Quebec plans deficit in spring budget

The Quebec government will post its first deficit in a decade in its 2009-2010 budget, the province's finance minister said Wednesday.

Finance Minister Monique Jérôme-Forget confirmed Quebec will join the federal government and other provinces that are also plunging into red ink as the Canadian economy continues to slow.

"I can confirm that there will be a deficit in 2009," she told reporters. "I am an ardent defender of zero-deficit spending, but the government is there to intervene when it must."

'I am an ardent defender of zero-deficit spending, but the government is there to intervene when it must.' —Monique Jérôme-Forget, Quebec finance minister

Less than a month ago, the Liberal government was still holding out hope it could balance its spring budget and still devote new spending to an economic stimulus package.

However, on her way into a cabinet meeting in Quebec City on Wednesday, Jérôme-Forget said economic growth forecasts changed dramatically last month.

Worrying signs

The jobless rate has worsened, she said, and signs that Quebec is heading into a recession along with other provinces are multiplying.

Jérôme-Forget wouldn't say how big the budget deficit will be.

Quebec has an anti-deficit law, but it gives governments some leeway. If the deficit is more than $1 billion, the province has five years to make it up.

Politically, this places the Liberals in a tough position. Premier Jean Charest spent the last election campaign selling himself as the only leader who had the fiscal restraint and economic vision to pull Quebec through difficult economic times.

The 2009-2010 budget will be tabled when the national assembly returns in March for its spring session.