Good Sunday Morning!!
And what a week! Political drama! High stakes! Floor crossing! The Conservative Caucus, (and particularly Pierre Poilievre’s inner circle) were a real-life episode of House of Cards. I really prefer a boring week.
The budget came down on Tuesday and, as I wrote last week, we had a good group of Greens in the lock-up. Beginning at 10 AM, we worked through the 400-page document in hard copy. We had been at it for several hours before it came to light that there was a separate USB memory stick with the whole budget–including key annexes that were not in the printed book. The Bloc has lodged a complaint to be ruled on by the Speaker about distributing an incomplete budget. Needless to say, we were scrambling to catch up. Annex 5 on the memory stick included anticipated legislative changes to 75 pieces of legislation, foreshadowing a likely Budget Implementation Act in coming weeks. I hate the thought of it, but we could have an omnibus (massive) budget bill soon, without adequate time to study or consider the implications.
Meanwhile, in our lock-up room, Mike Morrice, Finance critic David Hachey, small business critic Michael Holbrook, budgetary coordinator for our platform, John Kidder (yup my husband), and key staff from my MP team, Steven Parkinson, legislative director (with help from interns), and I worked to bang out a draft release. All our work was embargoed until the Finance Minister stood to present the budget at 4 pm. Then our team fanned out to get the work distributed while Mike Morrice and I spoke with the media. Below is our release, canvassing as much as we could of an unacceptable budget, while giving credit for line items we liked.
Green release:
The Prime Minister said Canadians should be prepared for sacrifice — Greens ask: Who sacrifices? And who profits?
November 4, 2025
Ottawa — Elizabeth May, Green Party Leader and MP for Saanich–Gulf Islands, joined by former Green MP and Housing and Disability Inclusion Critic Mike Morrice, highlight the winners and losers in the Liberal 2025 budget:
This budget is full of sacrifices for programs Canadians rely on — climate action and nature, and healthcare expansion — but not for billionaires, multinationals, and foreign-owned fossil fuel giants.
Canada’s legally binding climate commitment under the Paris Agreement is completely lost. So too, the oil and gas cap is gone, as well as numerous climate-related programs, while oil and gas production is increased.
The budget’s “Productivity Super-Deduction” is an accelerated capital cost allowance explicitly intended to reduce Canada’s marginal effective tax rate to be competitive with Mr. Trump’s tax-cutting “Big Beautiful Bill.” “Levelling the playing field” by meeting the lowest international tax rates is a race to the bottom — never a winning strategy.
A national electrical grid is a cornerstone for real decarbonization. The budget offers piecemeal tax deductions, but no federal strategy or leadership essential to bring the provincial players together.
The Green Homes program has been abandoned because it was too popular — the new Build Canada Homes has no provision for retrofits of existing housing stock, the most effective way to reduce emissions from the housing sector.
“This budget sacrifices $56 billion in public services — like a program that helped folks in my community retrofit their homes and save money on their energy costs — all while foreign-owned fossil fuel giants and billionaires continue to make off like bandits,” said Morrice.
Losers in the budget are Nature, with no announced funding for meeting 30-by-30 commitments to protect Canada’s nature, nothing for west coast salmon rehabilitation, no mention of the Indigenous Guardians program, and cuts to overseas development assistance when the world’s poor need it most.
Adaptation to climate change is mentioned only in a commitment to lease four new fire-fighting aircraft — a tiny contribution to what needs to be a major nationwide effort.
A $484 million reduction in spending at Indigenous Services is not aligned with true reconciliation.
Losers are Canada’s small business owners — representing 50% of GDP and providing 66% of private sector jobs — small business is barely mentioned in this budget, overshadowed by “Projects of National Significance” (read: major corporations). “The ‘backbone’ of the Canadian economy desperately needs a chiropractor,” said Green Small Business Critic Michael Holbrook.
No funds to help Canadians who want to go electric. No cuts in tariffs that make solar more expensive for Canadians.
Nothing to enhance the disability benefit to raise people with disabilities out of poverty.
The huge cuts in public services will cause years of pain.
On the plus side, Greens welcome funding for the CBC, $1 billion for supportive housing, the continuation of funding for the school lunch program, continuation of expanded dental care, high-speed rail, and the foreign credentials recognition fund. The Building Canada Homes program commits, as Greens demanded, to a clear definition of affordability. The Youth Climate Corps could be transformational, but as a two-year program at $20 million/year, it is at best a pilot project.
The big winners are the multinationals able to access the “Productivity Super-Deduction”—big foreign corporations like General Electric, Hitachi, and others lined up for billions in subsidies for unproven nuclear technology. Multinationals like Shell, Petronas, Mitsubishi, KOGAS, and PetroChina (disguised by the name–LNG Canada), and others able to gain Cabinet designation as “projects of national significance.”
“The bottom line for us as Greens is that, without amendments achieved through negotiations over the next few days, we cannot support this budget,” said Leader Elizabeth May.
Once the immediate flurry of media was done, my efforts to negotiate changes to the budget began in earnest.
On Wednesday, I had my one question for the week, asking if the government was prepared to be flexible and negotiate changes that would allow me to vote yes. The vote will be soon–faster than in ordinary years–on November 17.
Unfortunately, it became increasingly clear to me that I could not negotiate a better budget AND be in my seat for the budget vote November 17, as well as go to COP30. I am so sad that, not only have I had to cancel participation, essentially Canada as a country is M.I.A. for COP30. This is my media scrum, which I delivered on Friday, on Canada’s failure to attend COP30.
As the House was in session, and the chamber was generally packed with the key people with whom I needed to speak. I had meaningful conversations and phone calls Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, including with the Minister of Finance, Prime Minister, Minister of Environment, and of Canadian Identity, and Government House Leader–quite a blur. By Friday, I was granted an extra question.
As part of our negotiations, the Liberals gave me one of their slots with the promise of the Finance Minister making some new pledges. The text below is from Hansard.
My question:
“Mr. Speaker, while many Canadians are looking at the $78-billion deficit number in the budget, many others, while concerned about that deficit, are also wondering about our children and grandchildren and the growing ecological deficit from lack of action on climate and lack of action to protect nature. We look at this budget and want to weep.
Those of us who are grandparents and seniors right across this country, and young people, want to know if the government will step up and tackle the generational ecological deficit.”
” Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for her advocacy.
In the throne speech, we said we must fight climate change, and our new climate competitiveness strategy includes measures to reduce emissions, including by strengthening industrial carbon pricing, incentivizing investments to reduce carbon and mobilizing private capital. We are also creating a new youth climate corps to empower young people in the fight against climate change. We are committed to protecting nature by halting and reversing nature loss and biodiversity loss through reinforced efforts to conserve 30% (by 2030).”
And now I am home. And not going back to Ottawa until Sunday, November 16. Please keep fingers crossed and send good vibes that during this week, with lines of communication open to the government and we can make real improvements in the budget.
One MP can make a difference!! Thanks so much to everyone who helped my re-election!
Much love,
Elizabeth