The Legault government must take advantage of its next budget to revive residential construction, believe the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ) and Québec solidaire (QS).
Both parties announced their budgetary expectations on Wednesday, emphasizing the importance of building more homes in Quebec.
According to the PLQ finance spokesperson, Frédéric Beauchemin, Quebec is a “dunce” in Canada: housing starts have fallen by 32% and the property rate of Quebecers is in sharp decline.
“However, the Coalition Avenir Québec does nothing to stimulate supply, despite the pressure currently being exerted on the market and which is pushing prices upwards,” he said in a press release.
The PLQ proposes to remove the QST on construction materials and to offer financial assistance to municipalities that achieve certain targets, for example, for the issuance of building permits.
For its part, QS is asking the Minister of Finance, Eric Girard, to provide $470 million to increase the number of construction starts in Quebec by improving the QST reimbursement on new construction.
“A QST refund, in whole or in part, can make the difference between a project that remains in the pipeline and one that actually sees the light of day,” declared QS finance spokesperson Haroun Bouazzi.
“Reimbursing the QST on new construction will have the effect of stimulating supply,” he added.
To revive the construction of apartments, houses and condominiums, QS proposes to enhance the already existing QST reimbursement program by targeting properties costing less than $450,000.
The party also wants us to focus on the construction of cooperative and community buildings by fully reimbursing the QST for units built in this sector.
Like the PLQ, QS says it is “particularly concerned” about the significant deficit in construction starts in Quebec.
Mr. Bouazzi emphasizes that “2023 is the year when Quebec has seen the fewest construction starts since we started counting them in 1955.”
“With each month that passes, the gap widens between supply and demand. We must act, it is urgent,” he declared, adding that 55,000 homes would have to be built per year for 10 years to make up for the accumulated deficit.
SMEs and daycare spaces
Furthermore, the Legault government must “imperatively” allow SMEs to increase their productivity and convert thousands of places into subsidized childcare, according to the PLQ.
Mr. Beauchemin believes that the 2024-2025 budget must launch “collective reflection”, particularly on how to help businesses digitize and modernize.
According to him, it is “urgent […] to prioritize productivity growth in addition to further supporting our SMEs in this process.”
The Liberal MP for Marguerite-Bourgeoys also calls on the government to convert 15,000 places into subsidized childcare this year ($9.10 per day).
“We would remove an additional financial burden for thousands of families in addition to improving equality of opportunity,” he argued on Wednesday.
Minister Girard will present the Quebec budget next Tuesday.