The Quebec government will table its upcoming budget on March 21 as households continue to face high inflation and steep borrowing costs.
Finance Minister Eric Girard made the announcement Thursday at the provincial legislature in Quebec City during a scrum with reporters.
He said the budget will respect all the commitments his party made during the fall election. Among those promises are a tax cut of one percentage point on the first two tax brackets.
It will mark the first budget of the Coalition Avenir Québec government’s second four-year mandate after it secured another tight majority last October.
“You should expect that it will set the tone for the second mandate,” Girard said of the budget.
In late December, Girard gave an economic update in which he said the province was facing a lot of uncertainty heading into the new year. It also included help for low-income seniors in the face of stubborn inflation.
That economic forecasted that Quebec would end the 2022-23 fiscal year with a $5.2-billion deficit and return to a balanced budget by 2027-28.
But the finance minister said Thursday that 2023 started off better than expected for the province’s economy — which could help alleviate or delay a possible recession.
“It will still be a difficult year,” Girard said, specifically referring to high interest rates facing Quebecers and companies alike.
— with files from Global News’ Gloria Henriquez and The Canadian Press
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