The GST holiday and the $250 check from the federal government are electoral gifts, according to a vast majority of Quebecers

OTTAWA | The GST holiday and the promise of the $250 check offered as a Christmas gift by the Trudeau government did not have the desired effect on a Quebec electorate who see it above all as a purely electoral gesture.

• Also read: Light Poll: the Parti Québécois loses support in voting intentions

Only one in five voters subscribe to Justin Trudeau’s argument that these two measures aim first and foremost to financially help those who need it.

The vast majority of Quebecers (71%) are of the opinion that the two-month GST holiday and the $250 check for workers have the main objective of buying the vote of voters, according to a Léger-The Journal-VAT News.

No fools

Justin Trudeau’s Liberals hoped to strike a big blow on November 21 by announcing a two-month break on the 5% GST on consumer products and a $250 check to be offered in April, two measures valued at 6 $.3 billion.

The survey reveals that for the moment, the hands are not moving for the Trudeau government, which is still tied for second place in Quebec with the Conservative Party of Pierre Poilievre.

“Clearly, voters perceive this as an electoral measure and as voting intentions in favor of the Liberal Party have not increased, we can say that it is a measure which has not been successful,” analyzed Sébastien Dallaire, from the Léger firm. This is bad news for them.”

The GST holiday will be in effect from December 14 to February 15, and will apply to everything from beer and chips to Christmas trees, diapers, gifts and children’s clothing.

The future of the famous $250 check is uncertain since the Liberals do not have a dance partner to adopt it in Parliament. The NDP is calling for the eligibility criteria to be broadened to include, among others, seniors.

The Liberals said they were open to discussion while recalling that their intention this time was to help workers who do not receive other assistance programs such as dental care.

The Bloc in the lead

At 35% of voting intentions, the Bloc Québécois continues its domination in Quebec.

The liberals and conservatives are stagnating at around 22%, far behind him.

Pierre Poilievre can console himself with the fact that for the first time, he is ahead of Justin Trudeau as the best prime minister in Quebec, 22% against 19%.

The arrival of Donald Trump at the White House could also give him the opportunity to assert himself.

Quebecers believe that he is best placed to strengthen the level of security at the border, one of the president-elect’s requests.

“Pierre Poilievre stands out when it comes to security at the Canada-United States border, and we know that this is the big issue at the moment with the announcements on tariffs,” commented Mr. Dallaire.

Last week, Donald Trump announced his intention to impose tariffs of 25% on Canadian and Mexican imports if these two countries do not strengthen their borders.

METHODOLOGY

Web survey conducted among 1,002 Quebecers aged 18 or over from November 29 to December 2. It is not possible to calculate a margin of error on a sample drawn from a panel, but for comparison, the maximum margin of error for a sample of 1002 respondents is ± 3.1%, and this 19 times out of 20.