Justin Trudeau’s speech to the Chambre de commerce de Nouvelle-Beauce
February 3, 2015
Check against delivery
Ladies and gentlemen:
Hello and thank you for your warm welcome.
I’ve been looking forward to seeing you. I’ve been looking forward to returning to Beauce.
But I am not alone; I have our candidate, Adam Veilleux, with me. And I would like to take a few moments to introduce several of our other Quebec candidates who are here today. Thank you for being here.I have wanted to come back to Beauce since the start of this election year in Canada to deliver a message: we want to create jobs in the regions.
I want Beauce to have a voice that reflects you, that understands your concerns and shares your hopes.
We want to see businesses created and grow.
We want young people with good ideas to have all of the support they need to transform those good ideas into good businesses and good jobs.
I wanted to come to Beauce because Beauce is the cradle of entrepreneurship. You are creating so many jobs here that you do not have enough workers. I want Quebecers, and Canadians, to be inspired by the people of Beauce.
My party will be. My government will be.
Because there is an energy here, a resourcefulness, a solidarity that builds strong regions, that builds prosperous countries.
We will be inspired by entrepreneurs like Adam Veilleux, an outstanding candidate; an entrepreneur born in Beauce, whose heart is here, who has lived in China, who knows the world and who represents the Beauce of today, the Beauce of the new economy and of globalization.
It is with this team, which has roots, ambition and expertise, that we will bring Canadians together. We will give hope back to our young people, to our regions.
But there’s a lot of work to do.
Canada needs to rethink its economic strategy.
The Conservatives proclaim to be economic gurus. It’s not true. The numbers speak for themselves: Mr. Harper has the worst record on economic growth of any prime minister since R.B. Bennett in the 1930s. Mr. Harper’s economic strategy, if we can even call it a “strategy”, was based entirely on oil. He relaxed the rules and legislation so that investment flowed to the west; he used all his clout to speed up production projects, pipeline projects – What a narrow vision.
Mr. Harper built a house of cards.
The price of oil has fallen and what are we seeing?
The government is delaying its budget. The Bank of Canada is lowering its prime rate. The balanced budget only barely achieved is likely at risk. Alberta is on the brink of a recession.
We live in a complex world and we have a one-dimensional government. Mr. Harper’s economic vision is that of a different era. His government has failed. He has been unable to adapt the Canadian economy to the reality of this complex world.
In his oil-only logic:
- He cut investments in research, when research is where we create tomorrow’s jobs;
- He has not taken action on climate change, while President Obama stated only a few days ago that “no challenge poses a greater threat to future generations than climate change.”
- He has abandoned the manufacturing sector, despite it being so important to Quebec and Ontario, and so important here, in Beauce.
A question in passing: Where was the regional minister for Beauce? What has happened to the strong voice that your region deserves in Ottawa?
Let’s talk a bit about the manufacturing sector.
“It is with this team, which has roots, ambition and expertise, that we will bring Canadians together. We will give hope back to our young people, to our regions.”– Justin Trudeau
Since the Conservatives have been in power, SMEs have been neglected.
Between 2000 and 2012, the manufacturing sector’s share of employment in Quebec fell from 18 percent to 12 percent.
This is a dramatic drop. And it is not because Quebecers are weaker entrepreneurs, definitely not. We have the best here. The same thing applies to Ontario. Indeed, the decline has been even slightly sharper in Ontario where the manufacturing sector accounts for less than 12 percent of jobs.
This is the result of an economic policy that neglected the manufacturing sector.
However, the strongest economies are those that rely on a dynamic manufacturing sector.
This is because the manufacturing sector is the one that exports the most; it is the one that invests the most in research and development. It is a sector that provides good jobs in the regions. It is a strategic sector in terms of the economy, because it is the link between the research and services sectors.
You know this in Beauce. When innovation is introduced in a business, that business grows and requires services, such as information technology services.
That is the path to wealth creation. But the Conservatives don’t seem to understand.
If Canada had had a modern, strategic economic development policy, we would not be in such dire straits as a result of the rapid decline in oil prices.
Because when you are strategic, you act to protect yourself as much as possible from fluctuations in the economy. You act to deal with different situations.
That is what you do. When the dollar is down like it is currently, it is easier to export, but the time is not as good to invest in new machinery.
That is what you do. You adjust to the context. The Harper Conservatives are incapable of adjusting.
That takes an economic strategy that allows us to survive in all circumstances.
When I say today that I want Beauce to be an example, it is because despite the indifference of the Conservatives, despite their negligence, the people of Beauce are doing well.
You have one of the lowest unemployment rates in Quebec.
You have talented entrepreneurs. As evidence, the manufacturing sector accounts for almost one-quarter of the region’s GDP. And this strength serves as a stimulus for the services sector, which is growing. Beauce is increasingly present in the new economy.
In Beauce:
- You are manufacturing steel structures for the largest stadiums in the United States with Canam;
- You are making bathtubs and showers that you are selling everywhere with Maax;
- You invented the concept of prefabricated houses with Bonneville;
- Your floors are renowned around the world with Boa Francs.
- And even your emergency centre software is selling internationally with Komutel.
You are everywhere. Present in all fields, including agriculture, with large enterprises like Couvoir Scott.
I salute the talent and boldness of Beauce’s entrepreneurs. I salute the École d’entrepreneurship de Beauce, which is cultivating a unique model for developing entrepreneurial knowledge. And I know how strong and united the people of Beauce are.
I know that many, many of you offered support to the population of Lac Mégantic a year and a half ago. I know many of you are working to rebuild its downtown.
For me, what Beauce combines in terms of values, talent and energy is a model that must serve to inspire us.
A Liberal government will once again give Canada a real economic policy focused entirely on the well being of Canadians. Because something is not working in Canada. And that has been the case for too long. In the 30 years between 1981 and 2011, the Canadian economy grew by 115 percent, but the average income of families only increased by 15 percent.
It is important that the talent of Canadians benefit Canadian families.
We need an economic plan that will highlight Canada’s strengths and the talent of Canadians.
Canada needs to continue to exploit its resources and to do so to the fullest extent, but it must also, with just as much effort and determination, support other sectors of our economy.
We need:
- A strong manufacturing sector;
- Dynamic scientific research; and
- Quality infrastructure.
It is by focusing on all of these assets that we will create jobs right across the country. This will allow us to be part of flourishing international trade with Europe, Asia, and not to forget, our neighbours to the South, who are such valued partners.
Our economic policy will give priority to:
- Improving the income of the middle class;
- Enabling Canadians to achieve their goals, whether that means attending university or Starting a business;
- Developing the skills of our workers with full respect for the provinces’ areas of expertise; and
- Promoting greater financial security for all Canadians, especially the middle class, by protecting pensions, facilitating savings, and reducing debt.
We will put the economic priorities of this country back on the right track: it is important that women, men, and our youth, who hold all of the promise for this country, are the first to benefit from the promotion and use of their knowledge.
A prosperous country begins with a prosperous middle class.
A Liberal government will support the spirit of entrepreneurship that thrives among the people of Beauce. We will support the entrepreneurship of all Canadians interested in starting a business. I have a strong, credible team around me that fully understands today’s economic issues.
Together we are building a global economic strategy that will focus on the knowledge and potential of all our regions.
This strategy will provide concrete answers to the major issues facing the manufacturing sector, such as:
- Facilitating innovation and supporting growth with financial tools adapted to your needs;
- Guiding exporters to new markets, such as emerging markets;
- Taking advantage of the free trade with Europe that will be coming soon;
- Developing mechanisms to facilitate the transfer of enterprises and succession;
- Working with communities here in Beauce to better attract and retain workers; and
- Working with you and elected officials at all levels of government to establish regional priorities. I’m thinking of the modernization of the St Georges airport and the completion of Highway 73.
What we can learn from the people of Beauce is that entrepreneurship is a source of wealth. And the example set by the people of this region is spreading. For a long time it was said that Quebecers were less interested than other Canadians in creating or taking over a business.
The situation is changing. Increasingly, young Quebecers want to start their own businesses. According to the latest survey of the Fondation québécoise de l’entrepreneurship, young Quebecers are more likely than young Canadians on average to want to start their own businesses.
That is the future.
Canada’s greatest resource is the talent of Canadians.
The future is here, in each of you.
This year, Canadians will have an important choice to make. And so too will the people of Beauce.
We are here at the Cache à Maxime, and I can’t help but draw the parallel: the Conservatives have hidden Maxime.
I don’t recall having seen Maxime Bernier rise to defend a regional file.
I want Beauce to have a strong voice. I want Beauce to have a voice that reflects you, that understands your concerns and shares your hopes.
The Conservatives had had time to prove themselves. They have failed.
We live in a complex world and we have a one-dimensional government. Mr. Harper’s economic vision is that of a different era.
I want the regions of Quebec and all of Quebec to be where the decisions are made.
Thank you, Adam, for being part of this team that will get Canada moving. Thank you for being the voice of a young, enterprising, proud and dynamic Beauce. Thank you for being part of this team that will bring Quebec back to the decision making table.
The Harper Conservatives have shown their indifference toward the regions of Quebec, SMEs and the country’s middle class. Its record is one of more inequality, more household debt for families, and diminished growth.
It is time to send a signal, to send a message.
It is the time for change.
And this call for change is beginning to resonate across the country. I am hearing it more and more in the regions of Quebec, and I am calling on the people of Beauce to join this movement for a better country.
You have the power to change things.
You have the right to demand better.
It is your region, it is your country, and I want to have my team working for you.
Together, we will build a country that benefits all Canadians.
Thank you.