Over the past several months, your federal government has worked hard to continue creating jobs and growth in Canada.
In June, Parliament passed the first portion of the federal budget; the second part of the federal budget will be debated in Parliament this autumn.
The budget bills are part of our Economic Action Plan, a plan for jobs and growth.
To date, our Economic Action Plan has helped Canada weather the worst of the global recession. In fact, Canada has the best job creation record in the entire G-7 group of major economies.
In the first quarter of 2013, the Canadian economy grew 2.5%, representing the strongest quarterly growth in nearly two years. Statistics Canada also recently announced that our economy grew steadily in the months of April and May, with 0.1% growth in April and 0.2% growth in May.
Even more impressive is that 95,500 net new jobs were created in the month of May alone, the overwhelming majority of which were full-time and private sector employment. This is the second largest monthly job gain in Canadian history.
May’s job growth also included a strong increase in youth employment. In just one month, 54,400 new jobs were created for young Canadians. This represents the biggest monthly job gain for young Canadians in nearly three decades.
However, in July, while the Canadian economy gained 31,000 private sector jobs, it shed 74,000 in the public sector. As the July employment numbers illustrate, month-to-month job numbers can be volatile. Nevertheless, the overall long-term numbers are clear. Canada’s economy continues to produce jobs at a record pace.
Canada has created over one million net new jobs since the depth of the global recession in July 2009. Of these jobs, over 90 per cent are full-time, and over 75% are in the private sector. This is the best job growth record among all G-7 countries.
The strong economic growth in the first half of 2013 is another positive sign that the government is on the right track for jobs and growth. During this time, there was particularly strong growth in Canada’s manufacturing sector.
Measures in our Economic Action Plan to support Canada’s manufacturing sector will help to produce further employment growth in this sector.
As part of Economic Action Plan 2013, the government is providing tax relief and funding to Canada’s manufacturing sector, in order to promote investments that create more jobs for Canadians. We are also investing $200 million over five years in an Advanced Manufacturing Fund for southern Ontario to help this sector compete globally.
Other measures include tax breaks to help small business create more jobs, while at the same time closing tax loopholes to ensure that large corporations and wealthy individuals pay their fair share. It includes measures to fund job-creating infrastructure across Canada, and help more Canadians become trained for skilled jobs.
Despite Canada’s strong economic record, we face continued risks from both within and beyond our borders.
Domestically, certain parts of Canada’s housing market present risks to the stability of our national economy. Internationally, the risk from beyond our borders rests in the fragile global economy, especially in the United States and Europe, which are among Canada’s most important trading partners. That is why the government continues to remain squarely focused on implementing measures that grow Canada’s economy.
When Parliament resumes in the fall, you can count on your federal government to continue focusing on what matters most to Canadians: job creation and economic growth.
Please contact me if you have any questions or comments. I can be reached by phone at 866-878-5556 or by email at michael.chong@parl.gc.ca.