Legault tries to put $11 billion deficit into perspective
Quebec Premier François Legault tried to put the province's $11 billion deficit into perspective on Wednesday.
During the budget announcement Tuesday, Finance Minister Éric Girard announced that the shortfall for the year 2024-2025 exceeds $10 billion.
In a press scrum at the National Assembly, Legault stated that the announced deficit is equivalent to 1.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).
Seen from this angle, it's not as bad as some previous deficits, he insisted.
In the past, three Parti Québécois (PQ) governments ran deficits of 1.7 per cent, 3.8 per cent and 4.7 per cent of GDP, and two Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ) governments generated deficits of 3.1 per cent and 3.3 per cent.
"One and a half per cent of GDP, I think, is reasonable," he argued.
The premier also claims that the real figure is not $11 billion but $8.8 billion because, he says, payments to the Generations Fund should not be considered.
-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on March 13, 2024.
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