MONTREAL—Liberal Leader Jean Charest is not the only one warning about economic instability in Quebec during this summer’s provincial election campaign.

Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO), an international investment management firm, has published a report warning Quebec politicians — without naming any names — about the potentially negative impact any talk of severing ties with Canada could have on the costs of borrowing in the province.

The report argues that despite a relatively high debt load and potential for slower economic growth on the horizon, international investors are wiling to give Quebec a chance because Canada is there to help it out.

“If Quebec politicians are not careful in this upcoming election, they could call into question the fiscal union that underlies the market’s expectation of potential federal support,” Ed Devlin, the executive vice-president for the Canadian portfolio of PIMCO, wrote in the report.

The report compares Quebec, which is in both a monetary and fiscal union with Canada, to Italy, which shares a currency with the European Union but not a fiscal policy.

“The recent Italian experience should be a warning to Quebec politicians: Policies and rhetoric that undermine international investors’ confidence can quickly lead to higher bond yields, starting the vicious cycle of austerity and lower growth that could lead to fundamental questions of solvency,” Devlin wrote.

The Parti Québécois has dismissed the report as a scare tactic.

“There is not a serious economist who will say that a sovereign Quebec could not manage its finances,” PQ finance critic Nicolas Marceau told Montreal newspaper La Presse this weekend.

He compared it to an incident in the 1970 election when images of armoured trucks transporting money from Montreal to Toronto scared the electorate from voting for the fledgling PQ.

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