The Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec (FTQ; Quebec Federation of Labour) is the largest labour federation in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

in terms of its membership. It has over 500,000 members, who account for 44% of the unionised workers in Quebec. This ratio is 60% in the

private sector The private sector is the part of the economy which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The private sector employs most of the workfo ...

, in which most members work. It also has many members in

government agencies A government agency or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government (bureaucracy) that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, ...

It was established in 1957 through the merger of two longstanding unions: the Fédération provinciale du travail du Québec (Quebec Provincial Labour Federation) and the Fédération des unions industrielles du Québec (Federation of Quebec Industrial Unions). The organization was primarily developed under the leadership of Louis Laberge from 1964 to 1991, with support from American unions concerned about the potential relocation of industry to Canada. The FTQ is unusual among labour unions in that it founded (in 1983) and controls a capital investment fund called "

Fonds de solidarité FTQ The largest development capital network in the province, the Fonds de solidarité FTQ was created on the initiative of the FTQ, Québec's largest central labour body. As of November 30, 2022, the Fonds held $17.8 billion in net assets and had m ...

" which it uses to collaborate with and influence industrial groups and to promote economic growth. In November 2006 its investment fund stood at more than $6.8 billion. The FTQ endorsed the

Parti Québécois The Parti Québécois (PQ; , ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishi ...

for the 2007 Quebec election, but criticized their call for a new

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

. In January 2023, Magali Picard became the first indigenous person to lead FTQ when she was elected president. She had previously been national vice-president of the

Public Service Alliance of Canada The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC; , AFPC) is one of Canada's largest national labour unions. It is the largest union in the Canadian federal public sector. PSAC members work in every province and territory, and also work abroad in emb ...

before resigning in 2020 after concerns of anti-Black behaviour against PSAC employees were widely expressed by Black staff members.

External links

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Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec
�� Web Archive created by the University of Toronto Libraries

References

Trade unions in Quebec Canadian Labour Congress affiliates Provincial federations of labour (Canada) Trade unions established in 1957 1957 establishments in Quebec {{quebec-stub

See also

External links

References