Per-person spending by the Quebec government hit its highest point in 2021, with Premier François Legault surpassing the spending records of all of his predecessors since 1965, a
new study by the Fraser Institute indicates.
The study,
published on Feb. 29, says the Legault government’s 2021 program spending reached $15,562 per person—far exceeding the $2,942 figure in 1965, the earliest year of comparable data.
“The intention of this study is to provide a historical analysis of this key measure of government fiscal policy,” said study co-author Yanick Labrie, a senior fellow at the think tank, in the
news release.
“By comparing current spending levels to the past, Quebecers can better decide for themselves whether they’re getting good value for their tax dollars.”
The per-person spendings covered in the studied period were adjusted for inflation and population using Statistics Canada data. The analysis stopped in 2021 as it was the latest year of available data, the news release said.
The authors excluded interest costs on government debt in their study.
“If interest costs were included, it would penalize or reward premiers based on the debt accumulated prior to their term, and/or prevailing interest rates, both of which are out of the provincial government’s immediate control,” they wrote in their report.
Mr. Legault, of the Coalition avenir Québec, has served as premier of Quebec since Oct. 18, 2018, beginning his second term in October 2022 after winning re-election. The study noted that “relatively slow” per-person program spending growth ended during his tenure from 2019 to 2021.
When Mr. Legault took office, per-person spending “immediately increased,” from $12,627 in 2018 to $13,586 in 2019—the highest-spending year on record at the time.
The premier would go on to set new records for highest year of per-person program spending: $15,260 in 2020 and $15,562 in 2021.
“Even excluding COVID-related spending, Premier Legault holds the record for the highest per-person spending levels in Quebec at $14,487 (2021) and $13,705 (2020),” the study report said.
‘Often Neglected’
The Quebec premiers were also ranked by their average annual change in per-person spending during their time in office.The highest average annual increase in per-person spending (10 percent) occurred during the
Jean-Jacques Bertrand period, the study said. “However, this was over a relatively short period of just one year (1969).” Mr. Bertrand, of the Union Nationale party, served as premier from October 1968 to May 1970.
Robert Bourassa of the Quebec Liberal Party took the second spot, at 9.4 percent, during his first term, from May 1970 to November 1976.
Mr. Legault followed in third place, at 7.3 percent over his 2019–21 term. Should COVID-related spending be excluded, the rate would fall to 4.7 percent.
Daniel Johnson of the Union Nationale, who was premier from June 1966 to September 1968, recorded the fourth-highest average annual change in per-person spending, at 6.9 percent, during his term.
All of the other premiers recorded average annual increases of less than 3 percent, the study found, adding that
Jean Lesage, from the Quebec Liberal Party, was excluded from the analysis. The report said that, although Mr. Lesage served as premier for six years, from 1960 to 1966, there was only one year of available data during his tenure (1965).
The authors say the measure of per-person inflation-adjusted spending is “often neglected” because it is not as easily accessible as the alternative measure—government spending as a share of the economy, or gross domestic product (GDP). Their historical analysis of per-person spending by premiers “corrects that deficiency for Quebec,” they wrote.
“A useful way of measuring government fiscal policy is by comparing per-person program spending by various premiers,” said study co-author Tegan Hill, an associate director with the Fraser Institute, in the news release.
