(Quebec) Quebec reported Friday a budget surplus of 867 million for the first three months of its 2022-2023 fiscal year, which represented an improvement of 1.2 billion compared to the same period last year.
Posted at 5:57 p.m.
In its Monthly Report of Financial Operations, Quebec indicated that its revenues had climbed 9.5% during this first quarter, to reach 35.5 billion, compared to 32.4 billion for the same period last year.
The government’s own-source revenue climbed 12.8% year-on-year to $28.6 billion in the first quarter, which Quebec attributed to the good performance of economic activity and the easing of public health measures. April to June, which had a “positive effect” on revenues compared to last year. Tax revenues notably increased by 13.8% to 23.2 billion.
Federal transfers for their part fell by 2.7% to 6.8 billion in the first quarter, mainly due to a decrease in income from health transfers, partly offset by an increase in income from equalization , explained Quebec.
Spending rose from $31.9 billion last year to $33.7 billion in the most recent quarter, an increase of 5.6%. Increases in spending on education (+11.4%) and higher education (7.3%) more than offset a 0.5% drop in spending in the health and social services portfolio.
Quebec clarified that it was still targeting a budget deficit of 1.7 billion for the entire 2022-2023 fiscal year before using the stabilization reserve. This forecast includes a provision for economic risks and other support and recovery measures of 2 billion.