The minimum wage in Quebec will be increased by 50 cents, from $15.25 to $15.75 per hour starting on 1er next May.
Quebec made this decision “due to economic uncertainty” which particularly affects retail and restaurants – sectors which are currently experiencing a difficult situation, even closures.
According to the Ministry of Labor, 200,700 workers will be affected by this increase in the minimum wage, including 111,200 women.
The Minister of Labor, Jean Boulet, justifies the 50 cents per hour increase by economic uncertainty.
“It must be understood that raising wages significantly could have a negative effect and cause significant pressure for employers and thus cause closures in the retail, restaurant or accommodation sectors, which is not the case. is not desirable, with all the harmful consequences this could have on the Quebec economy. »
The government wants the minimum wage to remain at around 50% of the average wage; with the next increase, it will reach 50.8%.
Minister Boulet underlines that the announced increase will be equivalent to 3.28% and that it will thus be “higher than the anticipated inflation for the 2024-2025 financial year which is 2.3%”.
He also argues that the government “has made great efforts to protect the population against inflation”, such as the distribution of timely checks, the capping of government rates, a tax cut and the improvement of the tax credit for elders.