Although the city of Montreal has three times the population and manages three times more public money than Quebec, the salaries of the mayors of Quebec’s two largest cities are the same.
In 2023, cabinet directors Clément Laberge (Quebec) and Marie-Eve Gagnon and then Mathieu Wick (Montreal) earned a base annual salary of $156,000, according to access to information requests.
Danielle Pilette, associate professor at UQAM and an expert in municipal finance and taxation, isn’t surprised that the city manages an annual operating budget of $6.76 billion, compared to the national capital’s $1.9 billion.
According to the expert, the demographic difference noted between the two cities is not a “critical” criterion for this type of comparison.
Politicization and mediation
In his view, it is the “higher level of politicization and media coverage of issues in Quebec City compared to Montreal” that explains the similarity between the two salaries.
“Quebec City is the seat of the Quebec government, which insists on its role in locating civil servant positions, events, investments, etc. Therefore, it is a factor of immediate proximity to provincial politics,” said M.me Pilot.
He adds the fact that the mayors who succeeded each other at the helm of Quebec are “strong personalities.” [qui] Quebec is leading the way against the government and heavily politicizing the issues.”
Also, “Quebec City is more focused on its metropolitan area than Montreal (…) Montreal shares attention with at least the two largest cities in the region (Laval and Longueuil),” she says.
Another argument is that Montreal’s population is “more diverse” and the media is more numerous. “Quebec’s population is very homogenous and the media is limited. Because of the concentration, any controversy is likely to gain momentum and create an upsurge of opinion,” the associate professor believes.
As a result, “certain problems of Quebec City’s chief executive and their management are certainly worthy of remuneration. [aussi importante qu’à Montréal]», she concludes.
reactions
In Quebec, Mayor Marchand’s press secretary, Thomas Gaudreault, stated that “salaries are determined by the mayor based on the salaries of past cabinet directors and his own salary (…) This type of “shadow position’s workload is sometimes underestimated, but very little compared to other private sectors or other cities.”
On the Montreal side, Marikym Gaudreult, deputy director of communications, declares that “the salaries of cabinet members are determined according to the salary structure defined in the working conditions of cabinet staff.”
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