Canada has an “incredible opportunity” to pursue economic transformation, said the government’s speech from the throne, which was delivered by King Charles III on May 27. It was the third time in Canadian history that a monarch has delivered the speech.
King Charles opened the 45th Parliament with the speech delivered from the Senate chamber, outlining the priorities of the new Liberal government under Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Reading the speech prepared by the government, King Charles said Canada has the opportunity for renewal by embarking on the largest transformation of its economy since World War II. He said a priority of the government is to identify and build projects of “national importance” that will “connect Canada, that will deepen Canada’s ties with the world, and that will create high-paying jobs for generations.”
Carney had invited King Charles to deliver the throne speech back in March in the context of Trump repeatedly referring to Canada as the “51st state” and saying he would like Canada to join the United States.
The speech did not go into this controversy but spoke of a “changing” relationship with Canada’s partners. The king also said that Carney and Trump are working on forging a new relationship.
King Charles said that while many Canadians are feeling anxiety about the “drastically changing world around them,” the country can rise to the occasion. He said Canada can “seize this opportunity by recognizing that all Canadians can give themselves far more than any foreign power on any continent can ever take away.”
This was a concept that Carney had repeated during the federal election campaign. The speech touched on many other promises the Liberals made during that campaign, including removing interprovincial trade barriers, delivering a tax cut for the middle class, tightening border security and gun control, and balancing the federal government’s operating budget over the next three years.
In a reference to the series of tariffs placed on Canada by the United States, the speech also said the Liberal government would encourage economic growth to “ensure we don’t just survive ongoing trade wars, but emerge from them stronger than ever.”
To that end, the speech outlined the government’s plan around speeding up the approval of major projects, which includes creating a new federal office to cut review times by more than half.
Part of building Canada’s economy includes making the country a global energy superpower in “both clean and conventional energy,” while also fighting climate change, the speech said. The government also pledged to create new national parks and protected marine areas.
The throne speech also touched on housing, repeating the Liberal government’s promises to double the rate of home building by investing in pre-fabricated and modular housing while creating a new housing entity in a bid to speed up affordable housing construction and provide financing to homebuilders. The plan would also make the federal government a home builder.
On the issue of security and defence—an area of focus in recent months amid pressure from the United States and concerns about Arctic sovereignty—King Charles said the government will enhance border security through additional funding and resources for the Canada Border Services Agency.
The government vowed to stop illegal guns and drugs from entering the country while also “protecting the rights of law-abiding gun owners and indigenous peoples’ long-standing hunting traditions.” The speech did not mention the gun buyback, though the federal program is expected to start for individuals this spring.
On the military, the king said Canada would be “rebuilding, rearming and reinvesting” in the Canadian Armed Forces” by strengthening its partnership with its European allies and investing more in Arctic security.
Ceremony
King Charles arrived at the Senate building earlier in the day in a 19th-century carriage escorted by RCMP officers on horses, where he was greeted by dignitaries that included Sen. Marc Gold, who serves as the representative of the government in the Senate, Chief of the Defence Staff Jennie Carignan, and RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme.In the audience, in addition to current parliamentarians and members of cabinet, there were also supreme court justices, senior military leaders, and past parliamentarians and prime ministers, including Justin Trudeau, Stephen Harper, and Kim Campbell.
At the end of the speech, King Charles expressed his “heartfelt gratitude” to the Canadian people and said the warmth of his welcome to the country “reminds us the true north is indeed strong and free.”
Following the throne speech, King Charles and Queen Camilla visited the National War Memorial to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
They boarded a plane at the Macdonald-Cartier International Airport in Ottawa shortly after, wrapping up their two-day visit of Canada.
