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Brief: Québec Pre-Budget Consultation 2026-2027

2026 - 02 - 17

 

Executive Summary
BRIEF SUBMITTED AS PART OF QUÉBEC'S 2026-2027 PRE-BUDGET CONSULTATIONS PROVINCIAL EMPLOYMENT ROUNDTABLE (PERT)

 

 In this brief, the Provincial Employment Roundtable (PERT) identifies strategic investments in the English-speaking workforce as a critical lever to address the persistent employment disparities and language-learning barriers facing English speakers, as well as enhance Québec’s overall productivity.

Our evidence-based recommendations aim to better integrate English-speaking communities into the labour market, which could add roughly $1.5 billion to Québec’s economy annually and help Québec close its standard of living gap with Ontario and the rest of Canada, projected to reach 9.9% and 13.7% in 2026.

We recommend the Québec government:

  1. Include English speakers as a targeted group in the Plan d’action des services publics d’emploi.
  2. Invest in a community-led ‘by us, for us’ model of employment service delivery in partnership with English-language organizations on the ground.
  3. Create a dedicated strategy and action plan to promote French-language learning for English-speaking Quebecers. This plan should be developed in consultation with diverse English-speaking Quebecers and English-language institutions, with representation from the regions of Québec, and diverse groups including youth, women and visible minorities.
  4. Collect new and regular linguistic and labour force data for English speakers in Québec.