Quebec election debate centres on trade war response and immigration

Five Quebec parties offered competing visions Friday for supporting businesses facing U.S. trade pressures, with the debate touching on immigration policy and government spending as the election enters its final stretch.

All five parties agreed the next government must help Quebec businesses deal with tariff effects, but differed sharply on how. The Coalition Avenir Québec, Quebec Liberal Party, and Québec solidaire argued that larger, more productive businesses can compete better in a tariff-affected economy. The CAQ promised to increase the Quebec infrastructure plan from $167 billion to $180 billion. The Conservative Party of Quebec rejected direct government financing as the answer, instead proposing to make Quebec's corporate tax rate the lowest in North America — arguing that "our corporations are paying the highest tax rates in North America."

The Parti Québécois offered a different tack: reducing direct subsidies while lowering taxes across the board. The party cited the province's current $8.5 billion in incentives, proposing to redirect $2.5 billion of that toward broad tax cuts for all Quebec businesses.

The Quebec Liberal Party focused on growing small and medium-sized businesses, with candidate Michel LeBlanc criticizing the CAQ's record on that front, saying the proportion of medium-sized businesses in the economy has not grown. Québec solidaire's Alexandre Leduc countered that government's role as employer and contractor matters, and that public investment should come with conditions.

Both the CAQ and Parti Québécois promised to reduce immigration numbers, with the CAQ arguing that recent immigration growth had been too rapid. The provincial general election is set for Monday, October 5, 2026.