An important political week is looming for the Legault government. First of all, there will be the budget on Tuesday, which promises to be a difficult exercise with unpleasant news. Then, there will be a meeting between the two prime ministers, Legault and Trudeau, in a context of high tensions between the two levels of government.
Still red
The budget, which will most likely be in deficit, represents a real balancing act for the Legault government. The agreements concluded with the various unions were extremely expensive and widened the deficit, to the point of having to postpone the return to a balanced budget initially planned for 2027-2028. What will be the new zero deficit objective? It is difficult to predict.
The government will not be able to afford to reduce spending growth in the essential health and education sectors. The needs are acute, the expectations are high and it will not necessarily be possible to convince that massive investment in the salaries of the professionals who work there will respond to the crises.
- Listen to the political meeting with Yasmine Abdelfadel and Marc-André Leclerc via QUB :
Uncertainty
Slow economic growth in recent years has had a significant impact on state tax revenues. What will the new GDP growth forecasts be? Will the forecasts announced during the last economic update be maintained? It is difficult to predict.
It is certain that the government finds itself in a difficult situation, with declining revenues and exponentially increasing needs.
Beyond the facts and economic choices that will be presented, the political message must be carefully crafted, coherent and convincing. This will not be an easy task in a context of uncertainty and acute unpopularity.
Screenshot taken from TVA Nouvelles
Decisive meeting
The week will culminate with the Legault-Trudeau meeting, where they will finally be able to speak to each other directly, rather than sending each other messages through the media. Immigration and federal government interference in health care will certainly be the topics that will monopolize the meeting. It will be important that, at the end of it, agreements are announced rather than simply repeating the famous boring and infuriating phrase: “We have agreed to continue working together to improve the situation of Quebecers”.