**Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne says he’s ‘very confident about the future of Canada and our future prosperity as a nation.’ / SCREENSHOT**

Reducing instability in the global economy must be a top priority, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said Wednesday as a new International Monetary Fund report warned that trade tensions and uncertainty continue to threaten growth.

“The world is looking for stability and predictability and Canada certainly comes to mind when you are looking at that,” Champagne told The Canadian Press at IMF headquarters in Washington where he was attending meetings of G7 and G20 finance ministers and the IMF and World Bank. The focus of the meetings was on shoring up confidence amid slowing global growth.

“Obviously there are a lot of challenges in the world economy, but what people are looking (for) now is how together as the G7 … how can we reduce the level of uncertainty,” Champagne said.

The IMF projects global growth will slow from 3.3% in 2024 to 3.2% in 2025 and 3.1% warning that “risks are tilted to the downside.” The IMF cited “prolonged uncertainty, more protectionism, and labour supply shocks” as key threats.

Canada’s growth is expected to rise to 1.5% next year, still well below pre-tariff forecasts. Champagne said the IMF report encourages governments “to exercise fiscal discipline while making capital investments in economic growth.”

“And it’s exactly what we're doing in Canada to ensure long-term prosperity,” he said, adding that the upcoming Nov. 4 federal budget will include “generational investments” in the country’s future.

“There's turbulence in the short term,” Champagne said. “But I'm very confident about the future of Canada and our future prosperity as a nation.”