(Montreal) Still less wealthy than Ontario, Quebec’s economy is said to have grown faster over the past 40 years.
This is the conclusion of a new economic barometer designed by the firm BCF Avocats d’affaires and the consulting firm Quadrat, unveiled on Tuesday, during an event bringing together several personalities, in particular the Minister of the Economy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, the president and chief executive officer of the Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Janie Béïque, and the economist Pierre Fortin.
Composed of 28 indicators, the Prospéra index was set at 100 in the early 1980s for Quebec, Ontario and Canada. In 2021, it was 132 points for Quebec, compared to 126.9 for Canada and 125.3 for Ontario.
The result does not mean that economic conditions are better in Quebec than in Ontario, but that they have improved more rapidly since the starting point set in 1980.
Quebec’s real GDP per capita is 13% lower than that of Ontario. The Legault government wants to reduce the gap to 10% by 2026.
This catch-up can be explained in particular by the increase in the post-secondary graduation rate for the population as a whole, an increase in investments, a family policy encouraging the participation of women in the labor market and a reduction in the weight of the public debt.
To continue catching up, the report suggests focusing on investments to close the productivity gap in Quebec. It is also recommended to establish policies to stimulate the employment rate of 55 to 74 year olds, to continue the fight against school dropouts and to develop renewable energies.
Quebec also does less poorly on the household debt front than in Ontario, where real estate is less affordable. The balance sheet of Quebec households has nonetheless deteriorated over a long period. “The fact that household finances have not improved in any of these jurisdictions (Canada, Quebec and Ontario) over the past 40 years represents a huge missed opportunity,” the report authors lament.
