Montreal·NewFinance Minister Eric Girard plans to help workers save $1.8 billion over five years through a reduction of contribution rates to the Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) and Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP). Additional relief promised for industries targeted by U.S. tariffs Holly Cabrera · CBC News · Posted: Nov 25, 2025 10:04 AM EST | Last Updated: 6 minutes agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Finance Minister Eric Girard responds to the Opposition during question period at the legislature in Quebec City on April 24, 2025. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press)Quebec’s economic growth in 2025 and 2026 will be more pronounced than projected in the last budget, according to the province’s latest economic update on Tuesday. The province’s real GDP is expected to increase by 0.9 per cent in 2025, 1.1 per cent in 2026, after a gain of 1.7 per cent in 2024. Still, Finance Minister Eric Girard plans to help workers save $1.8 billion over five years through a reduction of contribution rates to the Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) and Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP). Starting Jan. 1, 2026, employees in Quebec will stand to save up to $137, according to the province’s economic update. That number jumps to $259 for self-employed workers.“Today in the current context of economic uncertainty, we are not only making the responsible choice to protect Quebecers’ purchasing power, who must cope on a daily basis with the rising cost of living, but also to protect businesses that are affected by tariffs and changes transforming our economy,” Girard said.Use of Green fund surplusGirard announced he will be using the $1.8 billion surplus from the province’s Green fund — money meant to tackle climate change — to help pay off the province’s debt. In his update on the province’s economy, Girard explained that the surplus will instead go toward Quebec’s generations fund in 2026-27, which he says will contribute to generational fairness.In order to redirect the entirety of the green fund surplus to pay off the province’s debt, the government is relying on the adoption of Bill 7, an omnibus bill sponsored by Treasury Board President France-Élaine Duranceau. The province’s project deficit for 2025-26 is now $9.9 billion — 1.5 per cent of the GDP, compared to the 1.8 per cent forecast in March 2025. Quebec’s net debt burden will stand at 39 per cent of the province’s GDP as at March 31, 2026. The government is continuing to aim to balance the budget by 2029-30. It hopes to bring down the debt burden to 32.5 per cent of GDP by 2037-38. Relief for tariff-stricken industriesThe province is also putting in place measures to allow businesses to write off certain types of investments more quickly and to allow businesses in the manufacturing sector to save on taxes when investing in their factories and therefore to see an immediate increase in their cashflow. The government will be providing a two-year payroll tax holiday for businesses in the fishing, agriculture, and forestry industries, which have been especially affected by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs. In 2026 and 2027, the contribution rate to the Health Services Fund wlil fall to 0 per cent for teh following industries: Agricultural crops, livestock and aquaculture. Logging, sawmills and pulp and paper mills. Fisheries.This measure corresponds to savings of over $43,000 for the forestry sector, nearly $6,000 for the agricultural sector and nearly $2,500 for the fishing sector.Similar to the federal government, immediate expensing will apply to investments in buildings used for manufacturing or processing activities to support manufacturing businesses investment. The initiative applies to property acquired on or after Nov. 4, 2025 and will be ”phased out over a four-year period from 2030 to 2033,” the update says. More to come.With files from Cathy Senay and Franca G. Mignacca
Quebec economic update includes tax breaks for workers, use of green fund to tackle debt
