Tax on registration: Quebec citizens rather in favor of the increase

In favor of an increase in funding for public transport, a majority of citizens in the greater Quebec region advocate an increase in the registration tax.

At least that’s what emerges from the preliminary results of a vast pan-Canadian survey released Tuesday. It is being carried out by a research team from McGill University in Montreal. Its final results are expected in the summer of 2025.

For the census metropolitan area (CMA) of Quebec, some 1,500 citizens were surveyed. According to unweighted results, it appears that 56% support a 5% increase in public transit funding.

Taxes automobiles

Asked about the recommended sources of financing, 66% of respondents mentioned an increase in “automotive taxes”. They prefer this hypothesis to that of an increase in funding for public transportation by the three levels of government. The idea of ​​raising public transport prices was only suggested by 39% of those surveyed.

In the context of Quebec, where the debate has mainly focused on the registration tax, this is support for this measure which will come into force on January 1, estimates Lancelot Rodrigue, research assistant at the graduate studies within the transportation research group at McGill University (TRAM). At that time, the registration tax will increase from $30 to $90.

The gap is significant between the category of “mainly motorists” (more than half of their trips are made by car) who are 52% in favor of the measure compared to the other respondents (76% in favor).

Very marked difference

When it comes to better financing of public transportation, the gap between “mainly motorists” and the other respondents is also very marked. In the first category, support is only 41%, compared to 78% among the others.

“This gap of 37% is the largest recorded among the 11 regions in Canada. Elsewhere in the country, it is between 10 and 20%. As these are preliminary results, we do not have definitive explanations. But we can make hypotheses such as the positions taken on the radios or the automobile culture in Quebec,” said Lancelot Rodrigue.

Other pan-Canadian data

• 97% of respondents believe that public transportation is an essential service in their region
• 62% of respondents who travel primarily by car support an increase in funding for public transit to maintain and improve its current level of service
• This rate rises to 79% for other respondents
• Provincial revenues are the most popular option for increasing public transit funding (65%)
• An increase in public transport fares is the least favored option (32%)

Source: preliminary data from a pan-Canadian study carried out by a research team from McGill University