Skip to content

Highlights from Quebec's budget for 2021-22 fiscal year

20210325160344-fda26aaf6b2802b3186de467b660a126f8582fd597f4cbd063fea45c76cc1421

Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard tabled the 2021-22 provincial budget Thursday. Here are some highlights.

- Operating deficit of $9.2 billion, which jumps to $12.3 billion after a deposit of $3.1 billion into a fund dedicated to paying off the province’s debt.

- GDP growth estimated at 4.2 per cent in 2021 and 4 per cent in 2022.

- Debt service jumps by 12.4 per cent in fiscal 2021-22, for a total of $8.6 billion.

- Quebec spent about $12 billion on COVID-19-related costs in 2020-21 and estimates it will spend another $4.3 billion in 2021-22.

- Total expenditures are $131.8 billion – including program spending, COVID-19 measures, provisions for economic risk and $8.6 billion in debt service.

- Including COVID-19 spending, health-care spending drops by 2.6 per cent, to about $52.4 billion.

- Including COVID-19 spending, education spending rises by 3.9 per cent, to about $18.3 billion.

- Net debt-to-GDP ratio as of March 31, 2021, will be 45 per cent, up from 39.9 per cent at the same point last year.

- Quebec’s gross debt stands at $219 billion, or 49.5 per cent of GDP, an increase of $20.2 billion or 6.3 per cent.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 2021.

The Canadian Press

push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks