Quebec Parties Launch Platforms With Focus on Taxes and Immigration

Quebec political parties launched their campaigns for the October 5 provincial election with competing pledges on economic stability and social services. Christine Fréchette, leader of the Coalition Avenir Québec, proposed expanding the parental insurance plan to include more leave for fathers and allocating $1 billion to homecare. She also urged sovereigntist voters to avoid a referendum, stating it is the worst time in 50 years due to trade tensions with the United States.

Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon focused on reducing temporary immigration from over 500,000 to between 200,000 and 250,000 people to ease pressure on housing and public services. He also pledged a 20 per cent tax reduction for businesses, criticizing the current government's economic interventionism. These proposals drew criticism from Ruba Ghazal of Québec solidaire, who accused him of blaming immigrant children for school overcrowding, and Charles Milliard of the Quebec Liberal Party, who warned that cutting immigration would worsen labor shortages.

Other major platform points included a $23 billion public transit investment and the creation of 15 public grocery stores proposed by Québec solidaire. Charles Milliard pledged to diversify markets to reduce export reliance on the United States by 15 per cent. Meanwhile, Quebec Conservative leader Éric Duhaime proposed raising the basic personal tax amount to $35,242 and lowering gasoline prices by suspending the provincial fuel tax and exiting the cap-and-trade carbon market.