Quebec Election 2026 · Buying decision
We have been asked this every day for two weeks. Here is what can be said, and what cannot.
What we know
- Polling day is Monday, October 5, 2026, according to Elections Quebec.
- The refundable tax credit for home ownership access is in force. It covers homes acquired after 31 December 2025 and applies as of the 2026 taxation year.
- One party, the Liberals, put its abolition in their financial framework of 13 September 2026.
- Everything else, in every platform, is a promise.
What nobody knows
Who will win. What will actually be tabled after the election. From what date a measure would take effect. What transitional provisions would protect transactions in progress. None of that exists today as text.
A broker who tells you "buy before it changes" is selling you urgency, not information.
The only three questions that decide
- Does the property suit you? A bad purchase made at the right tax moment is still a bad purchase. You will live in it for years; the credit you collect once.
- Does the payment hold? At your real rate, with municipal and school taxes, insurance and maintenance. That is what determines whether you sleep at night, not the election result.
- Is your financing solid? An up-to-date pre-approval is worth more than a political forecast.
The one genuinely urgent step
If you already acquired a qualifying home in 2026, the advance payment of the credit must be applied for no later than December 1 of the tax year, where the estimated credit exceeds $1,000 and the tax base does not exceed $1 million. That is a real deadline, with a date, and it depends on no electoral outcome.
And the market itself?
In August 2026 the Montreal CMA recorded 2,853 residential sales, down 13% year over year, with 20,128 active listings, up 18%. Listings are up 28% on the South Shore and 26% on the North Shore. Average days on market are 42 for a single-family home, 62 for a condominium and 52 for a plex. APCIQ data.
Translation: there is more choice than there was, and buyers have regained room to negotiate. That is a verifiable market fact, and it weighs more in your decision than any campaign promise.
Our rule on this page
We report what each party wrote, with the published figures and the source. We tell nobody how to vote, we do not predict the result, and we do not turn a promise into a certainty. An election platform is not a law: it becomes one only if a government tables it, passes it and sets its terms.
The most useful distinction for you is not who is right. It is knowing what applies today and what stays conditional.
Related
Frequently asked
Should I buy before 5 October 2026?
Nothing in the current texts creates urgency. The credit in force covers homes acquired after 31 December 2025, and the other announced measures are promises.
Could the credit be withdrawn retroactively?
No party has announced retroactivity. Nobody can guarantee the terms of a future change, since no text exists.
What is the only urgent step?
For a purchase already closed in 2026, applying for the advance payment of the credit by December 1 of the tax year.
Primary sources, consulted 13 September 2026: Revenu Quebec (tax news of 21 April 2026), the Quebec Department of Finance explanatory document on the refundable tax credit for home ownership access (17 April 2026), Elections Quebec, Radio-Canada (Liberal financial framework, 13 September 2026), plq.org, pq.org, the Quebec solidaire release distributed by CNW (30 August 2026), the PCQ plan (11 September 2026), and APCIQ (4 September 2026). This page reports what each party published. It endorses no party and is neither tax nor legal advice.
Published by the Loaa & Manseur team, number one team at RE/MAX Platine in 2024 and 2025. Tell us about your project.