The Quebec government presents its 2021-2022 budget

The Quebec Minister of Finance presented his 2021-2022 budget under the theme “A resilient and confident Quebec”. Here is an overview of the points of interest:

Innovation

• $290 million to accelerate the acquisition of new technologies by businesses  (Investment and Innovation Tax Credit (C3i). 
• $116 million to encourage investment by enhancing the tax holiday for major investment projects. 
• $29 million to support innovative projects. 

Food

• $30 million to renew the funds available to the Quebec Alcohol Positioning Support Program (QAP)  and to support marketing and production initiatives in the alcoholic beverage sector.
• $3 million allocated Food Banks of Quebec to improve some of the network’s storage infrastructure and thus ensure an optimal supply of food across Quebec.

Environment

• $6 million over two years to stimulate initiatives in the circular economy. 

Family

• $97 million to accommodate the creation of new family day care spaces, including an additional 3,600 child care spaces in the family setting. 
• $1 million for the Family-Work Reconciliation Financial Support Program for the Workplace. 
• $9.7 million to introduce new initiatives to stimulate the supply of atypical-hourly child care.

Labour

• An additional $404 million in investments over the next five years to support training and retraining of the workforce, increase labour market participation through certification and promote the integration of immigrants into the labour market.

Business Support

$193 million over two years to:

• $97million to accommodate the creation of new family day care spaces,  including an additional 3,600 child care spaces in the family setting. 
• $1 million for the Family-Work Reconciliation Financial Support Program for the Workplace. 
• $9.7 million to introduce new initiatives to stimulate the supply of atypical-hourly child care.

Tax Measures

• The government wants to tighten the collection of the QST on all goods from outside Quebec, which was not the case until now on goods purchased online. This adjustment is expected to generate $1.8 billion in revenue for the state over the next five years.
• Tax reduction for SMEs from 4% to 3.2%, in order to level the playing field with Ontario.

In summary:

• Spending increased by $5.2 billion.
• Projected deficit this year from $8 billion to $12.3 billion, return to balanced budgets pushed back to 20272028.
• After an unprecedented 5.2% decline in GDP last year, the Legault government now expects it to grow by 4.2% in 2021 and 4% in 2022.
• $4.5 billion is added to the Quebec Infrastructure Plan, which now stands at $135 billion; the government plans to spend 60% of that money within five years.

For more information, you can consult the following:

• The full budget document
• The CCCD’s submission  to the pre-budget consultations last January (French only).