Quebec has become “uninvestable” compared with faster-growing economies and must radically improve its business climate if it wants to afford its hospitals, schools and infrastructure, some of the province’s richest and most prominent entrepreneurs warned Friday.
Just three days before Quebecers head to the polls, a group of business leaders led by Andrew Lutfy, the billionaire behind Groupe Dynamite and Royalmount, called on the next government to make economic growth its overriding priority.
Trying his best to remain non-partisan throughout, the most striking ambition is to turn Quebec into a $1-trillion economy within seven years — a target Lutfy described Friday as a “pretty sexy number.” According to The Gazette’s analysis, the province will need just above six per cent growth each year to fulfil this objective. It is currently at 0.8 per cent, according to the latest quarterly report.