Asset maintenance deficit: Quebec should follow the example of French highway concessions, says the MEI

• Quebec’s asset maintenance deficit has increased by 63.0 per cent since 2019-2020.

Montreal, December 11, 2025 – Quebec would have an interest in taking a page from France and conceding the operation, maintenance, and financing of its highway network to private companies in order to reduce its asset maintenance deficit, argues an Economic Note released by the MEI this morning.

“The state of our roads, schools, and hospitals is deteriorating, despite the fact that Quebec is spending more than ever on maintaining and renovating its assets,” says Gabriel Giguère, Senior Policy Analyst at the MEI and author of the note. “Since the government no longer has the means to maintain everything it has built, it would be better to entrust such maintenance to partners with the necessary expertise, and an interest in doing so.”

The asset maintenance deficit represents the amount the government would have to spend to restore all of its infrastructure, such as roads, hospitals, and schools, to an acceptable condition.

In 2019-2020, Quebec’s asset maintenance deficit was $24.6 billion. This year, it is estimated at $40.2 billion, an increase of 63.0 per cent over the period.

This increase has occurred despite 89-per-cent growth in infrastructure maintenance spending since 2019-2020.

The asset maintenance deficit of the road network managed by the provincial government represents $22.5 billion, or 56.1 per cent of the total bill.

Included in this sum is roadways, which account for 52.1 per cent of the deficit in maintaining the road network, while the structures of the highway system (highways, national roads, and secondary roads) account for 39.6 per cent of the total.

“Given that the state of infrastructure is deteriorating despite the rapid growth in spending, it’s clear that we need to change how we do things,” says Mr. Giguère. “When we look at the French highway network and how well it’s maintained, it’s obvious that we can do better.”

The researcher recommends that the government draw inspiration from the highway concessions model used in France since the 1950s to reduce pressure on public finances and repair these assets.

This public-private partnership system delegates to private organizations the management and maintenance of various segments of the French highway network, thereby reducing pressure on public finances.

Rather than requiring public spending, this system allowed the French government to raise €11.2 billion in 2022.

It is important to note that, since 1950, concessions have never had to pay a penalty for deficient maintenance, and that the condition of the infrastructure is deemed “objectively satisfactory” by the French authorities.

The researcher notes that this contrasts with the Quebec road system, where 43 per cent of the provincial government-managed network is considered in poor or very poor condition, according to Quebec’s criteria.

“The French highway concessions system is not completely foreign to Quebec: we are already seeing its success with Highways 25 and 30 in the Montreal area,” says Mr. Giguère. “By extending it to existing infrastructure, we could finally enjoy roads in good repair, while reducing the pressure on public finances.”

Two Quebec highway segments, Highway 25 between Montreal and Laval, and Highway 30 between La Prairie and Vaudreuil-Dorion, are managed according to a model similar to the French highway concessions system. Last year, these agreements provided a total of $45.0 million to the Quebec Treasury.

You can read the Economic Note here.

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The MEI is an independent public policy think tank with offices in Montreal, Ottawa, and Calgary. Through its publications, media appearances, and advisory services to policymakers, the MEI stimulates public policy debate and reforms based on sound economics and entrepreneurship.

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