Tax cuts will help home buyers, argues François Legault

(Quebec) Pressed by opposition parties to find a solution to the housing crisis, François Legault pleaded in favor of the free market and believes that the tax cuts he offered to Quebecers will allow them to save to buy a house.

“We think that the best way is to put money in the wallets of Quebecers,” said the Prime Minister during the study of the budgetary appropriations of the Ministry of Executive Council on Wednesday.

Mr. Legault therefore believes that by attracting businesses, which makes it possible to offer “better salaries” to workers and by giving tax cuts, he puts more money in the pockets of buyers “to be able to afford a house.

Last year, the Legault government delivered, as promised, tax cuts for 4.6 million Quebecers, an average reduction of $370 per year.

The parliamentary leader of Québec solidaire, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, replied that while wages have increased by 24% since the CAQ came to power, the “median house price between 2019 and 2024 has increased by 68%” . “In other words, since he has been prime minister, the price of houses has increased three times faster than the salaries of Quebecers,” he lamented.

The interim leader of the Liberal Party, Marc Tanguay, affirmed for his part that “it takes housing that comes from the ground”, and not just social housing. He pointed out that his party is proposing, for example, to remove the QST on construction materials.

Immigration, a “bomb” says Legault

Mr. Legault replied that he did not wish to intervene in the construction of houses, however he pointed to the significant increase in the number of temporary immigrants in Quebec to explain the increase in the cost of houses. Between 2021 and 2023, the number of temporary foreign workers going through the Quebec program increased from 29,000 to 65,000, which is not a problem, said Mr. Legault.

The “major problem” is the 178,000 asylum seekers, he added, and all 495,000 temporary immigrants that Quebec does not control. “It’s a bomb that is managed by Ottawa,” said the Prime Minister.

“There is currently an imbalance between demand and supply. Prices are exploding. We find ourselves in a situation where we have to play catch-up,” he said. “We will not succeed if we do not reduce demand,” said Mr. Legault.

Price of rent

The latter was irritated when Liberal leader Marc Tanguay tried to corner him by asking him the price of rent for a four and a half apartment in Montreal. In 2021, he found himself in the hot seat after saying, during the same accountability exercise, that the price of an apartment to rent in Montreal starts at “$500, $600 per month”, but that it “can quickly rise to $1000”.

“You want to make a Manon Massé of yourself,” he said. The Prime Minister initially refused to answer, and asked his team to provide him with one. When Dominique Savoie, the general secretary and clerk of the executive council, presented him with an amount, Mr. Legault retorted “they gave me a number, but I think it is higher than that”.