Quebec: Budget 2019. A Budget with Promise for the Future

The new CAQ government inherited an excellent financial situation that has allowed it to introduce a number of new measures in its 2019 budget without compromising the budgetary balance. After a budget surplus assessed at $2,500M for 2018–2019, the Minister of Finance, Eric Girard, is staying on course, and the balance should return to zero for subsequent years. A minor return to positive numbers is forecast for 2022–2023, with a surplus of $100M, followed by another surplus of $450M in 2023–2024. These surpluses will be allocated to the stabilization reserve. With the surpluses from the last few years, this reserve will reach $9,674M by March 31st, 2019, providing excellent leeway to the provincial government to face unexpected economic or other developments.