Canada to increase workers’ minimum wage next week
Tens of thousands of Canadian workers might have an easier time grappling with inflation when they get a pay raise next week.
The minimum wage for workers and interns in federally regulated sectors will increase from $16.65 to $17.30 per hour on April 1.
“Everyone’s feeling the pinch of inflation. So, wages must keep up with the cost of living,” said Minister of Labour and Seniors Seamus O’Regan Jr. in a statement.
Canada increases the federal minimum wage each year, in line with the average annual inflation rate for the previous calendar year. In 2023, the inflation rate was 3.9 per cent.
The Liberal government set the federal minimum wage at $15 in 2021, and scheduled increases to rise with inflation for subsequent years.
Who will get the increase?
The change will affect some 30,000 workers in the federally regulated private sector, the government said in a statement.
Federally regulated industries and workplaces include international and interprovincial air, rail, road and marine transportation, as well as banks, postal services and telecommunications.
Others include grain elevators, feed and seed mills and uranium mining, certain activities in First Nations band councils and Indigenous self-governments, as well as some radio and television broadcasting.
The minimum wage also applies to interns and people who are under the age of 18.
What happens if the minimum wage in your province is higher?
Workers who live in a province or territory where the minimum wage is higher than the federal minimum wage are entitled to the higher pay, the government says.
The Yukon is the only territory where the general minimum wage will be higher. Workers there are set to get a pay increase on April 1, from $16.77 to $17.59. No other territory or province requires employers to pay a higher minimum wage.
British Columbia has the next highest general minimum wage at $16.75, followed by Ontario with $16.55.
Cost of living still higher than minimum wage across Ontario
Even with the pay increase, minimum wage workers in Ontario aren’t making a living wage.
According to The Ontario Living Wage Network’s November 2023 report, Ontarians living in the least-expensive region of the province (Southwest) must earn $18.65 to reasonably get by. Those living in the most expensive region (the GTA) must make $25.05.
The report considered expenses such as shelter, food and transportation, as well as a modest vacation and “opportunities to engage in local culture and community” in its calculations.
The living wage rates are based on before-tax income, averaged between wages needed for different family types: single adults, single parents, and families of four.
This article was first reported by The Star
