The Empire Club of Canada
Hybrid
Friday, November 13, 2026
Canada approaches its 2026 federal budget after a year unlike any in recent memory. In August, as new U.S. tariffs took hold, Canada answered with proposed counter-tariffs and took the extraordinary step of suspending bilateral trade negotiations. The Prime Minister described the country’s position in words that have come to define the year: “In Canada, we are masters in our own home, from coast to coast to coast.”
The year has also turned the country both outward and inward. The inaugural Canada Investment Summit set off a wave of national investment. A deeper strategic relationship with the European Union has widened Canada’s trading horizons. Major projects in energy, defence, and transit show a renewed resolve to build at home.
Canada’s future depends on the choices Ottawa makes next: where to invest, what to prioritize, how to sustain growth through persistent uncertainty, and how to give Canadians reassurance during this time. The Government of Canada will table its budget on November 5, two days after the U.S. midterm elections. For business and policy leaders, the question is direct: What are the next steps to Build Canada Strong — on its own terms?
On November 13, join the Empire Club of Canada for a keynote address by The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Finance and National Revenue. In a speech entitled Budget 2026: Investing in Canada’s Future. The Minister will set out the economic vision and strategic framework behind the 2026 Budget. He will also address what it means for Canada’s competitiveness, its trading relationships and the road ahead.
For leaders steering through a year of disruption and renewal, this is a chance to hear directly from the minister responsible for the federal budget as Canada sets its course.
Reserve your seat today.
The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, the Canadian Minister of Finance and National Revenue, was first elected as the Member of Parliament for Saint-Maurice—Champlain in 2015. He has previously served as Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, as Minister of Foreign Affairs, as Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, and as Minister of International Trade.
Minister Champagne is a businessman, lawyer, and international trade specialist with over 20 years’ experience at large international companies in Europe, particularly in the fields of energy, engineering, and innovation.
Before entering politics, Minister Champagne was Vice-President and Senior Counsel of ABB Group, a leader in cutting-edge technology that operates in more than 100 countries. He also served as Strategic Development Director, acting General Counsel, and Chief Ethics Officer and Member of the Group Management Committee of Amec Foster Wheeler, a world leader in the energy sector.
In 2009, Minister Champagne was named Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. He has served on several boards over the years and was notably President of the Canadian-Swiss Chamber of Commerce and the Banff Forum.
After his election in 2015, Minister Champagne served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance until 2017, when he was appointed Minister of International Trade. During his time in this role, the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement entered into force and Canada signed the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. In 2018, he was named Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, overseeing the federal government’s ambitious $187 billion infrastructure investment plan. He was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2019 and oversaw the creation of Canada’s Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations, which more than 80 countries have endorsed. As Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry from 2021 to 2025, he helped attract major investments into Canada, advanced the development and adoption of clean technologies, strengthened research and development, and bolstered Canada’s position in environmental sustainability.
Minister Champagne holds a Bachelor of Laws from the Université de Montréal and a Master of Laws in American law from Case Western Reserve University. He also studied public and private international law at The Hague Academy of International Law, in the Netherlands.
