Montréal, 1 May 2025 — Thousands of people will be marching through the streets of Montreal today to mark International Workers’ Day, under the theme, Toujours debout contre l’austérité. The march is being organized by the Coalition du 1er mai. For the Coalition, the austerity imposed by the Legault government erodes Quebec’s social fabric and attacks human rights.

“If the government has chosen austerity, it is certainly not the choice of workers. It’s a rerun of a film that Québec has already been in and the big winners are the same people who voted for these austerity measures: the employers and the wealthiest people. And, surprise, several of their representatives are in the government”, stated the spokespersons for the Coalition, Dominique Daigneault, du Conseil central du Montréal métropolitain–CSN and Cheolki Yoon, du Centre des travailleurs et travailleuses immigrants (CTTI).

Austerity measures considerably weaken our society, our public services and our social fabric, primarily affecting the most vulnerable populations.” It wasn’t all that long ago that our dear CAQ government chose to deprive itself of revenue by cutting taxes and preferred to hand out cheques for hundreds of dollars rather than invest in public services and social programs that benefit everyone. Now, on the pretext of budget rationalization, this same government is making systematic cuts to public services, accentuating inequalities. The public is paying dearly for these poor decisions”, says Cheolki Yoon.

“How can we not be angry when we see that, at the same time, this government is throwing hundreds of millions of dollars down the drain with Northvolt, which is a monumental failure, and with SAAQclic, another fiasco, and that it is contributing to the explosion in healthcare costs with the implementation of Santé Québec? Who benefits from all this? Always the same people”, continued M. Yoon.

“In addition, the Legault government isn’t exactly subtle! With Bill 89, which aims to restrict the right to strike, it wants to break up collective mobilizations by workers. Why? To make imposing austerity and its pro employer policies easier. But in recent weeks, thousands of people across Quebec have been mobilizing against this bill and against austerity in general. We’re still standing and we won’t give up” concluded Dominique Daigneault.

About the Coalition du 1er mai
The Coalition du 1er mai is a group of labour, community, student and civil society organizations which come together every year to organize the traditional May 1st march to mark International Workers’ Day.

It includes the Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé et des services sociaux (APTS), Au bas de l’échelle, the Centrale des syndicats démocratiques (CSD), Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN), Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ), Centre des travailleurs et travailleuses immigrants (CTTI), Conseil central du Montréal métropolitain–CSN, Conseil régional FTQ Montréal métropolitain (CRFTQMM), Fédération autonome de l’enseignement (FAE), Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec (FTQ), Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec (FECQ), Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ), Syndicat de la fonction publique et parapublique du Québec (SFPQ), Syndicat de professionnelles et professionnels du gouvernement du Québec (SPGQ), Mouvement action chômage (MAC), the Union des travailleuses et travailleurs accidentés ou malades (UTTAM) and the Union étudiante du Québec (UEQ).