(Bromont) The plan to return to balanced budgets that the Liberals promise if they form the next government in 2026 could be inspired by what former Prime Minister Philippe Couillard did in 2014, namely to give a boost temporary brake on government spending below normal growth in program spending.
On the second day of their general council which is taking place this weekend in Estrie, the interim leader of the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ), Marc Tanguay, as well as the president of the national political commission, André Pratte, explained the resolution adopted on Saturday by the members, who ask the party for a plan to return to balanced budget which “preserves the essential services provided by the government of Quebec, particularly in education and health and social services”.
According to them, when the Couillard government limited the growth of state mission spending to 1.4% and 1.1% during its first two years in power, essential services were preserved. Several observers and their opponents then described their approach as “austerity”, a label that the PLQ still rejects.
With a record deficit of 11 billion for the year 2024-2025, Marc Tanguay affirms that François Legault is now the worst prime minister in the contemporary history of Quebec and that he will end his mandate without having cleaned up public finances.
“What I see is that from 2014 to 2018, the quality of services was present. […] Today, under François Legault, Quebecers are doubly losers. We have a record deficit and we don’t have the services,” he said.
Returning to a balanced budget is more necessary than ever, says Mr. Tanguay. According to him, Philippe Couillard – whose legacy was highlighted on Saturday evening during a tribute ceremony bringing together all the still living former leaders of the PLQ – had succeeded in ensuring that “the services were given in a timely manner and in quality “. At the time, several demonstrations against what was described as “austerity” were held across Quebec.
PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Former Prime Minister Philippe Couillard
Take responsibility for the past
For André Pratte, a message that was sent by Liberal Party activists this weekend in Estrie is to stop criticizing the choices that were made in the past by Liberal governments.
“There was a period when people even within the party were very critical of part of the past of the Quebec Liberal Party. I think that yesterday, the message was very clear from the activists that the vast majority are proud of the liberal past, an exceptional past,” he said. In 2019, MP Marwah Rizqy proposed that the PLQ apologize for the consequences of the budgetary austerity imposed under Philippe Couillard. She later apologized herself for having offended some of her colleagues.
In a press scrum on Saturday, former Prime Minister Philippe Couillard analyzed the current state of public opinion, while the leader of the Parti Québécois, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, is obtaining good polls. He says it’s a signal that authenticity can pay off in politics.
On this point, Mr. Pratte agrees: the Liberals must defend Canadian federalism in the face of the independence proposed by the PQ and embrace its values more than ever, which includes budgetary rigor.