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QUEBEC — It’s a lot of money, but it won’t last forever.

When Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard tables the Coalition Avenir Québec government’s Year 1 provincial budget Thursday, he is expected to walk the line between delivering on election promises and not allowing Quebec to slip back into the debt trap.

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But bolstered by staggering surpluses, expectations are that Girard will use his budget to sprinkle the province with much needed spending — particularly in health, education and help for seniors — and slice a chunk off the debt as a precaution.

His budget will follow that of Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau on Tuesday — the the last federal budget before Canadians go to the polls this coming October.

There is one big difference between the two levels of government. Quebec’s finances are in much better shape those in deficit-ridden Ottawa.

With a surplus in the neighbourhood of $4 billion, Girard should be able to table a bit of good news, while Morneau will be explaining again why Canada’s finances are in the state they are.