Quebec to get $13 billion in equalization payments next year

CTV Montreal: Quebec equalization goes up Quebec will receive a $1.3 billion increase in equalization payments next year, while Ontario is protesting the calculations.

Quebec will get more than $13 billion in equalization payments in the coming year, an increase of almost $1.4 billion from the year before.

Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced the amounts the government will pay to the provinces and territories in 2019-20, totalling almost $20 billion.

That money will be divided among fives provinces: Quebec, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick.

For the first time since the 2008 recession Ontario is on the list of wealthy provinces, prompting the provincial finance minister to call for a review of the program’s structure.

Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard reacted to the announcement, saying  the province accounts for 22 per cent of Canada’s population, but only 19 per cent of its economy.

Girard said while the new CAQ government hopes to change that and reduce Quebec’s reliance on the equalization program, it will take time.