A report that Quebecers have lately been leaving Quebec for elsewhere in the country in greater numbers than at any time since the turn of the century comes as something of a jolt, but as no great surprise.

Quarterly demographic estimates released by Statistics Canada for the first nine months of last year show that 28,439 people moved from Quebec to other provinces — the highest number for that period in any year since 2000.

The province’s net population loss from interprovincial migration was 11,887 residents in the 12 months from October 2012 to last September. That was substantially up from the 7,700 lost during the previous corresponding period, and more than double the 4,394 lost during the period before that.

Because the beginning of the latest net loss calculation period roughly coincided with the election of the current Parti Québécois government, one might readily conclude that the outflow was driven by the nasty political climate that government has generated with its attempt to impose more restrictive language laws and its discriminatory values charter.

But then, the 2013 departures were recorded before details of the charter were officially released. A more likely driver than the political climate is the relatively decrepit state of the Quebec economy coupled with the highest income taxes of any Canadian jurisdiction.

Quebec lags behind the national average in most key economic indicators, particularly in comparison with the country’s three other most populous provinces, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia, which are the destinations for nearly all those who have left Quebec.

Figures registered last year show that compared to these three, Quebec has a 25-per-cent-lower gross domestic product on a per capita basis; a 16-per-cent-lower average salary, a four-percentage-point lower rate of employment; and a 17-per-cent-lower rate of productivity growth.

Where Quebec leads the country is in taxes and in public debt. Quebec income tax rates in all income brackets are more or nearly double what they are in neighbouring Ontario, the prime destination for those who have left.

But then, it is also highly likely that while the degraded political climate in itself is not primarily responsible for driving people out of the province, it is having a detrimental impact on the provincial economy, and thereby accelerating the outflow.

Not just the government’s disruptive language and values initiatives, but widespread opposition to such projects as the Enbridge 9B pipeline reversal and the TransCanada Energy East pipeline are likely discouraging badly needed private investment in Quebec’s economy, an indicator in which Quebec ranks second to last per capita among provinces.

Nor is there any short-term assurance of improvement in the political or economic climate.

The early weeks of this year will be dominated by continuing controversy over the values charter as extended National Assembly committee hearings on the measure begin next week. As well, population loss due to economic stagnation is a malady that feeds on itself in that those who leave tend to be among the best and brightest, and demand decreases for such economic drivers as housing starts.

On the upside, there is the prospect of a provincial election this spring, one that will give Quebecers an opportunity to elect a government focused on reviving the economy, as opposed to one primarily concerned with disruptive social engineering and promoting the potential disaster of Quebec separation.