Renaud-Bray shuts second Quebec City store amid bitter labour dispute, union vows legal fight

Key facts

• Renaud-Bray closed its Laurier Québec store on May 1, 2025, while employees were on strike.
• About 30 workers will lose their jobs at Laurier Québec; 60 employees were on strike across two Quebec City stores.
• The company had previously closed its Galeries de la Capitale store in fall 2024 after a 10-month strike.
• Striking workers demanded a starting wage $1 above minimum wage; the employer offered a 15-cent increase.
• In July 2024, 93% of strikers rejected Renaud-Bray's final offer, leading to an impasse.
• The Labour Administrative Tribunal (TAT) fined Renaud-Bray $7,000 for union interference and use of strikebreakers.
• A TAT hearing on the Galeries de la Capitale closure is set for May 14, 2025.
• Union president Jimmy Demers stated the closure is an anti-union act and vowed to challenge it in court.

Second store shuttered as strike enters sixth month

Renaud-Bray has closed its bookstore at Laurier Québec shopping centre, the second outlet in Quebec City to be shut down while its workers are on strike. Employees learned of the decision on Friday, according to the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN), which represents the workers. The closure leaves about 30 employees without jobs, the union said, describing the workforce as shocked. The store had been operating on reduced hours — open only Wednesday through Saturday — staffed entirely by management personnel since the strike began in December 2024.

Union leaders denounce 'abject' act by company owner

Jimmy Demers, president of the Syndicat des travailleuses et travailleurs de Librairie Renaud-Bray (CSN), expressed fury but not surprise. “We are in shock, but we will not let ourselves be beaten. Especially not by a being as unscrupulous as Blaise Renaud. There are no words to describe such a lack of sensitivity toward his employees. An abject act,” he said. Caroline Senneville, president of the CSN, accused the company of contempt. “Renaud-Bray had the audacity to choose May 1 to commit the most anti-union act possible: trying to crush any desire of its employees to demand better than minimum wage,” she said. She questioned where the labour minister is when workers' rights are so flagrantly violated.

Wage dispute at heart of year-long conflict

The 60 employees across the two Quebec City stores had been on strike for more than a year, demanding improved working conditions. The central issue was pay: workers sought a starting wage set at $1 above Quebec's minimum wage, while the employer proposed a raise of only 15 cents per hour. In July 2024, 93% of striking workers rejected Renaud-Bray's final offer, freezing negotiations. The union had launched a boycott campaign in early November under the slogan “Renaud-Bray has no heart, I shop elsewhere,” urging consumers to patronize independent bookstores.

Company faces multiple labour tribunal sanctions

Renaud-Bray and its owner, Blaise Renaud, have been sanctioned several times by the Labour Administrative Tribunal (TAT) in recent months. In February 2025, the tribunal ordered the company to cease union interference and the use of strikebreakers, and to pay $7,000 in moral and punitive damages to the union. The TAT will hear a complaint on May 14 regarding the closure of the Galeries de la Capitale store, which the CSN argues was done without proper notice and constitutes an anti-union measure. Demers said the union will also contest the Laurier Québec closure in court, calling it another anti-union act.

Rapid conversion of Archambault stores amid labour strife

Parallel to the labour conflict, Renaud-Bray has accelerated the conversion of Archambault music stores to its own banner across Quebec. In mid-January, the company replaced the sign at the Place Ste-Foy location, a few minutes' walk from the now-closed Laurier Québec store. A similar conversion occurred months earlier in the Lebourgneuf district. The Groupe Archambault, founded in 1896, has been owned by Renaud-Bray since 2015. By 2023 it had 13 outlets; several have since been rebranded as Renaud-Bray/Archambault, including in Trois-Rivières. The Galeries de la Capitale store closed weeks after its conversion.

Legal battles and community response loom

The union is preparing for further legal action. “We will see each other in court,” Demers said. “We already have a complaint against him for the closure of Galeries de la Capitale because it was an anti-union act. Same thing with Place Laurier, it's still an anti-union act, and whether he likes it or not, he will have to answer for his actions.” Renaud-Bray had not responded to questions from Radio-Canada at the time of reporting. The closure of a second store while workers are on strike raises questions about the company's commitment to collective bargaining and the effectiveness of Quebec's labour laws in protecting striking workers.

The bottom line

• Renaud-Bray has closed two Quebec City stores amid strikes, affecting 60 workers total.
• The core dispute is over wages: workers want $1 above minimum wage; the company offered 15 cents more.
• The Labour Administrative Tribunal has fined Renaud-Bray $7,000 for anti-union practices and will hear a case on the first closure in May.
• The union vows to legally challenge both closures as anti-union acts.
• The company is simultaneously converting Archambault stores to its banner, a move critics see as part of a broader strategy to weaken union presence.
• The conflict highlights tensions between labour rights and corporate restructuring in Quebec's retail sector.