Speech from the Throne

Honourable senators, it is with profound gratitude, humility and a deep sense of responsibility that I rise today to offer my response to the Speech from the Throne.

For any Canadian, standing here is an extraordinary experience. For someone who has spent much of her career at the municipal level — close to the ground, people and everyday realities of community life — this moment carries a special meaning.

The Senate of Canada was designed to broaden perspectives and to bring regional, sectoral and experiential depth to the national conversation.

I stand here as a Canadian woman from the Atlantic region, a municipal leader, a bilingual New Brunswicker, a lifelong learner, a lover of ideas, and someone who has spent the last 13 years immersed in the complex, hopeful, frustrating, inspiring and deeply human work of city-building.

I come from Moncton, New Brunswick, a community that grew faster than any other census metropolitan area in the country for two years running and whose story in many ways reflects the story of Canada: It is resilient, diverse, determined and full of possibility. I come from a city that also embodies Canada’s greatest challenge and, I believe, its greatest opportunity: housing.

In the King’s Speech from the Throne, His Majesty underscored what every mayor, social worker and family already knows: Canada cannot succeed if Canadians cannot find a safe and sustainable place to live. Housing is the foundation upon which every other national ambition rests: economic growth, immigration, innovation, family stability, climate resilience and social cohesion. The recent federal budget echoed this priority. It affirmed plainly that solving the housing crisis is central to Canada’s future prosperity and that the federal government must be an active partner — not an observer — in this work. I welcome this direction.

However, I also know from hard experience that we will not solve this crisis by speaking in generalities. We solve it through clarity, courage, partnership and sustained action.

Housing is not simply a market commodity. It is the infrastructure of opportunity. It determines whether workers can take jobs, whether students can complete their studies, whether families can thrive, whether seniors can live with dignity and whether newcomers — who are so vital to our future — can put down roots.

When Moncton grew at unprecedented speed, we saw the best of what growth can bring: new businesses, renewed energy downtown, more diversity and a profound pride of place.

We also saw what happens when the supply of homes does not keep up with the needs of people. Like cities across the country, Moncton faced rising homelessness, an acute shortage of affordable units, challenges in mental health, addictions and increasing pressure on community services.

We saw seniors displaced by renovictions. We saw young workers sharing spaces never meant for living. We saw employers unable to fill positions because their employees had nowhere to live.

As mayor, I could not simply observe these trends. I had to act. Despite housing being strictly a provincial responsibility in New Brunswick, my council and I made the unprecedented decision to invest $6 million of municipal funds into deeply affordable housing. That was leveraged to $15.4 million.

That decision was bold, controversial to a number of people and absolutely necessary. It worked. It created homes for people who had none, stabilized families and protected dignity. It taught me something simple but profound: Housing solutions require everyone to be at the table.

This is why I believe the Senate has a critical role to play, not in building housing, but in building coherence by examining federal programs to ensure they truly meet the needs of communities, by scrutinizing legislation so that dollars flow where they are most effective and by pushing for evidence-based design and long-term thinking, not short-term fixes.

We cannot have a country where one level of government speaks of great ambition while another lacks the tools to act. We cannot have a country where we call on municipalities to deliver solutions without giving them the resources to do so.

We cannot have a country where housing is treated as an afterthought rather than the foundation of national resilience. The impact we made in Moncton was important, but challenges remain. The growing number of people who remain unhoused across this country needs our collective attention.

Housing is a national imperative, not only because it is a crisis but because it is an opportunity. Our responsibility is to ensure we are growing wisely, inclusively and sustainably.

Playing a significant role in housing is not new to the federal government. In 1974, 51 short years ago, more than 20% of all housing in Canada was non-market affordable housing. Today, that number is less than 4%. This 16% delta goes a long way toward explaining what cities across Canada are seeing on their streets.

My path to this chamber was not linear. Before politics, my world was books and ideas. I began my career in publishing, working to bring knowledge to young readers with books about dinosaurs, amphibians, bugs and skeletons — stories about the world and our place within it.

That passion for learning followed me to the Canadian Museum of Nature and ultimately to Moncton, where, earlier in my life as a young mother, I was part of founding an international, bilingual literary festival: the Frye Festival. This festival celebrates New Brunswick’s extraordinary French and English voices and encourages thousands of students to read, write and think critically.

However, my journey to elected office began in 2012, when a 30-second news clip on American television shook me enough to say, “I need to step up.” I ran for municipal council because I believe that we make better decisions when there is a diversity of voices around decision-making tables.

After four years on council, I ran for mayor because I wanted to not just react to change but to shape it. For two terms, spanning nine years, I had the extraordinary privilege of being Moncton’s first woman mayor. I welcomed newcomers, advocated to provincial and federal partners, developed urban growth strategies, marched in Pride parades, danced at Navratri, cycled our trails, balanced budgets, meaningfully engaged with youth and celebrated graduations and anniversaries. Throughout it all, I aimed to be as open, accessible and transparent as possible.

To build trust, I have learned: You must first build understanding.

Moncton’s success is inseparable from its multiculturalism: successfully implemented immigration strategies, neighbours sponsoring newcomer families and an open and welcoming community that is inclusive.

Immigration is not simply an economic tool. It is a community-building force. It enriches culture, strengthens the labour force and expands the horizon of what a city — and a country — can become. The Throne Speech recognizes this, affirming that newcomers are essential to Canada’s prosperity. But it also implicitly acknowledges an important truth: Immigration succeeds only when housing, transit, health care and community supports succeed alongside it. That is why I believe housing must remain at the heart of Canada’s national strategy.

As a cyclist, I have always believed that the way we build our cities is important not only for quality of life, but also for our climate commitments. Dense, walkable, transit-oriented cities are the most environmentally responsible form of growth.

When we protect our urban boundaries, invest in public transit and design communities where people can live, work and play without long commutes, we reduce emissions dramatically. The Avenir Centre — Moncton’s $113-million sports and entertainment facility built on time and on budget — helped catalyze densification downtown. That densification is not just good policy; it is also good climate action.

The federal budget’s investments in housing tied to climate-friendly construction and zoning reform are steps in the right direction, but the Senate can help ensure these investments translate into real, on-the-ground results.

I have been asked on several occasions to run for partisan office, for nearly every party in this country. I have always declined, not because party politics is negative, but because I knew my strengths, my temperament and my convictions were better suited to collaboration across party lines. At the municipal level, we work with whoever we must to get the job done. Partisan victories are not the goal; community outcomes are.

I bring that same spirit here. I believe deeply that more unites us as Canadians than divides us. The Senate is proof of that principle. I believe full-heartedly in the independence of this chamber.

Honourable senators, I stand here today because I love my community and my country. I love its diversity, its complexity, its ambitions and its endless capacity to reinvent itself. But I also stand here because I am worried. I worry about social inequity. I worry about growing cynicism. I worry about the erosion of respect in public life and the fragility of democratic institutions. And I worry that if we do not get housing right — if we do not build homes for the next generation of Canadians — we will undermine the very promise that has defined this country for more than a century.

But I am also hopeful because I believe in the power of partnership. I believe in evidence, in transparency, in data and in dialogue. I believe in newcomers who choose Canada, in young people who spark big ideas, in cities that adapt and grow and in federal institutions that rise to meet the moment.

As I begin my work here, it is my commitment to bring the full weight of my experience, my convictions and my optimism to the national stage in order to contribute thoughtfully, to collaborate generously and to help ensure that every Canadian — no matter their age, background, income or postal code — has a safe, affordable and dignified place to call home.

Thank you to my fellow senators for the extremely warm welcome. To my seatmate Farah Mohamed — and her crazy glue — I’m already loving the adventure we are on together. To my team of Lili-Anne Delage Larson, formerly of the Government Representative’s Office, and former Senate page Mira Gillis, thank you for guiding me.

When the Prime Minister asked me to take on this role, he asked me to be a bulwark against populism, and that will help guide my work here. For 13 years, I worked to solve problems at the municipal level — one street, one neighbourhood and one family at a time. I come to this chamber to help solve them at the national level with the same urgency, the same partnership and the same conviction that we are capable of so much more than we have yet delivered.

It is my honour to serve with you. Thank you. Meegwetch.