For a small nation that relied on demographic health to sustain its economic vitality and political strength throughout its history, the living standards of families is of strategic import in Quebec, something the Quebec Liberal Party always understood.  The path to the modern family was beaten by Liberal leaders.  Jean Lesage was the first to modernize the Civil Code and established the full independent legal capacity of married women. Robert Bourassa first introduced the Quebec Family Allowance Plan in 1974, and Daniel Johnson, twenty years later, brought more fairness to the alimony collection regime.

Coming to office in 2003, the Liberal government of Jean Charest knew that middle class Quebec families are getting poorer under the weight of record-breaking income tax pressure, and was faced with a declining birth rate that would accelerate population ageing and the onset of a demographic shock.  So Jean Charest decided to act decisively to better support families and help young households balance professional and family responsibilities.  This strategy relies on three pillars:  direct financial support and lower income taxes, parental insurance and subsidized daycare.

First, a tax credit measure called Support for children offers a minimum of $600 a year to all parents of minor children, an annual sum that can reach as high as $2100 for families with modest income.  Since the QLP came to office in 2003, financial support to Quebec families has increased by 58%.  Next, successive episodes of income tax relief have not only brought Quebec to an inch of the Canadian average, they have allowed Quebecers to see their real disposable income increase by over 4% a year on average over the period, an unprecedented upswing in this critical indicator of living standards.  As a result, families with two children now pay less in taxes than in any other province, up to $81,554 a year for families with two earned incomes.  It is no coincidence if Quebec is earning a reputation as a paradise for families.

Since January of 2006, new parents can avail themselves of the most extensive and generous parental insurance scheme in North America.  Available to both salaried and independent workers, featuring higher income replacement rates, the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (RQAP) also features a unique and exclusive paternity leave feature.

Once parental leave is over, most Quebecers will wish to renew with the labour market.  Quebec is the only place in North America where parents can find subsidized educative daycare for children under five.  Everywhere else, that is either unavailable or unaffordable, sometimes both.  In 2011, the daycare network in Quebec will offer 220,000 places.

The Liberal government is also the only one in Canada to cover IVF treatments for infertile couples under medicare.  While thousands of indicators would account for the simple notion that Quebec is the best place in North America to raise a family, one data point will suffice: for the past 3 years, Quebecers seem on a course to larger families. Indeed, for the first time in half a century, the birth rate has climbed in Quebec.