Quebec Liberals released costed platform promising $41B in spending

The Quebec Liberal Party on Sunday became the first political party of the current campaign to release a costed breakdown of its election promises, which includes $41 billion in spending over five years.

The magnitude of the expenditures and planned deficits contrast with the "austerity" budgets that prevailed under former Liberal leader Philippe Couillard from 2014 to 2018.

The party estimates the annual deficit would average about $5 billion, after mandatory contributions to a fund to reduce the province's debt. It would go from $2.8 billion in 2022 to $6.7 billion by 2027.

The party projects the net debt would also increase by a total of $5 billion over the forecasts reviewed by the auditor general in August.

Liberal Leader Dominique Anglade defended her party's plan as "equitable and responsible,'' noting that the province's overall debt burden would continue to decrease.

"We're not talking about huge deficits,'' she said.

The Liberals are counting on paying for their promises in part through an additional $10 billion in revenue. The party also predicts the revenue paid into the debt-reduction fund will continue to increase, as will revenue from taxes and other sources.

Net expenditures are estimated at $29 billion, with about 40 per cent of the amount going to support tax cuts, and the remainder going toward measures to help Quebecers meet the rising cost of living.

More taxes on the wealthy

The most expensive promise in the Liberal platform is the $12 billion for income tax cuts, followed by a $10-billion allowance to seniors. 

Anglade said the party's platform includes measures to tackle the province's labour shortage, including incentives to keep older workers on the job.

The plan she released Sunday also takes into account measures to help Quebecers handle the increase in the cost of living, she said.

"There are families that are struggling right now between paying rent, buying groceries, paying for activities for their children,'' she said. "People are really having a hard time making ends meet.''

The Liberals are counting on increasing revenue through tackling undeclared work and tax havens. Anglade has yet to explain how her party will succeed, when parties before her have failed.

"It takes political will, which we have,'' said Fred Beauchemin, one of the party's candidates.

The party also plans to bring in several new taxes, including a wealth tax, a tax on vacant buildings and another on web giants.

Anglade said the promises would be achieved without cutting services, an attempt to distance herself from the last Liberal government led by Philippe Couillard, which brought in unpopular austerity measures to balance the budget.