English-speaking Quebecers earn less, face more unemployment: report

English-speaking Quebecers typically earn less than those who speak French and are more likely to be unemployed, according to a new report.

The Provincial Employment Roundtable (PERT) report found that after taxes, Anglophones bring in a lower median income in 14 of the province’s 17 administrative regions.

In Montreal, for example, that number comes to $28,385 for French workers and $26,378 for English ones.

“This report challenges the myth of Quebec’s English-speakers as a wealthy and homogenous community,” said Nicholas Salter, executive director for PERT, an organization that collects information about employment issues for English-speaking Quebecers.

The report also found that in 15 of 17 regions, Anglophones have higher rates of unemployment at 8.9 per cent. By comparison, the provincial unemployment rate is 7.2 per cent, with the rate for French speakers being 6.9 per cent.

The situation is most extreme in Côte-Nord, where the unemployment rate of English speakers is 25.5 per cent, compared to 11.6 per cent for the Francophone population.

The only regions in Quebec where English speakers have higher unemployment rates are Bas-Saint-Laurent and Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, according to the findings. These are also the regions with the smallest populations of English speakers.

“Given the current labour shortage, this report demonstrates the importance of developing solutions to ensure that Quebec’s English-speaking communities are able to fully contribute to building a strong and vibrant Quebec economy,” Salter continued.  

With files from CTV's Andrew Brennan.