rural and small-town communities that are essential to Canada’s economic
and social fabric.
Unfortunately, this budget falls short of those expectations.
With $142 billion in additional spending, the continuation of the industrial carbon tax, and a renewed commitment to the
proposed $90-billion-plus ALTO high-speed rail project including measures to accelerate land expropriation the government is
making significant commitments without adequately addressing the pressures facing Canadians today.
The concern is not simply how much government spends. It is whether that spending reflects sound priorities, delivers
measurable results, and leaves our country on stronger financial footing.
Every dollar spent servicing our national debt is a potential dollar taken from health care, infrastructure, or any of the other
needs of communities too often overlooked in national spending priorities. We cannot continue to treat borrowing as a
substitute for economic growth or assume that greater spending necessarily produces better outcomes.
There are welcome, positive measures in Budget 2026 including making the Canada Caregiver Credit fully refundable and
additional funding for the Canadian Forces Morale and Welfare service. Good proposals deserve recognition, regardless of
which side of the House proposes it, but isolated individual measures, however welcome, cannot substitute for a coherent and
responsible fiscal plan.
Canada needs ambition, ambition that must be matched by discipline. Fiscal responsibility is not about abandoning our
principles; it is about making the choices necessary to sustain them.
Given the current composition of the House of Commons, the budget is expected to pass. My Conservative colleagues and I
will turn our attention to the budget’s implementation legislation and the upcoming main and supplementary estimates, where
the government’s commitments must be subjected to careful, constructive, and thorough scrutiny.
Canadians deserve accountability for every public dollar and an economic vision that extends beyond the next budget cycle.
