Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard to table his second budget today

Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard’s budget today is expected to include measures to alleviate the damage to the province’s economy from the novel coronavirus.

Girard’s second budget since the Coalition Avenir Quebec took power in 2018 will be tabled in the context of a strong provincial economy that includes record low unemployment.

But the spread of the coronavirus has hurt the global economy and forced the hand of the Quebec government.

Quebec Premier Francois Legault said Monday the budget would include a significant boost in funding to stimulate the economy without plunging the province into deficit.

Girard told reporters Monday he planned the budget with COVID-19 in mind, but he wouldn’t elaborate.

The finance minister’s economic update last fall indicated the province would finish the year with higher-than-expected growth and a budget surplus of more than $4 billion.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 10, 2020.