Quebec Premiers and Provincial Government Spending

— Published on February 29, 2024

This bulletin reviews annual per-person program spending (inflation-adjusted) by Quebec premiers from 1965 to 2021.
Real per-person program spending increased significantly from $2,942 in 1965 to $15,562 in 2021.
The year of highest overall per-person program spending was under Premier François Legault in 2021 at $15,562. Legault also had the second-highest year of per-person spending (2020) at $15,260. 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).
Premier Jean Lesage is excluded from this analysis because there is only one year of data available for his six-year term. Lesage aside, Premier Jean-Jacques Bertrand recorded the highest average annual increase in per-person spending during his time in office (10.0 percent), however, this was over a relatively short term of just one year (1969). At 9.4 percent, Premier Bourassa recorded the second highest average annual growth in per-person spending over his first term (1970-1976). François Legault recorded the third highest average increase at 7.3 percent, and Premier Daniel Johnson Jr. recorded the fourth highest at 6.9 percent.
During the terms of all other premiers, the average annual increase in per-person spending was below 3.0 percent.
Premier Jacques Parizeau stands out as the only premier to cut the average annual change in per-person spending (-0.4 percent).