Six Canadian provinces raise minimum wage

Good news for workers in Canada. Six provinces are raising the minimum wage. The changes are due to amendments to the Minimum Wage Regulations and will come into effect on October 1 of this year. So, which provinces are the lucky ones?

Ontario

The minimum wage is increased from CA$ 15.50 to CA$ 16.55. Special rates are stipulated for:

• students under the age of 18 working no more than 28 hours per week (CA$ 15.60 instead of CA$ 14.60);
• homeworkers (CA$ 18.20 instead of CA$ 17.05);
• hunting/fishing/wildlife guides (from CA$ 77.60 to CA$ 82.85 per day if working less than five hours per day and from CA$ 155.25 to CA$ 165.75 for those working more than five hours per day).

Manitoba

Here the minimum wage is raised for the second time in a year. Last time it happened on April 1 from CA$ 13.50 to CA$ 14.15. And now the minimum wage in the province will be CA$ 15.30.

However, certain categories of employees are not eligible for the increase. These include home-based workers working up to 12 hours a week, participants in certain federal and provincial programs, and election officials.

Other provinces

Four more provinces are raising the minimum wage to CA$ 15.00 per hour. And these are Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island. Moreover, in three of the four provinces the minimum wage is increased at one time and by exactly CA$ 0.50.

In Saskatchewan, the jump is much more tangible: until October 1, 2023, the minimum wage there was CA$ 13.00. However, the increase will be made in two stages. This Sunday the minimum wage will be set at CA$ 14.00, and the minimum wage will be officially raised to CA$ 15.00 from October 1, 2024.

Where don't they give raises?

This is not to say that all other provinces have been left out completely. Only this spring, on April 1, the minimum wage was raised at the federal level, for all provinces and territories of Canada. On May 1, Quebec implemented its increase (to CA$ 15.25), and on June 1, British Columbia implemented its increase (to CA$ 16.75). Minimum wage increases are expected in New Brunswick and Alberta in the spring of 2024.

The minimum wage is the bottom line from which all employers operating under Canadian law must base their wages. It is a serious offense to pay wages below the minimum wage.