‘Be true to our Canadian values’

Federal Minister of Finance François-Philippe Champagne was in Winnipeg on Friday to discuss the latest federal budget with the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce.

About 200 members of the city’s business community attended the event, held at the Inn at The Forks. The visit came a few days after the approval of the 2025 budget, titled Canada Strong.

“The spirit of Manitoba is vibrating towards this budget,” Champagne said during the armchair discussion hosted by chamber president Loren Remillard.

Champagne called the new national blueprint “an investment budget” and repeatedly stated his belief Canada is well-positioned moving forward.

“If we want to have the higher standard of living for Canadians and leave a better place for our children, we need to get serious on investments,” Champagne said Friday.

“We need to get serious on productivity. We need to get serious on competition … I think others have done it before and we’re going to be in a position to do it again.”

Champagne said he met with Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew before the event. The first thing they discussed was the productivity super-deduction, he said: a set of enhanced tax incentives covering all new investment that allows businesses to write off a larger share of the cost of these investments right away.

The super-deduction is meant to boost productivity and attract investment.

“Imagine today if you’re a small business … you can immediately expense new buildings, equipment, technology, AI, (research and development, and) patents,” Champagne said. “I mean the type of thing that’s going to grow the economy.”

Canada needs to move “from reliance to resilience,” he added, encouraging people to buy Canadian products.

“The biggest power we have is (our) purchasing power,” Champagne said. “If all of us decide to put Canada first, imagine what that’s going to do for small- and medium-sized businesses (and) startups in the country.”

Reports suggest artificial intelligence is not replacing people but instead reshaping jobs, Remillard said, before asking Champagne how the new budget prepares Canada’s workforce with the capacity to use emerging technologies in a landscape that’s changing rapidly.

When it comes to AI, Champagne said, adoption is key. He said Canada has been at the forefront of responsible AI — developing and deploying such systems in an ethical way.

“AI is going to transform the way we operate business and it’s basically the silver lining in terms of productivity and innovation,” Champagne said, encouraging small- and medium-sized businesses to adopt the technology.

Asked about Canada’s response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, the finance minister said “what we need to do is to be true to our Canadian values.”

“Our Canadian values is that if one part of the country is hurting, if one part of the country or workers in an industry are affected, we need to step up and say … we’re going to help you pivot,” Champagne said. “We’re going to help you to transform the industry, re-skill your industry or the knowledge you have to be able to compete and to succeed in the economy.”

Diversifying Canada’s list of trading partners is also important, he added.

Champagne ended the discussion with words of encouragement: “Let’s seize the moment, let’s be ambitious and let’s build a Canada we can all be proud (of) … I’m very confident we can do that together.”

Speaking with journalists after the discussion, Champagne expanded on his remarks that the new budget resonates with Manitobans.

In his estimation, the federal government’s commitments to the Port of Churchill Plus project, its investment in housing and its commitment to improving the country’s trade corridors all speak to Manitobans.

“The trade corridor is essential,” Champagne said. “Winnipeg is at the centre — north, south, east, west. So when you’re talking about more fluidity in the trade corridor, it’s obviously something positive for Manitoba.”

Remillard said the Winnipeg chamber appreciated the opportunity to host the discussion with the finance minister.

“The way you have Manitoba’s presence felt in the budget even more so is by having these types of conversations,” he said.

“So today we were able to explore some of the budget and what it means for Manitoba in the hopes that next year, when we welcome them back, we’ll be talking about newer investments because of the relationship and the conversations today.”

aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca