Freeland's green economy spending aimed at competing with U.S. Inflation Reduction Act
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says clean energy and green technology spending may not have been the big-ticket items of the 2023 federal budget if it weren’t for the need to compete with infrastructure spending in the United States.
After she tabled the budget in the House of Commons Tuesday, Freeland told CTV’s Power Play host Vassy Kapelos that her government has been “at this for a long time,” campaigning on “the economy and the environment going together.”
- Details: Budget 2023 prioritizes pocketbook help and clean economy
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Still, she said she doesn’t think it would have invested in a clean economy at the scale of the 2023 budget if it weren’t for the need to compete with the Inflation Reduction Act, which offers billions of dollars in energy incentives south of the border.
“I don’t think we would have done as much, had the IRA not been introduced,” Freeland said, adding the Liberal government has been pushing for clean economy policies for years, and citing the carbon price as an example.
“It’s also true that the U.S. plan, the IRA, is a game changer,” she also said. “They have put a ton of money on the table, and it was really important for us, having been ahead in this race, not to fall behind.”
Freeland discusses the 2023 federal budget in the video at the top of this article.
IN DEPTH
Special rapporteur Johnston rejects call to 'step aside' after majority of MPs vote for him to resign
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Opinion
opinion | Don Martin: The lessons for Pierre Poilievre from the Alberta election
Danielle Smith's win in the Alberta election hands her the most starkly divided province confronting any premier in Canada, writes commentator Don Martin.

Opinion | Don Martin: David Johnston's reputation is but a smouldering ruin
Special rapporteur David Johnston didn't recommend public inquiry knowing it was a pathetically insufficient response for a foreign democratic assault of this magnitude, writes Don Martin in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca.
opinion | Don Martin: Passport furor foreshadows a dirty-tricks campaign where perceptions will be reality
To frame a few new illustrations on pages tucked inside a passport as proof of a Liberal plot to purge the Canadian historical record seems like a severe stretch, writes Don Martin in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca.
opinion | Don Martin: The stunning fall of the once-promising Marco Mendicino
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino is a bright former federal prosecutor, who was destined to be a star in Justin Trudeau's cabinet. But in an opinion column on CTVNews.ca, Don Martin argues Mendicino has taken a stunning fall from grace, stumbling badly on important issues just 18 months into the job.
opinion | Don Martin: In the battle for Alberta, it's Smith versus her mouth
It's the most peculiar of elections with the frontrunner and her main opponent being the same person, writes columnist Don Martin. 'In the looming Alberta showdown, it's Premier Danielle Smith versus her mouth.'
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