Quebec nurses on strike, lowest starting salary in Canada for RNs

The FIQ union representing Quebec’s largest group of nurses are on their second of four strike days Tuesday as contract negotiations with the CAQ government continue.

One of the major sticking points is wages. Registered nurses in Quebec have the lowest starting salary in the country.

“It’s very frustrating, obviously, and it’s very tempting to leave Quebec, especially when we speak English and we can easily, we could easily move to another province and it’s hard to retain nurses here,” said Maud Guay-Jadah, a youth clinic nurse in Montreal’s Verdun borough.

“It’s a very frustrating issue and that’s what we’re here for. We’re fighting to try and get a better pay and get better conditions and retain our nurses.”

The starting salary for nurses in Quebec with a bachelor’s degree is just under $53,000 a year. The average in Canada is just over $73,000.

“That’s one of the first considerations when they begin work, of course they’re going to look at what the salaries are,” said Natalie Stake-Doucet, a registered nurse and assistant professor in nursing at Université de Montréal.

Stake-Doucet adds that addressing the lower salaries will help with retention which has been an issue in Quebec. Her students are aware of the significant salary gaps between what they could make by staying in Quebec and what they could earn if they leave the province.

“We’ve seen quite a large increase in number of students applying for jobs in Ontario for instance, and we know New Brunswick has also been recruiting Quebec nurses, and we make it very easy for them because of the huge pay gap between the provinces,” explained Stake-Doucet.

“We’re always losing nurses to other provinces or internationally,” said Guay-Jadah, adding, “I studied in McGill. I have friends who went to work in the States and who went to work in Ontario or BC.”

“I have colleagues who have gone over to Ontario across the border to Hawkesbury and just work there because of the amount that they receive in additional yearly income,” said Annie Bakopoulos, a school nurse working in Verdun.

“I find it very disappointing. I started my career as a nurse like 30 years ago and I find I’m coming to the end of my career and the conditions haven’t changed much,” said Micheline Johnston, a Montreal nurse clinician.

About 90 per cent of nurses with the FIQ union are women. Having the lowest starting salary for nurses in Canada and some of the lowest salaries in the country regardless of experience doesn’t sit well with members.

“Nurses used to be volunteers, used to be nuns, which used to not pay. We’ve been fighting ever since we started working to get a fair pay and we’re traditionally women and it’s always, we’re paid less,” explained Guay-Jadah.

“I think we would be naive to not recognize that, that women are always less listened to and right now we need to change that. It’s 2023, it should no longer be this way, especially not here in Quebec,” said Bakopoulos.