The Construction Union Alliance has ratified its collective agreement for residential construction workers with the Association des professionnels de la construction et de l’habitation du Québec (APCHQ). The union alliance, which represents the five unions in the industry, stated on Thursday that the tentative agreement received the support of 83.4 per cent of voting members. The APCHQ confirmed that employers in the residential sector “overwhelmingly voted in favour” of the terms negotiated for the 2025-2029 collective agreement. “The APCHQ welcomes the support of employers in the residential sector for this agreement, which demonstrates a desire for stability, predictability and continuity on construction sites, at a time when Quebec needs to build more, better and faster to respond to the housing crisis,” the Association said in a news release. The new collective agreement, which will come into effect on 27 July, provides for an 8 per cent wage increase upon signing for the year 2025. For 2026, 2027 and 2028, an arbitration board will be called upon to decide, based on the parameters provided, which are a minimum wage increase of 18 per cent for the total of the four years and a maximum of 24.35 per cent. “We are continuing the arbitration process to represent our residential members effectively, in order to obtain wage increases that will not further widen the gap with other sectors of the industry,” said Alexandre Ricard, spokesperson for the union alliance, in a press release. The new collective agreement also provides for more flexible clauses relating to labour movements, increased travel and room and board expenses, and a 5-cent increase in the allowance for safety equipment in light residential construction. The two parties also agreed to set up a committee to discuss the attractiveness and retention of personnel in the residential sector. The tentative agreement between the union alliance and the APCHQ was reached on June 18, after a three-week strike. The residential sector was the only one of the four construction sectors that had not yet managed to renew its collective agreement. The other three — civil engineering/roadworks, industrial, and institutional/commercial — had managed to renew theirs before the 30 April deadline. The union alliance brings together the five union organizations in the construction industry, namely, in descending order of importance: FTQ-Construction, the Quebec Construction Union, the Quebec Provincial Council of Construction Trades (International), CSD-Construction and CSN-Construction. The Alliance therefore represents 200,000 construction workers, 63,000 of whom work in the residential sector. The APCHQ represents 28,000 companies working in residential construction or renovation. This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French July 17, 2025.
