Minimum wage in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, P.E.I. increases

The minimum wage in four provinces is going up today.

The rate in Ontario is rising by 65 cents to $17.20 an hour, an increase tied to inflation.

David Piccini, Ontario’s Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, said the move will help “nearly one million workers earn more money for themselves and their families.”

“Ontario’s minimum wage is one of the highest in the country. This 3.9 per cent increase is tied to the Consumer Price Index, meaning that a worker making the general minimum wage over a 40-hour work week will have up to $1,355 more in their pockets every year,” Piccini said in a statement.

Saskatchewan’s minimum wage is going up by a dollar to $15, but it will still be the lowest in Canada, along with Alberta.

In Manitoba, the rate is going up by 50 cents to $15.80, a hike that follows a formula set in provincial law tied to the rate of inflation of the previous calendar year.

And in Prince Edward Island, the minimum wage is increasing by 60 cents to $16, which comes after a 40-cent hike earlier this year.

British Columbia has the highest minimum wage of all the provinces at $17.40, while Nunavut’s $19 an hour is the highest across Canada.

The federal minimum wage, which the government says affects some 30,000 employees in the federally regulated private sector, is $17.30 an hour.