Minimum Wage Is Going Up In Several Provinces In 2022 & Here's Who'll Be Paid The Least

There's some good news ahead for workers in Canada! Multiple provinces and territories have plans to increase their minimum wage in 2022 and some have already got the job done.

While some regions will pay employees at least $16 per hour by the end of this year, others are set to end up falling behind with wages of $12.35 or even less per hour.

Federal employees' pay increased from $15.00 to $15.55 per hour as of April 1, as confirmed by officials back in March.

Around the same time, B.C. confirmed that employees would get a pay boost of 45 cents per hour effective June 1, 2022, taking the general minimum wage up to $15.65. The increase is based on the region's average annual inflation rate in 2021, which was the highest since 1993.

Employees in Ontario will have noticed a small increase in their pay in 2022 too, as the minimum wage went up to $15 in January.

Ontario and B.C.'s minimum wages will be among the highest in the country this year, but neither quite take the top spot.

Nova Scotia was lagging a little behind, as the minimum wage was $12.95 per hour prior to April 2022. It recently went up by 40 cents, with the government discussing additional increases that would bring this to $15 by 2024.

Minimum wage workers living in New Brunswick can expect their wages to increase more than once this year. It climbed to $12.75 on April 1 and will go up again to $13.75 on October 1.

In Quebec, the minimum wage increased from $13.50 to $14.25 on May 1, 2022.

Residents of Manitoba are set for a boost too, but not until October 1, 2022.The province's minimum wage is adjusted annually based on the inflation rate and will climb from $11.95 to $12.35. Despite the change, it will become the lowest across Canada.

That's because Saskatchewan — which currently has the lowest minimum wage in Canada at $11.81 per hour — has plans to update its rates to $13 per hour as of October 1, 2022. After that, the province's goal is to increase to $15 by 2024.

New Brunswick was previously the region with the lowest minimum wage at $11.75 per hour, this went up in April to $12.75 per hour, set to go up again in October to $13.75.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, the minimum wage was reconsidered in April, relative to the Consumer Price Index. It increased by 45 cents, to $13.20 per hour

As of April in Prince Edward Island, the numbers went up by 70 cents from $13 to $13.70 per hour.

Nunavut currently has the highest minimum wage in Canada, paying employees $16 per hour. Its minimum wage is reviewed annually. While it sounds like a lot in comparison to some other spots, it's worth considering that the prices of things like food and household items are much higher in Nunavut compared to other areas of Canada.

Is minimum wage going up everywhere?

Not every Canadian province has plans to bump its minimum wage this year. For example, Alberta's remains unchanged for now at $15 per hour.

In the Northwest Territories, the minimum wage is $15.20 per hour effective as of September 1, 2021. The region's minimum wage is reviewed bi-annually, so it's not likely to go up again in 2022.

After all the shifting this year, Nunavut is still likely to have the highest minimum wage in Canada at $16 per hour, followed by Yukon, B.C. and the Northwest Territories at $15.20.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.