Today in Toronto, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, hosted a meeting with provincial and territorial Finance Ministers to discuss the state of the Canadian economy and a range of shared priorities.
The Deputy Prime Minister highlighted the resilience of the Canadian economy, which the International Monetary Fund predicts will see the second strongest growth in the G7 both this year and next. The Canadian economy added 69,000 jobs in December, 659,000 more Canadians are employed today than were prior to the pandemic, and Canada's unemployment rate, at 5 per cent, is near its record low.
In the context of Canada's economic recovery from the COVID recession, the Deputy Prime Minister noted that eight out of every ten dollars invested to support Canadians and Canadian businesses were provided by the federal government, which contributed to the budget surpluses that many provinces and territories enjoy today. In this regard, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Finance Ministers spoke about the importance of provinces and territories partnering with the federal government to invest in joint priorities.
In advance of next week's First Ministers' Meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Ministers agreed on the importance of strengthening Canada's public health care system. The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized the need for all governments to make investments to ensure Canadians receive the high quality, public, and timely care they deserve, and noted that Canadians rightly expect additional federal funding to help deliver better health care outcomes.
Among other topics, the Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Ministers also discussed opportunities to work together to enhance labour mobility and credential recognition, and to improve economic growth by bringing down barriers to interprovincial trade.
The Deputy Prime Minister discussed Canada's ongoing response to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act and the federal government's efforts to attract investment and build Canada's 21st century economy. Amidst the ongoing global net-zero transition and the efforts of Canada's allies to build their supply chains through reliable democracies like Canada, the Deputy Prime Minister spoke about the importance of a Team Canada approach to ensuring Canada can seize these generational economic opportunities and build an economy that works for everyone.
