The province had a deficit of $8 billion during the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2024, including $2 billion invested in a fund used to pay down Quebec’s long-term debt.
The Quebec government says the province’s budget deficit in the last fiscal year was $570 million higher than its revision in June, when it increased the estimated deficit by more than $1 billion over an earlier projection.
The province had a deficit of $8 billion during the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2024, including $2 billion invested in a fund used to pay down Quebec’s long-term debt.
Finance Minister Eric Girard said in a news release that the new figures are a sign of the economic uncertainty during the 2023-2024 fiscal year, but that the province still plans to return to a balanced budget no later than 2029-2030.
Quebec’s deficit forecast for 2024-2025 remains unchanged at $11 billion, with spending and government revenue rising in equal measure.
Girard, who is scheduled to provide an economic update in November, says modest economic growth has resumed in the province.