Winnipeg Free Press

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HIGH 5 — LOW -1 CITY BUSINESS ARSONS TIED TO MOB-LIKE PROTECTION RACKET / B1 JUSTIN TANG / THE CANADIAN PRESS Prime Minister Mark Carney and Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne present the budget Tuesday, but opposition parties say Liberals are in for a rough ride. ‘Bold,’ ‘swift’ and in peril O TTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first federal budget takes a big swing at making Canada’s economy a more attractive place to invest with billions of dollars for infrastructure and new tax opportunities for business. Finance Minister François- Philippe Champagne tabled the long-anticipated budget in the House of Commons on Tuesday afternoon. He said it’s time for “bold and swift action” to build Canada’s economy for an uncertain future. “There is no place for withdrawal, ambiguity or even standing still,” Champagne said in French in his budget speech. Opposition parties largely panned the federal budget in early reactions Tuesday, creating a political chal- lenge for Carney’s minority Liberals. The political calculus to pass the budget shifted late Tuesday, when Nova Scotia MP Chris d’Entremont resigned from the Conservative caucus, after telling Politico he was considering joining the Liberals. Carney needs just a handful of extra votes, or abstentions, to get the budget through a confidence vote. The 406-page budget — its title repurposes Carney’s election slogan “Canada Strong” — includes almost $90 billion in net new spending items over five years. Most of the spending is aimed at bolstering Canada’s econ- omy and securing its sovereignty in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s protectionist policies. TD Bank senior economist Francis Fong said Budget 2025 marks a de- parture from Liberal spending plans of the past, which typically would offer an array of smaller spending measures spread across various industries and demographics. “It should be very clear to Cana- dians that Prime Minister Carney is really just focusing on competitive- ness and trade. And I think that’s a very positive thing,” Fong said. The new spending is aimed squarely at boosting productivity and funding cross-country infrastructure projects that would help businesses reach new markets and reduce their reliance on the United States. That includes $5 billion over seven years for a national trade diversifica- tion corridor and $1 billion over four years for Arctic infrastructure. Budget 2025 also adopts a measure not yet in legislation from the Liber- als’ fall economic statement last year — to allow businesses to write off the full tax costs of some machinery and technology upfront, freeing up cash flow. That measure — one of a series of moves designed to attract business investment to Canada — pushes back against Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a landmark piece of U.S. legislation attempting to lure more businesses to relocate south of the border. Champagne told reporters at a news conference before the public release of the budget Tuesday that Canada is the “most competitive ju- risdiction” in the G7 for investment, based on the country’s low marginal effective tax rate — how much tax is applied per dollar of business investment. Budget keys on sovereignty, investments, but opposition parties signal no confidence CRAIG LORD Trusted man with son, then learned the truth Mother horrified as changed name hides sex crimes DEAN PRITCHARD LISA is the first to admit she’s “a pretty protective” parent, a byproduct of decades working in social services with vulnerable, at-risk youth. She vets her children’s friends’ parents, doesn’t allow her kids to go on sleepovers and closely monitors their electronic devices. But now she’s living every parent’s worst nightmare: a man she came to trust and allowed to spend time with her pre-teen son is a convicted child sex offender — a fact hidden from her because he had changed his name. “I’ve done so much training to identi- fy grooming behaviour and predatory behaviour and the signs of abuse in children and vulnerable people, and I had more access and tools than most to do searches on people — I feel like a complete failure,” said Lisa, not her real name, her voice catching as she tried to hold back tears. She said the man and her son con- nected through a local sports commu- nity about five years ago when the boy was 12. The man frequently helped Lisa with home repairs, becoming so trusted she provided him a key to her house. That man Lisa knew as Ryan Knight was arrested in July and charged with one count each of making and possess- ing child pornography, sexual inter- ference and aggravated sexual assault for offences alleged to have occurred between Aug. 1, 2024, and March 1, 2025. Knight, 44, was born Ryan Gabourie and under that name was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2005 for sexu- ally molesting five young boys after he entered their homes through unlocked windows and doors. Gabourie served his entire sentence in custody and another three years af- ter he repeatedly breached conditions of his release, including contacting a known sex offender. A probation officer’s report prepared in January 2014 quoted Gabourie as saying: “The only friends I have are sex offenders.” A review of the January 2024 edition of the Manitoba Gazette, the prov- ince’s official vehicle for publishing name changes and other public notices, confirms Gabourie changed his name to Ryan James Knight in 2021. News of Knight’s arrest comes more than a year after Bill 23, the province’s Change of Name Amendment Act (2) received royal assent. The amendment, which would prevent convicted sex offenders from changing their names, has yet to go into effect. “Our department is working hard to develop the regulations required to proclaim the amendments passed through Bill 23 … and put the changes into effect,” Public Service Deliver- ies Minister Mintu Sandhu said in an email Tuesday. “Once consultations are complete, we intend to have a spring 2026 proclamation.” ● CONTINUED ON A5 ● BUDGET, CONTINUED ON A2 City, province hungry for slice of $51-B investment pie AS Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal government puts its dollars behind infrastructure spending in its first budget, Manitoba’s elected officials are eyeing the pie. Premier Wab Kinew said he’s seeking details on the promised $51 billion, particularly for agricul- ture-sector investments. “It’s been a tough time with the canola tariffs, the pork tariffs and all the uncertainty with the Trump administration,” Kinew said Tuesday after Finance Minister François- Philippe Champagne tabled the long-anticipated budget in the House of Commons. Kinew pointed to the Prairie In- novation Centre for Sustainable Ag- riculture in Brandon and the Global Agriculture Technology Exchange in downtown Winnipeg as “shovel-ready projects.” The Port of Churchill was men- tioned often in the 2025 budget, Kinew noted. It’s “another sign of momentum that we’re going to build this big nation-building project.” “To put a finer point on it, there’s an icebreaker on the cover of their budget documents,” Kinew said. “Come on — send one of those over here to Manitoba.” Mayor Scott Gillingham said some of the infrastructure funds would be welcome to cover the ballooning cost of upgrades at the North End sewage treatment plant, now estimated to be about $3 billion. “This is an opportunity to get the federal funding for the third phase, which would be really critical to keeping water and sewer rates af- fordable for Winnipeggers,” Gilling- ham said. “That’s vital.” Gillingham said he met with Federal Housing Minister Gregor Robertson two weeks ago, asking for treatment-plant funding, and money to expand Route 90 and the Chief Peguis Trail. Funnelling some of the $51 billion to water treatment projects in other Manitoba communities — such as Portage la Prairie — would help enable home building, said Lanny McInnes, president of the Manitoba Home Builders’ Association. Ottawa touts the new Build Canada Homes agency in its budget, saying it will help double the pace of home building over the next decade. However, much of the work will likely focus on rental units, McInnes said. GABRIELLE PICHÉ AND NICOLE BUFFIE ● REACTION, CONTINUED ON A2 MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES Premier Wab Kinew: momentum for Port of Churchill nation-building project ;