2026 Quebec Budget: Non-electioneering Budget in an Uncertain Context

The eighth and final budget of Quebec Finance Minister Éric Girard, before the fall election, is being prepared in a context of uncertainty. Will this budget withstand the priorities of the next leader, even if there is money set aside for that purpose, or of a future government? Will issues related to continental trade, particularly those arising from the findings of the CUSMA review, require a rapid adjustment of public finances to more vigorously support the most heavily affected sectors of activity. Several questions arise.

Despite such imponderables, this budget is intended to be “sober, focused and responsible,” according to the Minister of Finance. The budget therefore does not offer tax gifts to taxpayers.

Public finances remain in the red for at least five years

Last fall’s economic update projected a deficit of $12.3 billion for this fiscal year, which was below the record $13.6 billion announced in the previous budget for this fiscal year. Today, despite an economy that is slowing down, the government is maintaining the forecast of a return to a balanced budget in 2029-2030 and anticipates a deficit of less than $10 billion by the end of the current fiscal year, that is $9.9 billion, after payment to the Generations Fund.

For the 2026-2027 fiscal year, the deficit would be $8.6 billion, which is lower than the $9.5 billion projected in the 2025 Budget.

Support measures for our businesses

To stimulate the growth of economic engines, some measures are announced now and others, possibly important, could be introduced after the election of the new prime minister on April 12. To this end, the budget maintains, among other things, a contingency provision of $8 billion over five years, including $2 billion for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. These sums could also be used by the next head of government to counter economic and trade repercussions, or to meet other priority commitments.

As for budget measures aimed at enabling organizations to grow and innovate, more than $1.7 billion over five years has been allocated to accelerate Québec’s economic transformation, namely:

• Nearly $700 million to support the adaptation of businesses to the new economic context by ensuring a competitive business environment that is favourable to the realization of investment projects in future-oriented sectors, as well as an attractive and efficient ecosystem that promotes investment in research and innovation;
• More than $580 million to help SMEs in all regions by contributing to their economic growth, accelerating the development of the tourism sector, supporting the development of the bio-food sector and supporting forestry businesses and communities;
• Nearly $430 million to support the growth of our cultural sector by responding to the challenges of the audiovisual sector, ensuring the sustainability of Québec’s media ecosystem and promoting Québec cultural content.

In addition, the government is giving itself an additional intervention capacity of up to $2 billion, through its investment funds, to maintain head offices in Quebec and develop the critical and strategic minerals sector.

… and an injection of new money into infrastructure

With the dual objective of supporting the economy and equipping Québec with modern public infrastructure in good condition, the government first plans to accelerate the Québec Infrastructure Program (QIP) with more than $5 billion over six years. This would be implemented as follows:

• From 2025-2026 to 2030-2031, investments will amount to $108 billion, representing $5.2 billion more than the amount planned in the March 2025 budget;
• The additional investments of $5.2 billion correspond to an acceleration of $3.4 billion from 2026-2027 to 2030-2031 and advance payments of $1.8 billion in 2025-2026.

Secondly, a $3 billion increase in the QIP funding level is announced from 2026-2027 to 2035-2036, bringing the total to $167 billion.

Finally, it should be noted that the budget also aims to support the State’s major missions of health and education. In this regard, nearly $4.3 billion over five years would be granted, including:

• Nearly $2.2 billion to facilitate access to health care and social services, in particular by supporting access to medications, continuing efforts to reduce the surgical waiting list, strengthening access to primary care and supporting actions for caregivers;
• Nearly $640 million to promote the educational success of students, meet urgent and temporary needs for school spaces and strengthen the attractiveness of the workforce within the education network;
• Nearly $400 million to support higher education training, labour market integration and research, in particular to continue to promote and enhance the value of engineering and information technology disciplines, extend employment assistance allowances and support research organizations.

For more information on the tax measures announced in this budget, visit the following pages.