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What does a receptionist cost in Québec in 2026?
In Laval, a receptionist’s median wage is $19.00 an hour (Job Bank). Full time, 40 hours a week, that is $39,520 a year; with the employer’s 2026 contributions, the total cost is about $44,031 a year — about $3,669 a month. For that amount, someone is at the front desk about 1,936 hours a year — 22% of the hours in a year: evenings, weekends, vacations and statutory holidays go unanswered.
Published by Zen Solutions (Laval), which sells AI services to small businesses. Every figure comes from a dated public source, linked at the bottom; the math is done from those figures. Spotted an error? Write to info@zen-solutions.net.
A receptionist’s wage in Québec
The Government of Canada’s Job Bank publishes hourly wages for the occupation “Receptionists” (NOC 14101) by region. The latest cover 2023-2024 and were updated on November 19, 2025:
| Region | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laval | $16.60 | $19.00 | $25.00 |
| Montréal | $16.60 | $20.00 | $25.00 |
| All of Québec | $16.60 | $20.00 | $27.00 |
The low end is raised to today’s minimum wage: $16.60 an hour since May 1, 2026. The medians date from 2023-2024, so the wages actually paid in 2026 are probably a little higher.
What the employer pays on top of the wage
In Québec, the employer adds its own contributions to the gross wage. The 2026 rates:
- QPP (RRQ): 6.30% of pay between $3,500 and $74,600 a year
- Employment Insurance: 1.82% (1.4 times the Québec employee rate, 1.30%)
- QPIP (RQAP): 0.602%
- Health Services Fund (FSS): 1.65% when total payroll is $1M or less
- Labour standards: 0.06%
- CNESST: $1.54 per $100 of pay on average in 2026 — the real rate depends on the sector
Vacation pay (4% of gross pay, two weeks, under three years of service) and the 8 statutory holidays are paid: they are already in the yearly wage below.
The math: a full-time receptionist in Laval
| Item | Per year |
|---|---|
| Gross pay: $19.00 × 40 h × 52 weeks | $39,520 |
| QPP (6.30% of $36,020) | $2,269 |
| Employment Insurance | $719 |
| QPIP | $238 |
| Health Services Fund | $652 |
| Labour standards | $24 |
| CNESST (average rate) | $609 |
| Total cost to the employer | $44,031 |
| Per month | $3,669 |
Hours really at the desk: 2,080 paid hours, minus two weeks of vacation (80 h) and 8 statutory holidays (64 h) = 1,936 hours. Cost per hour at the desk: $22.74.
The same math at minimum wage ($16.60) gives $38,441 a year ($3,203 a month); at the Montréal median ($20.00), $46,360 a year ($3,863 a month). Amounts rounded to the dollar.
This math leaves out benefits, cover during vacations and sick days, hiring, training and the workstation.
The hours it covers
A year has 8,760 hours. A full-time receptionist covers about 1,936 of them — 22%. Calls in the evening, on weekends, over lunch and during vacations go somewhere else: to voicemail, to the owner’s cell phone or to an answering service.
The other options and their published prices
- An answering service staffed by people. For example, RTL Centre d’appel (Montréal, bilingual) lists plans from $90 a month for business-hours coverage; other plans are priced on request (page read on October 2, 2026). Several Québec services do not publish their prices.
- An AI receptionist. Vendors that publish prices in Canadian dollars cost from $99 to $199 CAD for a typical month, according to our published price comparison (each price with its source and date).
- Voicemail. Free, but the caller has to leave a message and wait to be called back.
We sell an AI receptionist, so we do not rank ourselves. The facts: $99.98 + tax a month, or $999.98 + tax a year from month two, with $20 of AI + SMS usage included every month (about 150 minutes of calls), then $0.133 per call minute and $0.036 per text. Setup and training free, no commitment, and 30 days to be sure: first month refunded if it isn’t right. Free 7-day trial, no credit card. Our agent answers at 438 544-5191 — call it and judge for yourself.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a receptionist’s wage in Laval in 2026?
- The median wage is $19.00 an hour in Laval according to Job Bank (occupation 14101, 2023-2024 data updated in November 2025); the range runs from the minimum wage, $16.60, to $25.00 an hour.
- What does a full-time receptionist cost an employer in Québec?
- About $44,031 a year — $3,669 a month — at the Laval median wage ($19.00 an hour, 40 hours a week), with the employer’s 2026 contributions: QPP, Employment Insurance, QPIP, Health Services Fund, labour standards and CNESST (average rate). Benefits and cover during absences come on top.
- How many hours does a full-time receptionist cover in a year?
- About 1,936 hours, once two weeks of vacation and the 8 statutory holidays are taken out: 22% of the 8,760 hours in a year.
Sources
- Job Bank — Wages: Receptionists (NOC 14101), Laval region (reference period 2023-2024, updated November 19, 2025)
- Job Bank — Wages: Receptionists (NOC 14101), every Québec region
- Gouvernement du Québec — minimum wage raised to $16.60 an hour on May 1, 2026 (in French)
- Revenu Québec — employers: main changes for 2026 (QPP, QPIP) (in French)
- Employment and Social Development Canada — the 2026 Employment Insurance premium rate
- Revenu Québec — employer contribution to the Health Services Fund: thresholds and rates (in French)
- Revenu Québec — labour standards contribution (in French)
- CNESST — 2026 average premium rate: $1.54 per $100 of payroll (in French)
- CNESST — annual vacation (in French)
- CNESST — list of statutory holidays (in French)
- RTL Centre d’appel — plans (page read on October 2, 2026)
- Published AI receptionist price comparison (Zen Solutions) — each price linked to the vendor’s page, with the date
Figures checked on October 2, 2026. This article summarizes public data; it is not accounting, tax or legal advice.