Premier François Legault has again promised to hand out money to Quebecers "to fight inflation" during a campaign stop in Bellechasse, near Quebec City, on Monday.

The ruling CAQ government is vowing to mail out cheques between $400 and $600 to help offset the rising cost of living if Legault is re-elected this fall.

The one-time payment would be sent to 6.4 million Quebecers in December and will cost the government $3.5 billion.

During an announcement at a grocery store, Legault said Quebecers who make less than $50,000 per year would receive $600 and those who make between $50,000 and $100,000 would get $400.

This is the second time in five months during an election year that Legault has dangled the prospect of cash to Quebecers as the cost of grocery products and other items has skyrocketed.

The government announced in the spring budget in March that all adults who earn $100,000 or less would get $500 transferred directly into their bank accounts after they file their 2021 tax returns.

Opposition parties were quick to react to the CAQ promise, including the Parti Quebecois Leader Paul Saint-Pierre Plamondon who told Noovo Info that Legault is "literally what we call buying the votes."

Liberal Leader Dominique Anglade accused the premier of waiting until after the election to help citizens with inflation.

Meanwhile, Quebec solidaire said the government is managing rising inflation like manages potholes: "He 'patches' the potholes, he sends a check, and six months later he finds it didn't work, he 're-patches' the pothole with another check," said the party's co-spokeperson, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois.

"If the inflation crisis lasts two or three years, what will François Legault do? Send checks every three months? It just doesn't hold up, it's a total lack of vision," he said.

He said his party is instead proposing other solutions to help make life more affordable, such as raising the minimum wage and capping the rising cost of rent.

With files from Noovo Info