Reports and news currently circulating indicate that the minimum wage in Canada will rise starting next month, and the minimum wage is scheduled to rise from $16.75 to $17.40.
Canada's highest-paid provinces
The percentage increase in the minimum wage in Canada in the province of British Columbia is expected to reach 3.9%, making this province one of the highest provinces in terms of minimum wage in Canada, behind Yukon.
Yukon minimum wage
The minimum wage in Yukon is $17.59 per hour, and the minimum wage in Nunavut is $19 per hour.
It is worth noting that the minimum wage in British Columbia in Canada is 10 cents higher than the federal minimum wage, which applies to federally regulated businesses.
The minimum wage has increased by more than 65% in the past decade
British Columbia's minimum wage has risen significantly in the past decade by more than 65% from $10.45 in 2015.
According to the British Columbia government, the June 1 increase will help 240,000 workers who currently earn the minimum wage.
An increase in the minimum wage would undoubtedly be welcome
While the increase will undoubtedly be welcomed by those on the lowest wage in society, the number is still far from a living wage.
According to Living Wage for Families BC, the living wage in Kelowna and Penticton is $24.60 per hour and in Kamloops is $20.91.
The minimum wage increase is based on the previous year's inflation increase
The 3.9% minimum wage increase is based on the previous year's increase in inflation. Early this year, British Columbia's New Democratic Party amended the law to automatically increase the minimum wage each year, based on the previous year's average inflation rate in British Columbia.
Saskatchewan currently has the lowest minimum wage in the country at $14 an hour, although it will rise to $15 in the fall.
Alberta, which once had the highest minimum wage in the country, now sits at the bottom of the table with the minimum wage remaining at $15, where it was set in 2018.
Canada's minimum wage hike schedule for 2024
- Ontario: $16.55; next increase date: October 1, 2024; estimate: $17.65.
- Manitoba: $15.30; estimate: $16.00; next rise date: October 1, 2024.
- Nova Scotia: $15.00, estimate: $15.50; next rise date: October 1, 2024
- Saskatchewan: $14.00 (next rise date: October 1, 2024, estimate: $15.00)
- Newfoundland & Labrador: $15.00 (next rise date: October 1, 2024, estimate: $15.50)
- Prince Edward Island: $15.00, estimate: $15.50; next rise date: October 1, 2024
- Canada (federally controlled private sectors): US$16.65; forecast US$17.75; next increase date April 1, 2024
- New Brunswick: $14.75; projected rise date: April 1, 2024; estimate: $15.50
- Albert: $15.00 (upload date TBD, estimate TBD)
- British Columbia: $16.75; estimate: $17.75; next rise date: June 1, 2024
- Quebec: US$15.25, projection US$16.25, next rise date May 1, 2024
- Nunavut: $16.00; expected to be decided later, April 1, 2024 is the next hike date.
- Northwest Territories: $16.05, anticipate $17.00, next rise date September 1, 2024
- Yukon: $16.77; next rise date: April 1, 2024; estimate: $17.50.