The downside to Quebec’s booming economy? A labour crunch

A transport company with dozens of trucks sitting idle. A McDonald’s willing to pay well above minimum wage. A manufacturer forced to turn down a lucrative contract.

Tales like these are emerging from across Quebec as the province grapples with a growing labour crunch.

“This is the kind of thing we will see more and more of, unfortunately,” said Jean-Guy Côté, associate director of the Institut du Québec, a public policy think tank.

“This is a new reality for the last year.”

Quebec has, in a sense, become a victim of its own success.

With the economy chugging along, the unemployment rate has in recent months been hovering around six per cent, nearly the lowest it’s been since Statistics Canada began keeping track in 1976. Read more…