The intent, Carney said during an interview on Rosemary Barton Live, is to invest in Canada’s economy “at a time when we absolutely have to build as a country.”

The taxpayer dollars would “catalyze many multiples of private dollars” to build homes, energy infrastructure, AI systems and trade corridors — “all of which are fundamentally necessary if we are going to grow this economy, irrespective of how President Trump is feeling on one day or another,” Carney said.

Carney also said a federal government led by him would balance its operational spending — such as government-run programs, federal transfers to provinces and territories and debt service charges — over the course of the next three years.