Esheria Esheria Statutes
Ask AI Sign in

Canada — Quebec Act or statute

Canada — Quebec legislation

Balanced Budget Act, 2023

1. The purpose of this Act is to balance the budget of the Government. To that end, the Act sets limits on the circumstances that can lead to a budget deficit being anticipated and provides for, in certain cases and in…

Source excerpt

Generations Fundaccounting policiesbudget balancebudget deficitbudget managementbudget reportingdeficitfiscal planningfiscal policyfiscal yeargovernment accountinggovernment budgetingpublic accountspublic finance
Jurisdiction
Canada — Quebec
Structure
14 provisions
Official identity
Year 2023
Dates
Enacted 2023 · Source version 10 Jun 2026
More statute details
Dates
Enacted 2023 · Source version 10 Jun 2026
On this page

Professional statute overview

Enactment structure, operative effect and source provenance

Official source

01

Purpose and legislative effect

“1. The purpose of this Act is to balance the budget of the Government. To that end, the Act sets limits on the circumstances that can lead to a budget deficit being anticipated and provides for, in certain cases and in full transparency, a”

Use this record to locate individual provisions, understand the instrument’s recorded structure, and move from a research summary to the exact source text.

02

How the instrument operates

  1. 01

    Start with the recorded version

    Enacted 2023 · Source version 10 Jun 2026. The date shown identifies this source expression and should not be treated as proof that no later change exists.

  2. 02

    Locate the controlling provision

    Use the provision map, part headings and full-text filter to move from the broad subject to the exact legal language.

  3. 03

    Read conditions and exceptions together

    Keep subsections, definitions, provisos and cross-references in context before drawing a legal conclusion.

  4. 04

    Verify currency and official wording

    Confirm later legislation, commencement notices and corrections with the official publisher before advice, filing or reliance.

03

Research entry points

Selected provisions across the instrument. Open any row to continue with the exact stored text.

Section 1

1. The purpose of this Act is to balance the budget of the Government. To that end, the Act sets limits on the circumstances that can lead to a budget deficit being anticipated and provides for, in certain cases and in full transparency, a

Section 1

Section 4

4. The budget balance for a fiscal year is determined taking into account the accounting entries made directly in the accumulated deficit figures appearing in the Government’s financial statements, if they are a consequence of the

Section 4

Section 8

The Minister may replace a balanced-budget return plan if certain compliance problems arise, and must report to the National Assembly and present a new plan with specified timing and deficit limits.

Section 8

Section 11

Act respecting the Ministère des Finances 11. (Amendment integrated into c. M-24.01, s. 23.2). 2023, c. 30, s. 29.

Section 11

Section 14

This section says this Act replaces the Balanced Budget Act.

Section 14

04

Source and current-law status

Source record view

Source record from www.legisquebec.gouv.qc.ca · Enacted 2023 · Source version 10 Jun 2026

Verify current force

The source record does not state a definitive current-law status. Check the official publisher and later amendments before relying on this text.

For advice, pleadings, or compliance decisions, retain the official source and confirm the current consolidated provision.

Official record

Source-indexed provision map

Sections and provisions

Search by section, heading, part or exact legal wording. Every result remains linked to the stored source record.

Showing 14 of 14 provisions

Provision 11Amendment 3
§ 1Section 1Provision

Source excerpt

1. The purpose of this Act is to balance the budget of the Government. To that end, the Act sets limits on the circumstances that can lead to a budget deficit being anticipated and provides for, in certain cases and in full transparency, a

1. The purpose of this Act is to balance the budget of the Government. To that end, the Act sets limits on the circumstances that can lead to a budget deficit being anticipated and provides for, in certain cases and in full transparency, a process for returning to a balanced budget. 2023, c. 30, s. 29.
Section 1Verify source
§ 2Section 2Provision

Source excerpt

The Government may not anticipate a budget deficit, except in the circumstances set out in sections 5 and 8.

2. The Government may not anticipate a budget deficit, except in the circumstances provided for in sections 5 and 8. The Government incurs a budget deficit if it has a negative budget balance. The first paragraph does not, however, operate to prevent an unanticipated budget deficit from being recognized in the public accounts for a fiscal year, to the extent that it does not exceed the revenue recorded in the Generations Fund for that year. 2023, c. 30, s. 29.
Section 2Verify source
§ 3Section 3Provision

Source excerpt

For a fiscal year, budget balance means revenues minus expenditures under the Government’s accounting policies.

3. The budget balance for a fiscal year is the difference between the revenues and the expenditures established in accordance with the Government’s accounting policies. It does not include (1) the revenues or the expenditures recorded in the Generations Fund established by the Act to reduce the debt and establish the Generations Fund (chapter R-2.2.0.1); or (2) the amounts relating to the application by a government enterprise of a new CPA Canada standard for a period prior to the changeover date proposed by CPA Canada. 2023, c. 30, s. 29.
Section 3Verify source
§ 4Section 4Provision

Source excerpt

4. The budget balance for a fiscal year is determined taking into account the accounting entries made directly in the accumulated deficit figures appearing in the Government’s financial statements, if they are a consequence of the

4. The budget balance for a fiscal year is determined taking into account the accounting entries made directly in the accumulated deficit figures appearing in the Government’s financial statements, if they are a consequence of the retroactive effect of the correction of an error or change made in that fiscal year to the accounting policies of the Government or one of its enterprises. However, the budget balance does not include the accounting entries made directly in the accumulated deficit figures that are a consequence of the retroactive effect of a new CPA Canada standard, for the years preceding the changeover year proposed by CPA Canada. 2023, c. 30, s. 29.
Section 4Verify source
§ 5Section 5Provision

Source excerpt

The Government may anticipate a budget deficit if certain adverse events occur.

5. The Government may anticipate a budget deficit as a result of (1) a disaster having a major impact on revenue or expenditure; (2) a significant deterioration of economic conditions; or (3) a change in federal programs of transfer payments to the provinces that would substantially reduce transfer payments to the Government. 2023, c. 30, s. 29.
Section 5Verify source
§ 6Section 6Provision

Source excerpt

In the cases provided for in section 5, the Minister must report why a budget deficit is anticipated.

6. In the cases provided for in section 5, the Minister must report on the circumstance that explains why a budget deficit is anticipated. The report is made in the Budget Speech anticipating the deficit. 2023, c. 30, s. 29.
Section 6Verify source
§ 7Section 7Provision

Source excerpt

If a public-accounts budget deficit is greater than Generations Fund revenues for the year, the Minister must table a plan in the first or second Budget Speech afterward.

7. Where for a fiscal year a budget deficit recognized in the public accounts is greater than the revenues recorded in the Generations Fund for that year, the Minister must, in the first or second Budget Speech after the presentation of the public accounts, present a plan to return to a balanced budget of not more than five years commencing at the beginning of the fiscal year of the Budget Speech concerned. The plan must present decreasing deficits and anticipate, for the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year of the return to a balanced budget, a deficit of 25% or less of the budget deficit referred to in the first paragraph. 2023, c. 30, s. 29.
Section 7Verify source
§ 8Section 8Provision

Source excerpt

The Minister may replace a balanced-budget return plan if certain compliance problems arise, and must report to the National Assembly and present a new plan with specified timing and deficit limits.

8. The Minister may replace a plan to return to a balanced budget if any of the requirements set out in the second paragraph of section 7 cannot be complied with as a result of (1) the occurrence of any of the circumstances referred to in section 5 to the extent that it did not give rise to the initial plan; or (2) a weaker than anticipated economic recovery at the end of an economic downturn or a recession. In such a case, the Minister must, at the time the Minister considers appropriate, report to the National Assembly on the circumstance that explains the non-compliance with the initial plan and, in the next Budget Speech, present a new plan of not more than five years containing a revised framework for a return to a balanced budget. However, if the report on the circumstance that explains the non-compliance with the initial plan is made in a Budget Speech, the new plan must be presented at that time. The new plan must present decreasing deficits and anticipate, for the fiscal year preceding the return to a balanced budget, a deficit of 25% or less of the last recognized budget deficit. 2023, c. 30, s. 29.
Section 8Verify source
§ 9Section 9Provision

Source excerpt

The Minister must report to the National Assembly on the Act’s objectives, their achievement, and any variance identified, and must also report annually on the impact of accounting policy changes on the Government’s financial results.

9. The Minister must report to the National Assembly, in the Budget Speech, on the objectives of this Act, their achievement and any variance identified. The Minister must report annually to the National Assembly on the impact any changes in accounting policies in relation to those in force for the preceding fiscal year have upon the financial results of the Government. 2023, c. 30, s. 29.
Section 9Verify source
§ 10Section 10Amendment

Source excerpt

This section states that the amendment has been integrated into c. A-6.01, s. 77.3.

AMENDING PROVISIONS PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION ACT 10. (Amendment integrated into c. A-6.01, s. 77.3). 2023, c. 30, s. 29.
Section 10Verify source
§ 11Section 11Amendment

Source excerpt

Act respecting the Ministère des Finances 11. (Amendment integrated into c. M-24.01, s. 23.2). 2023, c. 30, s. 29.

Act respecting the Ministère des Finances 11. (Amendment integrated into c. M-24.01, s. 23.2). 2023, c. 30, s. 29.
Section 11Verify source
§ 12Section 12Amendment

Source excerpt

Act respecting public transit authorities 12. (Amendment integrated into c. S-30.01, s. 158.2). 2023, c. 30, s. 29.

Act respecting public transit authorities 12. (Amendment integrated into c. S-30.01, s. 158.2). 2023, c. 30, s. 29.
Section 12Verify source
§ 13Section 13Provision

Source excerpt

The Minister of Finance is responsible for carrying out this Act.

TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS 13. The Minister of Finance is responsible for the carrying out of this Act. 2023, c. 30, s. 29.
Section 13Verify source
§ 14Section 14Provision

Source excerpt

This section says this Act replaces the Balanced Budget Act.

14. This Act replaces the Balanced Budget Act (chapter E-12.00001). 2023, c. 30, s. 29.
Section 14Verify source

Legislative relationships

1 referenced instrument

Names are derived from the stored provision headings and citation-enrichment layer. Treat this as a research index and verify each relationship against the source text.

A–F

1 instrument

  • Finance is responsible for carrying out this Act

    Section 13

Recorded versions and source checkpoint

1 version available in this collection

Current-law checkpoint
  • 10 Jun 2026 · currentEnglish

This relationship view does not by itself establish whether another instrument remains in force.

Check official source

Source-linked research

Ask AI about this statute

The overview, provisions, and source records above are public. Continue in a separate conversation with this statute’s jurisdiction and source version attached.

About this LexChat collection

Statute information is organised from identified legislative sources for professional research. Corrections can be reported to hello@esheria.ai.