A Plan to Grow Our Economy and Make Life More Affordable, the Government of Canada makes targeted and responsible investments to create good jobs, grow our economy, and build a Canada where nobody gets left behind.
Today, the Honourable Daniel Vandal, Minister of Northern Affairs, Minister for PrairiesCan and Minister for CanNor, highlighted jobs and growth investments, and tax relief for small businesses in Iqaluit, as part of Budget 2022.
Budget 2022 invests in ensuring Canadian workers have the skills they need for the good-paying jobs of today and tomorrow. It also makes further significant investments in affordable child care, in our public health care system, and in advancing reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.
Budget 2022 invests in economic growth and innovation-the key to Canada's long-term prosperity. This includes launching a new world-leading Canada Growth Fund that will attract private investment in Canadian industries and Canadian jobs, and a new innovation and investment agency that will help drive productivity and growth across our economy. The Budget also proposes to implement Canada's first Critical Minerals Strategy-one that will create good jobs in the North and Arctic and capitalize on a growing need for the minerals used in everything from phones to electric cars. Measures also include steps to build more resilient supply chains, and to cut taxes for Canada's growing small businesses.
Canada entered the pandemic with the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio of all G7 countries-an advantage that has since increased relative to other countries. Canada has seen the best jobs recovery in the G7, and as of March 2022, has recovered 115 per cent of the jobs lost at the height of the pandemic, with an unemployment rate that sits at just 5.3 per cent-the lowest rate on record since 1976. With Budget 2022, Canada will maintain this leading position, and maintain its fiscally responsible approach to economic growth and to building an economy that works for everyone. Crucially, it upholds the government's fiscal anchor-a declining debt-to-GDP ratio and the unwinding of COVID-19-related deficits, which will ensure that Canada's finances remain sustainable in the long-term.
