Liberals aren’t very good at generalizing.

Many of the Canadian governments now backing a $15 minimum wage are also supporting a carbon tax. The principle of the carbon tax, of course, is that people will buy less fossil fuels if those fuels cost more. There’s no reason to believe the same principle doesn’t apply to workers. Labour, after all, is just another input into the cost of running a business. If a law were passed that suddenly made avocados more expensive, few would be surprised if restaurants started going easier on the guacamole. When diesel prices go up, it’s expected that trucking companies will start trying to increase their fleet’s fuel efficiency. Similarly, if a worker is more expensive, it’s rational to expect that employers will be more hesitant to hire them.