Minimum Wage Just Got Boosted In 6 Provinces & This Is Where Canada's Highest Pay Is Now
The minimum wage in six provinces across the country just got boosted which means you could be getting a raise on your paycheque!
So, there have been some changes to where the highest and lowest hourly pay in Canada is now.
There were minimum wage increases in Ontario, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, P.E.I., and Saskatchewan recently.
Workers in those provinces will be getting raises — including a few that are pretty big increases — effective as of October 1, 2023.
Hourly wages also went up this year in the Northwest Territories on September 1, in B.C. on June 1, in Quebec on May 1, and in New Brunswick and in Yukon on April 1.
If you're a minimum wage worker and want to know how your pay compares to other provinces and territories or you just want to see what wages are like across the country, this is what you need to know.
That includes what the minimum wage is now in each province and territory across Canada and how those hourly pay rates rank from lowest to highest.
Saskatchewan
The minimum wage in Saskatchewan was increased on October 1, 2023, to $14 an hour which marks a $1 increase.
Despite the boost in hourly wages, Saskatchewan still has the lowest minimum wage in Canada.
It will go up to $15 an hour next year — effective as of October 1, 2024 — but with increases planned in other provinces, it could still be the lowest minimum in the country.
New Brunswick
New Brunswick's minimum wage went up on April 1, 2023 and workers now get paid $14.75 per hour.
That's the lowest minimum hourly pay for workers among the Maritime provinces but not the lowest in the entire country.
PEI
The minimum wage in P.E.I. was boosted on October 1, 2023, to $15 an hour which is up from $14.50 an hour.
That was the second increase to the mandated hourly wages in the province this year.
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador's minimum wage for workers went up to $15 per hour as of October 1, 2023.
As of that time last year, the hourly pay rate in the province was just $13.70 so workers have gotten a $1.30 per hour raise since then.
Nova Scotia
Effective as of October 1, 2023, the minimum wage in Nova Scotia is $15 an hour which puts it in line with P.E.I. and Newfoundland and Labrador.
This recent increase was introduced in the province six months earlier than scheduled.
Around 30,000 people in Nova Scotia work minimum-wage jobs, according to the province.
Alberta
The minimum wage in Alberta is $15 per hour and this rate of pay came into effect on October 1, 2018.
You might think your eyes are playing tricks on you but you read that right.
Alberta hasn't increased the hourly pay for minimum wage workers since 2018.
So, while the province had one of the highest minimum wages in Canada when that increase to $15 an hour was introduced, workers haven't gotten a provincially mandated raise in five years.
Back in 2022, Jason Kenney — who was premier at the time — said that Alberta wouldn't raise the minimum wage across the province.
He claimed that increasing it "would probably be the end" for many small businesses that were still recovering from the pandemic.
Quebec
Quebec's minimum wage was increased to $15.25 an hour on May 1, 2023.
That's a raise of $1 an hour for workers across the province.
According to the province, this increase in the general minimum wage rate benefits almost 300,000 employees in Quebec.
Manitoba
Minimum wage in Manitoba is one of the highest in Canada at $15.30 per hour and the increase came into effect on October 1, 2023.
This was the province's second hourly pay rate increase in 2023 and the minimum wage was boosted from $14.15 an hour which means workers got a $1.15 raise!
Nunavut
The minimum wage in Nunavut has been set at $16 an hour since April 1, 2020.
Despite there not being an increase to the standard hourly pay rate for workers in three years, the territory still has the fifth-highest minimum wage in all of Canada.
Northwest Territories
The minimum wage in the Northwest Territories was boosted to $16.05 an hour as of September 1, 2023.
That increase means the pay rate for workers is now higher than Nunavut which makes it the fourth-highest minimum wage in the country.
Ontario
Ontario's minimum wage was increased to $16.55 per hour which means workers got a $1.05 raise effective as of October 1, 2023.
Even with increases in other provinces and territories — including a bigger raise for workers in Manitoba this October — in 2023, Ontario snagged the third spot overall when it comes to minimum wage in Canada.
BC
Minimum wage in B.C. is $16.75 an hour and it's the highest minimum wage of any province in Canada.
That increase came into effect on June 1, 2023, marking a $1.10 per hour raise for minimum wage workers in the province.
Yukon
Yukon's minimum wage is $16.77 per hour, effective as of April 1, 2023.
Beating out B.C.'s hourly pay rate by just two cents, Yukon has the highest minimum wage in Canada!
Workers in this territory, which has the highest standard wages, get paid $2.77 more per hour than workers in Saskatchewan, which has the lowest minimum wage in Canada.
While you know that provinces and territories set minimum wages, you might not know that there is also a federal minimum wage in Canada that federally regulated private-sector employers have to pay workers.
Those employers include airlines, radio and television broadcasting companies, railways, airports, banks and more, along with federal Crown corporations like Canada Post.
The federal minimum wage was increased from $15.55 an hour to $16.65 an hour on April 1, 2023.
If you work in a province or territory where the general minimum wage is higher than the federal one, you'll get paid the higher rate instead!
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
