Unions blast Quebec, Montreal Economic Institute for false Quebec strike numbers

CSN vice president François Énault speaks about the MEI's report that used false data about the number of strikes in Quebec.

The massive union confederation, CSN, is calling out the Montreal Economic Institute, the provincial labour minister and employer organizations for spreading false information about the number of strikes in Quebec in recent years.

The Confédération des syndicats nationaux says that “false data concerning labour disputes in Quebec” has been removed from Statistics Canada’s site after the CSN questioned claims that strike and work stoppage numbers have skyrocketed in recent years.

MEI senior policy analyst Gabriel Giguère wrote a report in May showing work stoppages skyrocketing from under 100 from 2017 to 2020 and then jumping to 759 in 2024.

The MEI acknowledged that many organizations rely on StatsCan data as an authority.

“Statistics Canada remains Canada’s source of reference and is relied upon by all research organizations across the nation,” said MEI communications vice-president Renaud Brossard. “We acknowledge that the agency is now questioning and reviewing its own data following conversations with union officials.”

The government of Quebec’s site shows that there were 208 work stoppages in 2024.

“We found that those numbers a little bit strange, so I asked my people working on my research services at the CSN to check with StatCan, and they called them last week and they said, ‘Oh, we do have communication problems between Quebec and us,’ and they said ‘you’re right, our numbers are no good,’” said CSN vice president François Énault.

Énault said the unions are frustrated because Labour Minister Jean Boulet has repeated the MEI numbers, even though the Quebec government’s numbers are much lower.

“That’s a bit strange because the number we have, these are the number from his ministery,” said Énault. “I don’t understand why he’s using numbers from Stats Can when they have numbers from his own ministery.”

Stats Can’s data comes from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), which obtains its information from the Quebec Labour Ministry.

In a statement, the agency said that the data that was published on its website was incorrect and had been removed.

“Employment and Social Development Canada is working with the province of Quebec, who provides the information, and Statistics Canada to address the issue.”

How the numbers wound up so far from Quebec’s numbers remains a mystery.

“We don’t know,” said Énault. “They just said they have a mistake and they do have a problem. They told us they have a communication problem.”

The CSN said ESDC representatives confirmed that the data will be recalculated.

“They even suggested that we use data from the Quebec Ministry of Labour instead, which they consider more reliable. A simple check would have prevented the MEI from relaying false information,” the CSN said.

Énault said that Quebec does have a higher unionized worker population than other Canadian provinces, at 40 per cent of the population. Also, the unions understand that strikes are, at times, unpopular.

“When we do strike, it’s because we want to put some pressure on the government,” he said. “You see, our goal it’s to have a good collective agreement for our members, so they can spend money in Quebec and it’s good for the economy. Don’t forget, 95 per cent of all the collective agreements in Quebec. we have a deal with no strike or lock out, and it’s a huge number.”

The CSN wanted to set the record straight so anti-union groups do not use the erroneous information in the MEI report.

“No, there has not been an explosion in the number of labour disputes,” said Énault. “No, 91 per cent of strikes in Canada do not take place in Quebec. Now we must return to the fundamental question: who benefits from restricting the right to strike? Certainly not workers! We must ask ourselves why it is important for employer lobbies to attack the right to strike by any means necessary, even if it means putting their credibility on the line with false data!”