CCI Response to the 2024 Québec Budget

Cliquez ici pour lire notre déclaration officielle sur le budget 2024 en français.

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In response to Québec’s 2024 budget, released today by Finance Minister Eric Girard, Council of Canadian Innovators President Benjamin Bergen released the following statement:

"Québec innovators are keenly aware that Québec’s government is facing economic challenges, and want to be part of the solution. In an era of fiscal restraint, business leaders in the tech sector expect smarter spending of the limited tax dollars governments have to invest.

At CCI, we firmly believe that fostering a vibrant Québec innovation economy is key to generating the jobs and economic activity necessary to support the social programs and services prioritized by Minister Girard in today’s budget.

To ensure a vibrant and prosperous Québec for generations to come, our members believe it is imperative that the government align its policy thinking with smart industrial policies that reflect the way jobs and wealth are created in the 21st-century economy, driven by intangible assets such as intellectual property and data.

Our members have long advocated for procurement reform to enable more Québec-made solutions to be purchased by governments. This approach not only supports local companies but also positions them for future global contracts. Québec’s innovators embody the kind of productivity growth and wealth creation that can generate tax revenue to fund the public services we all value.

We had hoped to see more in this budget about modernizing the procurement process, which is the biggest economic development tool the province can use to help grow its domestic tech sector. The government should work closely with Québec innovators to increase their access to customers, both here at home and abroad."

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CCI’s Québec Affairs Director, Jean-François Harvey, also commented:

"This government has been facing headwinds, but this budget demonstrates they still have their eyes on the ball. This budget makes important tax changes that should be of benefit to Québec’s most innovative companies. The harmonization of the e-business and multimedia production tax credits and the abolition of the salary cap is excellent news - this shifts the emphasis of tax support in Québec to more impactful activities and more dynamic firms, while saving the government money overall. And while elements of Law 14 still presents challenges for many innovators, a $320 million investment in helping companies adjust to new French language requirements is a very welcomed sign of relief for our members in Québec. We are also very pleased to see the investments made to support Québec’s talent pipeline and higher education.

We are committed to continuing the work we have been doing with this government, and believe this budget has laid strong foundation to tackle bigger, more ambitious reforms in the near future, reforms that are needed if we want to lay the foundational groundwork for innovators to success in Québec and beyond.’’

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Media Contact:
Jean-François Harvey
Directeur pour le Québec \ Director, Québec Affairs
Conseil canadien des innovateurs \ Council of Canadian Innovators
jfharvey@canadianinnovators.org

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About the Council of Canadian Innovators \ Conseil canadien des innovateurs

Established in 2015, the Council of Canadian Innovators represents and works with over 150 of Canada’s fastest-growing technology companies. Our members are the CEOs, founders, and top senior executives behind some of Canada’s most successful ‘scale-up’ companies. All our members are job and wealth creators, investors, philanthropists, and experts in their fields of healthtech, cleantech, fintech, cybersecurity, AI and digital transformation. Our members are market leaders in their verticals, commercialize their technologies in over 190 countries, and generate between $10-$750 million in annual recurring revenue. We advocate on their behalf for government strategies that increase their access to skilled talent, strategic capital, and new customers, as well as expanded freedom to operate for their global pursuits of scale. Louis Têtu, CEO of Québec City-based Coveo, serves as CCI's Vice-Chair for Québec.

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