Quebec Faces Sharp Increase in Striking Unions

Viewpoint showing that the government must include the public and parapublic sectors in its realignment of bargaining powers, in order to ensure social and economic security

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This Viewpoint was prepared by Gabriel Giguère, Senior Policy Analyst at the MEI. The MEI’s Regulation Series aims to examine the often unintended consequences for individuals and businesses of various laws and rules, in contrast with their stated goals.

Since 2023, the number of strikes in Quebec has exploded,(1) significantly disrupting Quebecers’ lives. Labour has, in essence, taken the population hostage,(2) pushing the Quebec government to introduce Bill 89.(3) The new legislation aims to strike a balance between the right to strike and the right to lock out, in order to ease the economic and social impacts on the population.(4) As it stands, however, the proposed legislation does not go far enough: it should also apply to the public sector which, in the bill’s current form, is subject to an exception.(5)

The Number of Strikes Soars in Quebec

In 2023, Quebecers endured a total of 691 work stoppages, breaking the previous record of 384 set in 1974 on the eve of the Cliche Commission. In 2024, that record was broken again with 759 work stoppages affecting Quebecers that year. The pace does not seem to be slowing in 2025, with 378 work stoppages recorded in the first two months alone(6) (see Figure 1). This kind of increase is unprecedented. In the decade preceding the pandemic, there was an average of 85 work stoppages a year.

This trend demonstrates that strike action is becoming increasingly common. Before the pandemic, similar initiatives to challenge working conditions were rare and exceptional. At this point, however, unions have made them par for the course.

This growth in the number of strikes in Quebec is also unprecedented when compared with the other Canadian provinces. Between 2013 and 2022, Quebec’s average annual share of all the work stoppages in Canada was about 56%. This has risen to 91% between 2023 and 2025.(7)

Quebec’s unions have taken the population as de facto hostages on several occasions in recent years. This seems to have prompted the Minister—quite rightly—to take action on the issue.(8)

Trade Union Abuses in the Public Sector

This dramatic increase in the number of work stoppages can be largely attributed to the public sector. Over the past decade, the proportion of Quebec’s work stoppages accounted for by this sector has swelled from a low of 12% in 2016 to a high of 87% in 2023 and 2024. This percentage remains high in 2025, reflecting the predominance of the public sector in Quebec’s epidemic of labour unrest.

More specifically, one subsector stands out from the others for its recurring work stoppages: since 2023, education, health and social services has accounted for 89% of all work stoppages in Quebec.(9) Unsurprisingly, Quebecers have felt the impact of these strikes and continue to bear the brunt on a daily basis.

The 2023 teachers’ strikes, for example, affected a great many parents who found themselves suddenly unable to go to work.(10) It is the children who have suffered the most, as they have been deprived of their right to education. A similar issue has arisen in the early childhood sector, where there have been repeated strikes in the first quarter of 2025, although many childcare centres are privately owned.(11)

Such hostage-taking is possible in Quebec because of the very high rate of unionization in the public sector; in 2024, this reached 84.7%, compared with only 22.9% in the private sector.(12)

The Need to Abandon the Public Sector Exception in Bill 89

It is essential that the Minister abandon the exception granted to the public and parapublic sectors in Bill 89.(13) As currently drafted, the bill would prevent both the Minister and the Administrative Labour Tribunal from intervening in the public and parapublic sectors, despite the fact that these sectors are behind the recent explosion in Quebec’s strike numbers. Given the disproportionate number of strikes attributable to the public sector, without this inclusion the government would be adopting a bill that addresses the problem but partially.

The realignment of bargaining powers provided for in Bill 89 is a first step in the right direction for Quebec. The rapid surge in the number of strikes in Quebec – unprecedented in Canada – is damaging the Quebec economy and highlighting the excesses of Quebec’s public sector unions. The escalating use of strikes by these unions must be curbed.

The government must therefore go further and include the public and parapublic sectors in Bill 89 in order to ensure a better balance between the interests of trade unions and social and economic security.