Montreal May Day march draws attention to cost of living crisis, gains made in public sector strikes

Nearly 1,000 people gathered in Saint-Michel Wednesday to mark the International Workers' Day, also known as May Day.

The large crowd converged on François-Perrault Park during the afternoon as workers delivered speeches and held banners that said "united to make our voices heard."

Workers were celebrating some of the gains public sector workers gained this year in their negotiations with the government. But they say there's a lot more work to do to address some key issues facing workers, such as climate change and the housing crisis — issues that are not necessarily related to working conditions, but affect them directly. The rising cost of living was also a concern shared by many of them, saying their wages are not keeping up with inflation.

Workers march for the International Workers' Day in Montreal on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (Matt Gilmour/CTV News)

Minimum wage in Quebec went up Wednesday by 50 cents to $15.75 an hour. But workers told CTV News that that's not good enough for people living in precarious situations.

They said it was important for them to come out and show their solidarity.

"The common front shows us that [being united] can bring some very good advancements in our collective agreement but the fight continues for some of our colleagues. And also there's many other issues in society that needs to be addressed," said Ariane Beauchemin-Pépin, the provincial APTS representative at Centre universitaire de santé mcgill (CUSM).

"What we see on the field — all the organizations, the unions — the cost of [living] is more and more expensive every month and it's kind of hard not to live paycheque by paycheque," said Vincent Chevarie, who's responsible for political affairs and communications at Au bas de l'échelle (ABE), an education and advocacy group that supports non-unionized workers throughout Quebec.

The group was slated to march down Jean-Talon Street toward the Jean-Talon hospital.

Pepper spray deployed in separate May Day protest

A few hours later, a separate group led a march through downtown Montreal, prompting a heavy police response.

A shattered window of a Scotiabank on Sainte-Catherine Street after an anti-capitalist demonstration in downtown Montreal on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (CTV News)

Police said the "anti-capitalist demonstration" started near Phillips Square around 7:30 p.m. They set off several smoke bombs and threw traffic cones, garbage cans, signs and other objects into the street to obstruct the police officers who were following them.

Around 8 p.m., the group "committed acts of mischief on businesses" and "armed assault" on some police officers., prompting them to start dispersing the crowd and deploying pepper spray on the protesters.

As of 9 p.m., the police's dispersal operation had ended. One person was arrested, said police spokesperson Manuel Couture, adding that at least two buildings had their windows smashed.