EDMONTON – Alberta United Conservative Leader Jason Kenney says if his party wins power it will seriously consider bringing in changes to reduce the minimum wage for youth and for alcohol servers.

Kenney, speaking in Edmonton to restaurant owners, says this would help struggling eateries keep their doors open while allowing them to hire more people.

And he says alcohol servers have told him they would rather have the extra hours than the extra wage because they can make far more in tips.

The industry advocacy group Restaurants Canada says Alberta’s $15-an-hour minimum wage, along with higher fees and increased regulations under the NDP government, have dramatically increased the costs of doing business.

Kenney’s suggested graduated minimum wage would see young people make less than adults on the assumption adults are the breadwinners in the home.

But Premier Rachel Notley, speaking in Calgary, says the current minimum wage is key for youth who are working to pay their way through school, and that cutting the wage for alcohol servers will hurt mainly women.