Quebec budget met with little enthusiasm by several groups

Several groups reacted Wednesday to the tabling of Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard’s eighth budget.

Here are some of those reactions. 

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Business

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) believes the budget is “lacking strong measures to support SMEs,” failing to target “the fundamentals that are hindering their growth and productivity increases.”

“If the government wants to prioritize support for businesses, especially SMEs, it must address its unfair tax regime and its crippling regulatory and administrative system. This budget is yet another missed opportunity,” says François Vincent, CFIB’s Quebec vice-president. 

The Quebec Federation of Chambers of Commerce (FCCQ) is also critical, not expecting “much impact on companies’ investment decisions”. 

“Adding money to various targeted programs will neither alleviate the excessive tax burden on our businesses, nor reduce the bureaucratic complexity of accessing these funds. (…) A tax rate reduction would be much more impactful, so this is a missed opportunity,” stated Véronique Proulx, President and CEO of the FCCQ. 

Quebec Manufacturers and Exporters (MEQ) offers a mixed reaction. The organization welcomes the $375 million package to support businesses and encourage innovation. However, it sees “certain blind spots” that could “hurt businesses,” such as the lack of specific assistance for certain sectors targeted by U.S. tariffs. 

“However, there is an opportunity to seize, as Minister Girard has announced a substantial provision for the person who will take the helm of the government in April. We expect the next premier to use these funds to support manufacturing companies, particularly those targeted by tariffs, and to bring about solutions regarding the workforce,” says MEQ President and CEO Julie White. 

AluQuébec also expressed disappointment, stating that the budget “does not adequately address the economic and commercial pressures that are currently weakening Quebec’s aluminum equipment manufacturers and processors.” 

The Quebec Forest Industry Council (CIFQ) welcomes the budget “with optimism,” viewing it as “encouraging” for the sector. It highlighted certain amounts, including $147 million to maintain investments in silvicultural work in public forests and $60 million for a working capital assistance program. 

The Quebec Employers Council (CPQ) welcomes “the absence of significant new spending and notes the presence of certain targeted measures to strengthen our economy.”

“The government’s very limited budgetary leeway leads us to acknowledge its efforts to maintain the trajectory towards a return to a balanced budget and increased attention to maintaining assets in the Quebec Infrastructure Plan. However, we are seeing a sprinkling of measures for businesses and no real fiscal progress,” said CPQ President and CEO Michelle LLambías Meunier. 

Trade unions

The Quebec Federation of Labour (FTQ) deplored “the lack of a structuring vision to support workers in a context of economic turbulence.”

“They are only partially taking into account the increase in social inequalities, the housing crisis, the current economic uncertainty, or the urgent need to combat climate change,” reacted FTQ President Magali Picard. “This is yet another illustration of the CAQ’s disconnect from the expectations and needs of the Quebec population.”

The Autonomous Federation of Education (FAE) believes that “the announced increases and measures do not take into account the real and tangible needs in education and will not even allow the minimum to maintain current services”.

“When we look at what the government considers to be new education spending, we see that the largest amount is intended to compensate for the capping of the school tax. This electioneering tax measure is therefore being carried out at the expense of real and significant investments that could improve the school system, for both teachers and students,” said Mélanie Hubert, president of the FAE.

The Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ) argues that the budget “confirms a decrease in funding per student.” According to the union, in constant dollars, it will fall from $12,034 to $11,841. The funds allocated for schools and centres will not be sufficient to maintain services, says the CSQ president. 

“We cannot claim that services will not be affected. We have said it and we will say it again: Quebec is ready for a major reflection on education that would allow us to give ourselves a common direction,” said Éric Gingras.

The Quebec Interprofessional Health Federation (FIQ) is “concerned about the lack of structural investments to address persistent difficulties.” However, it acknowledges the effort to cover the growth in health spending, with a projected increase of 4.1 per cent. 

“We would have liked concrete measures integrating nurse practitioners (NPs) to prevent emergency rooms from overflowing. A budget has been announced to support the supply of care, but we still have to wait: nothing concrete today,” says FIQ President Julie Bouchard. 

For the Alliance of Professional and Technical Staff in Health and Social Services (APTS), the 4.1 per cent increase in spending is insufficient. It estimates that an additional 4.7 per cent funding is “necessary to keep pace with the growing needs of the population.”

“The Legault government is leaving public services in difficulty, lacking the courage to go and get the money where it is in order to strengthen its public network,” denounced APTS President Robert Comeau. 

The Federation of Health and Social Services (FSSS-CSN) says it greets the CAQ budget “with bitterness.” On the one hand, “the government lacked courage and failed to commit to strong measures that would have allowed us to get out of the current crisis in the health and social services network,” lamented FSSS-CSN President Réjean Leclerc. 

On the other hand, the conversion of 5,000 places in unsubsidized educational services to subsidized places is “a small step in the right direction,” while more than 30,000 children will still not have access to a place in non-profit educational services, the union says.

For its part, the Centrale des syndicats démocratiques (CSD) deplores the fact that the regions are being “left behind.” It believes that “the budget provides only timid support to the regions with a meager $581 million over five years, in the tourism, agri-food and forestry sectors, and invests very little in local SMEs and their development.”

“To support the development of regional economies, we must recognize their unique characteristics and not reduce them to tourism, agri-food or forestry economies. Even if these sectors are very important for some regions, the wealth of regions also lies in increasing their economic diversity and the engagement of their communities,” said CSD President Luc Vachon.

The National Federation of Communications and Culture–CSN (FNCC–CSN) is pleased to finally have support for electronic media. Indeed, the budget includes the creation of a refundable tax credit for Quebec news media, which now also includes the newsrooms of electronic media outlets. 

“This is a historic demand that we have been campaigning for for years. As is the increase in the acceptable salary threshold. Bravo! The survival of professional information depends on it,” said FNCC-CSN President Annick Charette in a press release.

Culture 

The Culture 360° Network, which brings together the regional cultural councils of Quebec, said it was relieved by the government’s reversal on the planned cuts to the “Culture in Schools” program and school trips to cultural settings. 

“The reduction in funding for these measures, which ensure a significant link between young people and Quebec culture, would have had catastrophic consequences on the cultural vitality of Quebec (…) Maintaining these key measures will benefit young people, artists and cultural organizations in all regions,” commented Emmanuelle Hébert, co-chair of the Réseau Culture 360°. 

The Quebec Public Libraries Association (ABPQ), along with its partners Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ) and Réseau BIBLIO du Québec (RBQ), say they are satisfied with the $31.3 million for the Quebec Public Libraries Digital Strategy project.

“Currently, the digital infrastructure of Quebec’s more than 1,000 public libraries is significantly lagging behind,” the association points out. It specifies that the digital strategy will lead “nothing less than a digital revolution in the sector through the sharing of a modern and high-performing platform.” 

The National Association of Book Publishers (ANEL) also welcomed the planned investments in culture, such as those in the SODEC budget. 

“These concrete commitments will support the book ecosystem, promote the discoverability of our production and encourage reading among thousands of young people across Quebec,” said ANEL’s Executive Director, Karine Vachon. 

Divers

The Union of Quebec Municipalities (UMQ) sees this as a “modest first sign of reinvestment in municipal infrastructure.” However, the “funds are far from sufficient to make up for the disengagement” of recent years and meet the growing needs of cities. 

Municipalities manage more than 60 per cent of Quebec’s public infrastructure, but they receive only 4.4 per cent of the $167 billion Quebec Infrastructure Plan (PQI), explains the UMQ. 

“The Quebec government is sending us a modest signal of reinvestment today, which will have to continue and intensify in the coming years,” said UMQ President Guillaume Tremblay. 

The Quebec Federation of Municipalities (FQM) speaks of “a difficult budgetary restraint for the regions.” Despite a few measures, the budget “leaves the regions in the lurch.” 

“We knew that Quebec is in a difficult budgetary situation, but at a time when the majority of regions are in a situation of demographic decline, we will need a different vision to develop,” said FQM First Vice-President Michaël Pilote. 

Trajectoire Québec deplores “a very meager budget for public transit.” The association applauds the $500 million increase in maintenance for public transit infrastructure assets. However, it criticizes “the fact that these investments will continue to decline over the next five years and that new investments will only materialize after 2030.” 

She points out that public transport infrastructure is in a worrying state, with 41 per cent of it in poor condition. 

At Food Banks of Quebec (BAQ), she welcomes the commitment to “alleviate” food insecurity. 

“The renewed support for funding dedicated to the purchase of food, as well as the decision to renew and expand the infrastructure program to local organizations starting in 2027, will allow the network to better respond to the growing pressure observed throughout Quebec,” commented BAQ. 

Its general manager, Martin Munger, hopes for “structural actions aimed at reducing food insecurity in Quebec” in the future. 

The Bureau of Inter-University Cooperation (BCI) welcomes the budgetary commitments, which it sees as “a step in the right direction.” It also applauds the 5.5% increase in funding allocated to university education for 2026-2027.

The Quebec Federation of School Service Centres (FCSSQ) describes a budget that “expresses the government’s desire to preserve the services offered and to take into account the variation in the school clientele as well as the negotiated salary increases.” 

“In a restrictive financial and economic context, the adopted guidelines certainly reflect a prudent approach,” explained its president and CEO, Dominique Robert. “For the education network, our preliminary analysis and the additional information received provide an encouraging first glimpse of the government’s directions.”

The Association of Private Subsidized Establishments (AEPC) deplores a budget that does not allow “the network to adequately respond to the crisis facing seniors in Quebec”.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews