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Quebec budget

Quebec: Budget 2024–2025

March 12, 2024
Jimmy Jean, Vice-President, Chief Economist and Strategist
Marc Desormeaux, Principal Economist • Benoit P. Durocher, Director and Principal Economist

Economic Weakness and Collective Agreement Renewals Make the Path to a Balanced Budget Even More Difficult

  • Quebec’s financial plan shows a significant deterioration in public finances. Budget 2024–2025 (FY2025) does not include a plan for a return to budget balance and predicts a record deficit next year.
  • This deterioration reflects weaker-than-expected economic conditions after the 2023 technical recession and the cost of public sector wage increases. The latter effect accounts for approximately two-thirds of the rise in spending compared to what had been predicted in the fiscal update published in November 2023.
  • Some other financial indicators are less pessimistic. Quebec’s debt-to-GDP ratio is not expected to reach the peak of the early 2010s. This budget also contains an additional $4B in provisions for economic risks in FY2025 to FY2027, which could positively affect the bottom line if it proves unnecessary.
  • The new measures are, for the most part, geared toward the health and education sectors and are mainly aimed at enhancing previous plans.
  • Quebec’s financing program is now expected to reach $21.5B in FY2024, $36.5B in FY2025 and $32.7B in FY2026, as well as $81B from FY2027 to FY2029.

PDF Publication

See the full publication in PDF.

Quebec: Budget 2024–2025 (PDF, 437 KB)
NOTE TO READERS: The letters k, M and B are used in texts, graphs and tables to refer to thousands, millions and billions respectively. IMPORTANT: This document is based on public information and may under no circumstances be used or construed as a commitment by Desjardins Group. While the information provided has been determined on the basis of data obtained from sources that are deemed to be reliable, Desjardins Group in no way warrants that the information is accurate or complete. The document is provided solely for information purposes and does not constitute an offer or solicitation for purchase or sale. Desjardins Group takes no responsibility for the consequences of any decision whatsoever made on the basis of the data contained herein and does not hereby undertake to provide any advice, notably in the area of investment services. Data on prices and margins is provided for information purposes and may be modified at any time based on such factors as market conditions. The past performances and projections expressed herein are no guarantee of future performance. Unless otherwise indicated, the opinions and forecasts contained herein are those of the document’s authors and do not represent the opinions of any other person or the official position of Desjardins Group.