Quebec budget: Girard is leaving public finances in poor shape

• Quebec’s asset maintenance deficit grew by 11.6 per cent this year.
• Compensation for Quebec government employees is expected to cost upwards of $7,250 per Quebecer this year.

Quebec, March 18, 2026 – Another budget deficit and a plan to return to balance that rests on unclear criteria show a lack of rigour in the management of Quebec’s public finances, deplores an MEI researcher in reaction to the tabling of the province’s 2026-2027 budget by Finance Minister Eric Girard.

“While the deficit is certainly a concern, the most troubling aspect is the absence of a credible plan to return to a balanced budget,” says Gabriel Giguère, senior policy analyst at the MEI. “These chronic deficits represent a heavy burden, for which Quebec taxpayers will be paying the price for decades.”

The finance minister projects a deficit of $8.6 billion for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. This is $900 million less than was projected in November.

The government still aims to return to balance by 2029-2030. This projection includes a $2.0 billion gap to be bridged though. The government has yet to present a concrete plan to identify savings or increase revenues by such an amount.

“It is easier to get to a balanced budget by pulling numbers out of a hat, but that doesn’t make it a credible plan,” adds Giguère. “Unfortunately, Minister Girard has missed yet another opportunity to address the rapid increase in spending behind the recent series of record deficits.”

Total expenses will amount to $170.8 billion this year. This represents a $63.8 billion increase – or 59.6 per cent – from the Couillard government’s last budget.

Interest payments on the debt are estimated at $10.3 billion this year. This is slightly more than what was allocated to the department of Family.

Quebec’s net debt will reach $259.5 billion by the end of the fiscal year, an increase of $9.2 billion this year. The debt will have increased by $70.9 billion over the past eight years

The province’s budgetary situation led the Standard & Poor’s rating agency to lower the province’s credit rating last April, a first in 30 years. The agency justified this downgrade by referencing persistent deficits and the increase in operating costs attributable to new collective agreements signed by the government.

A costly civil service

The MEI notes that the growth of government continues to exert significant pressure on public spending.

Recall that since 2019, 55.0 per cent of new jobs in Quebec were created in the public sector – all levels of government combined –, according to Statistics Canada data. At the provincial level alone, the government of Quebec now has 108,939 more full-time equivalents than it did when the first Legault government began.

“The rapid growth in the size of government pushes public spending up and complicates the return to a balanced budget,” says Mr. Giguère. “If this governments wants to give itself a chance of returning to budgetary balance, it will have to tackle the size of government.”

In the budget tabled today, the government allocates $65.8 billion towards employee compensation, an amount equivalent to just over $7,250 per Quebecer.

A growing infrastructure maintenance deficit

Nor does the budget presented today seem to do anything to slow the growth of the government’s asset maintenance deficit, which totals over $44.8 billion. This is a worrisome situation that the MEI highlighted in December.

The asset maintenance deficit represents the gap between the actual state of public infrastructure and the state in which it should be, had it been properly maintained.

This deficit grew from $24.6 billion in 2019-2020 to $44.8 billion today, an increase of roughly 80 per cent. In the last year alone, the asset maintenance deficit grew by 11.6 per cent.

The road network alone represents over half of this deficit, or $24.5 billion. Moreover, 44 per cent of the road network under provincial government management is considered to be in poor or very poor condition.

Greater participation of the private sector in the maintenance and management of certain public infrastructure could help improve their condition all while reducing pressure on public finances.

“In many countries and jurisdictions, partnerships with the private sector have helped ensure that infrastructure is more efficiently maintained,” points out the researcher.

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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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