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Quebec will consider unlocking fresh sums to support economic expansion and ensure businesses in downtown cores can survive the pandemic, Economy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon said.

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Finance minister Eric Girard “is going to do an economic update in November, and we’re working now to see what other programs across all ministries we could tap to continue the relaunch of the economy,” Fitzgibbon said Friday in an interview in Montreal on the sidelines of a business event.

“Perhaps there are other sums out there that we can obtain. The government is quite open to this because all in all, public finances are in a good situation.”

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Quebec on Friday reported a $359-million deficit for the three-month period ended June 30. That’s a 92-per-cent improvement over the $4.74-billion shortfall reported in the same quarter a year ago — right at the start of the pandemic.

Real gross domestic product in Quebec expanded at an annualized rate of 3.4 per cent in the second quarter, topping its pre-pandemic level with the help of strong domestic demand, the provincial statistics institute said Thursday. Investment in machinery and equipment, household consumption and residential construction all posted gains.

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By contrast, GDP for Canada as a whole contracted 1.1 per cent on an annualized basis.

Despite the broad economic rebound, some sectors — such as commercial real estate — are struggling.

Office vacancies in downtown Montreal rose to 13.2 per cent in the third quarter, real-estate firm CBRE said Thursday. That’s the highest level since the fourth quarter of 2004.

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Fitzgibbon was in town Friday at a Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal event to introduce eight creative projects selected to brighten up downtown Montreal and lure office workers back.

Provincial financing for the initiative totals $3.1 million, part of a $23.5-million aid package for Montreal’s central business district that was announced in March. All told, Quebec set aside $75 million to help rekindle economic activity in downtown cores across Quebec.

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“The Montreal economy accounts for 57 per cent of Quebec’s GDP, and we cannot let it down,” Fitzgibbon said. “If more money is required, we will do it. At this time, I don’t think we’ll have an issue with money. There are other programs for innovation or creativity that we can put to work. We can take money elsewhere to achieve the same thing.”

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COVID-19 has deprived downtown Montreal of much of its office worker population in the past 18 months. Plans to bring back employees this autumn have recently been put on hold as a fourth wave sweeps across Quebec.

In fact, teleworking’s enduring popularity probably means downtown cores will never be as busy as they were before the pandemic, according to Fitzgibbon.

“We have to admit that many companies are going to favour teleworking, even after health restrictions have been lifted, for reasons such as family-work balance,” the minister said. “That will be a reality.”

And with several downtown-based employers having opened satellite offices in suburbs such as Brossard or Laval during the pandemic, “perhaps we will never have the same density that we had before,” he said.

ftomesco@postmedia.com