Quebec minimum wage will increase to $15.25

Quebec's minimum wage will increase to $15.25, Labour Minister Jean Boulet announced Wednesday.

It's a pay bump of $1, meaning a minimum wage worker who works 40 hours a week will make an additional $2,000 a year, roughly. 

At 7.02 per cent, it's Quebec's most significant wage increase since 1995.

The new minimum wage will come into effect on May 1, 2023.

Last May, the figure was raised to $14.25 from $13.50.  

Meanwhile, for workers who make tips, the minimum wage will be increased to $12.20, an increase of 80 cents.

The upcoming pay bump will benefit 298,900 employees across Quebec, including 164,100 women, Boulet noted.

"We made sure that this minimum wage would be equivalent to 50 per cent of the average salary of all of the Quebec employees in general," he said.

In December 2022, Québec Solidaire leader Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois demanded the government raise the minimum wage to $18 from $14.25.

Quebec Premier François Legault refused -- although he admitted it's "difficult to get by" on even $18 an hour, "especially when you have children."

When asked Wednesday about this proposed figure, Boulet said it was an unrealistic expectation for small-to-medium-sized businesses.

"Eighteen dollars could also trigger a certain number of layoffs, and it would be extremely difficult for them, of course, to keep, in the economic context that we have to go through right now," he said.  

Benjamin Rousse, policy analyst at the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses (CFIB), told CTV News the 7.02 per cent increase in minimum wage will have a "significant negative effect" on small-business owners.

He noted that business owners are already grappling with other issues, including inflation and the labour shortage.

He said the best way to both raise wages and keep small businesses afloat is for governments to reduce tax burdens.

"The first thing we see if the tax burden is reduced is that [employers] will increase the salary of their employees," he said.