Bank Economist Criticizes Quebec’s COVID Measures as They Eat at GDP

People walk along Sainte-Catherine Street in Montreal on Jan. 2, 2022, as measures put in place by the Quebec government, including the closure of stores, go into effect. The Canadian Press/Graham Hughes

Quebec’s restrictive policies on COVID-19 are being criticized in a special report on economics and strategy issued by the National Bank of Canada on Jan. 17.

“We’ve been receiving calls from more and more foreign institutional clients wondering ‘What’s going in Quebec?’” writes the bank’s chief economist and strategist Stéfane Marion.