Minimum wage workers in Ontario will soon get a raise.
What’s the new Ontario minimum wage?
The Ontario government is raising the minimum wage 40 cents — from $17.20 to $17.60 an hour — effective Oct. 1.
The bump was announced earlier this spring, as Canada and Ontario braced for the economic impact from U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
“Our government will continue to have the backs of Ontario workers, investing in skills training and development and helping ensure that work pays,” said David Piccini, Ontario minister of labour, immigration, training and skills development, in a statement on April 1.
“Ontario’s minimum wage remains one of the highest in the country. Now more than ever, workers and businesses need fair, balanced and predictable wages.”
However, the new minimum wage that will take effect in October is still below the living wage calculated for various parts of the province by the Ontario Living Wage Network.
The federal minimum wage in Canada was raised to $17.75 per hour on April 1, a 2.4 per cent increase. The increase applies to federally regulated private sectors.
How much more could a minimum wage worker make with the minimum wage increase?
According to the province, a worker making the general minimum wage and working 40 hours per week will see an annual pay increase of up to $835 as a result of these changes.
This annualized wage increase is based on the Ontario Consumer Price Index (CPI) of 2.4 per cent and will bring Ontario’s minimum wage to the second-highest provincial rate in Canada, the province noted.
Under the Employment Standards Act, Ontario’s minimum wage increases annually based on the Ontario CPI, a measure of inflation which represents changes in prices experienced by Ontario consumers.
How much is the minimum wage in other Canadian provinces and territories?
The Retail Council of Canada reports the minimum hourly wages across Canada as of Sept. 1.
- Alberta $15
- British Columbia $17.85
- Manitoba $15.80 (Increasing to $16 on Oct. 1)
- New Brunswick $15.65
- Newfoundland and Labrador $16
- Northwest Territories $16.95
- Nova Scotia $15.70 (Increasing to $16.50 on Oct. 1.)
- Nunavut $19.75
- Prince Edward Island $16 (The minimum wage will increase to $16.50 per hour on Oct. 1 and again to $17 per hour on April 1, 2026.)
- Quebec $16.10
- Saskatchewan $15 (Goes up to $15.35 per hour on Oct. 1.)
- Yukon $17.94
