Early Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Household Finances in Quebec

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic surged in early March 2020, with unemployment reaching historic levels in April 2020. This study paints an early portrait of the pandemic's impact on the finances of households in Quebec, one of the hardest-hit provinces in terms of COVID-19 cases as well as unemployment levels. The article also provides an understanding of how government emergency benefit programs may have helped households get by during the early period of the pandemic. Finally, we draw on expectations data collected in a survey of 3,009 respondents living in Quebec to illustrate what households can expect for the rest of 2020.