Quebec's Minimum Wage Is Going Up May 1
The lowest-wage earners will get 75 cents more per hour.
An assortment of Canadian coins.
Quebecers receiving the lowest hourly salaries will start seeing a higher number on their paycheque after this weekend. The province's minimum wage will rise from $13.50 to $14.25 as of May 1. The 75-cent increase will impact around 301,100 workers.
The Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Solidarity announced the change in January, which also impacts employees who receive tips, boosting their base pay by 60 cents to $11.40 an hour.
"On the one hand, we want the most vulnerable workers in society to be better paid, so as to increase their purchasing power and reduce poverty. On the other hand, we want to ensure that this increase respects the financial capacity of businesses to pay without harming their competitiveness," Labour Minister Jean Boulet said in a press release.
The wage increase takes inflation into account. The Labour Ministry estimates the purchasing power of impacted employees will rise by 2.96 percentage points.
Minimum wage earners in the province will now make 5.56% more. This is equivalent to an annual raise of approximately $1,406.25 for full-time minimum wage earners working 37.5 hours a week for 50 weeks per year.
