MONTREAL - Quebec is set to have the fourth-highest provincial minimum wage in the country after announcing Tuesday the regular hourly rate will increase by 15 cents per hour to $9.65 on May 1.

Labour Minister Lise Theriault also said employees earning tips will get an extra 10 cents or $8.35 per hour.

Ontario has the highest minimum wage in the country at $10.25 per hour, followed at $10 by Newfoundland and Labrador along with Nunavut.

Quebec's new rate matches the one set by Nova Scotia last spring when its rate increased from $8.60 per hour.

Theriault said many factors were considered in setting the new level, including the precarious economic situation and the fact that these workers have very modest revenues.

"We had to deal with the fact that to improve the financial situation of those most vulnerable and to support the economy and the jobs associated with them, despite the current economic climate, that we had to be cautious,'' she said in an interview.

Theriault noted that about 292,000 workers, especially women, will benefit from the increase.

Since 2002, the province's minimum wage has increased 30 per cent, while the consumer price index has grown by 13 per cent. The regular minimum wage increase in 2011 will be limited to 1.55 per cent.

Quebec normally announces increases to the minimum wage months several months in advance to give businesses time to plan and adjust.

Quebec's restaurant and retail associations described the increase as "reasonable'' even though it marks the fourth in as many years.

"After three consecutive years of increase, it goes without saying that retailers would have liked a break,'' said Gaston Lafleur, president of the Quebec Retail Association.

"But after catching up over the last few years, the government is now making adjustments that we feel are more responsible in the circumstances.''

The Quebec Restaurant Association had called for a wage freeze in 2011, but president Francois Meunier said the government made the right choice by announcing an increase around the inflation rate.

Greg Dennis, a spokesman for Ontario's new Labour Minister Charles Sousa said any decision about changing the province's rate would likely be announced in the spring budget.

New Brunswick's rate will increase in stages to $10 by September.

Manitoba's minimum wage increased in October to $9.50. Saskatchewan kept its minimum wage at $9.25, but is considering whether to index it to inflation.

P.E.I. and the Northwest Territories' minimum wage is $9, Yukon is $8.93 and Alberta's is $8.80.

Several Liberal leadership candidates in British Columbia have called for a hike in the country's lowest minimum wage of $8 an hour. B.C.'s minimum wage has remained unchanged since 2001 when it had Canada's highest rate.