MPs return to Parliament Hill for fall sitting focused on bills, byelections and bilateral meetings

Members of Parliament are returning to Ottawa for the House of Commons’ fall sitting, which begins Monday. The season is expected to include the federal budget, legislative debates and looming byelections.

Mark Carney’s government moved the annual spending plan from spring to fall last year and divided it into operating and capital budgets. Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne consulted stakeholders over the summer but has not set a release date for the next fiscal plan. Carney told investors at last week’s investment summit that the government plans to balance the operating budget next year, 12 months ahead of schedule. April’s spring economic update projected a $65.3-billion deficit for the current fiscal year, although many economists expect high global oil prices to improve Ottawa’s bottom line in the fall budget.

Government House leader Steven MacKinnon said Friday that “very significant economic legislation” will be the centrepiece of the sitting. Carney said the government will introduce the Building Canada Strong Act to speed approvals for new federal projects, with a goal of one project, one review and one year. The government also plans legislation to formalize its Sept. 2 extension of the fuel excise-tax break on gasoline and diesel, introduced in response to higher oil prices linked to the continuing conflict in Iran.

The federal government consulted employers and unions this summer on labour relations after recent contract disputes at railways, ports and airlines. Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu would not say Friday whether the Liberals will propose Canada Labour Code changes this fall, though MacKinnon indicated that improvements are on the agenda. The Senate is considering Bill C-22, the lawful access bill. The House is considering a digital safety bill that would regulate AI chatbots and restrict social-media access for children under 16. A First Nations water bill was reintroduced in the spring, though critics say it is weaker than an earlier bill that recognized First Nations’ right to clean water in their territories.

Canada-U.S. trade talks are paused, but Conservatives continue to call on the government to release the agreement negotiated with the Americans before Canada left the table. Carney has said Canada’s new alliance, or associate membership, with the European Union will be debated in Parliament. Conservatives want a Commons debate on the EU arrangement and say Canada should not import European policies they oppose on immigration and taxes.

Three new Liberal MPs who won late-August byelections will take their seats this fall. Six more byelections are expected to be called in Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec. Yorkton-Melville voters will replace longtime Conservative MP Cathay Wagantall, while Larry Brock resigned Friday as the representative for Brantford-Brant South. Liberals Shaun Chen and former minister Steven Guilbeault also left their seats, in Scarborough North and Laurier-Sainte-Marie respectively.

In Quebec, Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie will replace New Democrat Alexandre Boulerice, and Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot-Acton will elect a new representative after Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay left the Bloc Québécois. Those MPs left federal politics to run provincially. Carney has six months after a vacancy arises to set a byelection date, and the Quebec races are unlikely to take place before the province’s Oct. 5 election.

After travelling to France to address the European Parliament, Carney is expected to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York City this week. He is also expected to host leaders interested in his pledge to diversify trade beyond the United States. Vietnamese President To Lam will make a state visit to Ottawa next week, while Indian media report that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit in December. Carney typically attends major November summits, including the ASEAN meeting in the Philippines, the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum in China and the Francophonie summit in Cambodia; the United States will host the G20 in December.