Although it expects a slight increase next year, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business does not believe that the new CAQ government will go so far as to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
Based on past remarks from Premier François Legault, the organization's vice president, Martine Hébert, believes that the government will be "wise" and avoid the "adverse effects" of an exaggerated increase.
Ms. Hébert points out that Ontario, which had raised it to $14 an hour, recently decided not to increase it further to $15, having seen the loss of tens of thousands of jobs, especially part-time and among young workers.
According to her, if the minimum wage increased from $12 to $15 in Quebec, the consequences could be very significant on employment and hours worked.
Hébert believes that such a rise would have a domino effect, prompting people "who already earn more, to demand even more".
She also notes that there is a limit to passing on to customers the price increase that would be required to fund salary increases.