What to expect in Quebec's pre-election budget: Help for families, small businesses

Flush with cash, Quebec's Liberal government will try to use its last budget before the provincial election to win over voters with new goodies while trying to keep its fiscal house in order.

Premier Philippe Couillard has said he plans to introduce measures aimed at improving Quebecers' quality of life, increasing access to public transit and helping those who are caring for sick loved ones at home.

He will have the money to do it.

Quality of life

Carlos Leitão, who will be presenting his fifth budget and fourth balanced one, has said he's finished handing out new tax cuts to individuals.

In his last budget, he cut taxes by $130 million by getting rid of a health care contribution. Seven months later, he announced $1.2 billion worth of income tax cuts and direct payments to parents for school supplies.

This time, the province is expected to use its extra money to help Quebecers spend more time with their families.

Already this spring, it has rolled out plans to give more time and flexibility to new mothers and fathers through the province's parental leave program, and provide Quebec workers with quicker access to three weeks of vacation.

Earlier this month, the Journal de Québec reported the province would put $1 billion toward "quality time" for families.

Measures for small business

Quebec is in the process of boosting its public pension plan, a move that will force both employers and their workers to put more money into the pot.

The province will make the largest increase to the minimum wage in the province's history this May, and the government is also forcing employers to provide more vacation time and paid sick days to its workers.

Those actions have business groups, including the Quebec federation of chambers of commerce, calling for relief.

"We are a bit worried that the budget will not give small businesses enough to compensate for these extra rights," Parti Québécois leader Jean-François Lisée said.

Leitão, however, has said several times that he has been keenly aware of the needs of these companies while drafting his budget.

Measures for anglophones

For the first time, a Quebec finance minister held pre-budgetary consultations with anglophone community leaders earlier this month.

The premier said two weeks ago that the province's English-speakers should expect a "significant" investment as a result, likely in the form of funding for the new secretariat for anglophone affairs, led by Kathleen Weil, the Liberal MNA for NDG.

"The amount will allow them to practically intervene to make life better [and] easier for English-speaking fellow Quebecers," Couillard said.

Cannabis revenue

Nova Scotia predicted a surplus in its budget last week, with much of that relying on $19.4 million worth of tax income from cannabis sales.

While Quebec has yet to say whether it expects to see a windfall from cannabis, all the provinces who have released their budgets so far have listed at least some potential revenue after the product is legalized later this year.

Netflix and online goods

Leitão has made it clear he plans to impose a tax on online services like Netflix.

He had also hoped the federal government would help by imposing tax on goods purchased online that are shipped into the country. But the Trudeau government did not announce any new measures to that effect in its budget last month.

Quebec's finance minister is expected to forge ahead on his own in this budget.

Blue line extension

The Quebec government is expected to put some serious funding behind the project that has been announced in various forms since 2009.