Quebec’s minimum wage is set to increase Friday to $16.60 an hour, but a new study by the Institut de recherche et d’informations socioéconomiques (IRIS) says the new rate still falls short of what is needed to live comfortably.
The institute defines a living wage as the annual after-tax income required to live above the poverty line. According to its estimates, the amount ranges from $33,249 to $44,780 for a single person, from $46,458 to $58,385 for a single-parent family, and from $75,117 to $88,812 for a family of four.
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A full-time worker earning the new minimum wage in Montreal (35 hours per week) would make about $25,867 per year, roughly two-thirds of a living wage for a single person.
“The minimum wage has never allowed a single person to escape poverty by working full time. In a society that emphasizes work and social mobility, it is worrying to see the gap widening. It underlines that the affordability crisis is neither new nor about to be resolved,” said researcher Eve-Lyne Couturier.
The study also notes that Montreal now has the highest living income for a family of four, at $88,812, a 4.2 per cent increase from 2025. For a single person, the living income is estimated at $41,585, up 3.7 per cent from last year.
For the first time since IRIS began tracking the figures, the cost of living for a family of four in Montreal has surpassed Sept-Îles, where it is estimated at $88,266. Researchers say this is largely due to transportation costs in the northern region, where two vehicles are typically required.
“Housing prices have increased to the point where the difference in the cost of a five-and-a-half apartment between Montreal and Sept-Îles is equivalent to the cost of a second car per household,” Couturier said.
On average, rents rose 10.9 per cent across the seven cities studied, well above the 5.9 per cent increase recommended by the Administrative Housing Tribunal.
