Minimum wage is increasing in five provinces at the start of October.
As of Oct. 1, minimum wage in Ontario, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia will increase.
By law, minimum wage is the lowest hourly amount a business can pay a worker and is set by provinces and territories.
In Ontario, the province’s minimum wage increases annually based on provincial inflation levels, according to the Employment Standards Act.
The October increase will see the minimum wage rise from $17.20 an hour to $17.60 per hour. The provincial government says this would amount to a pay increase of $835 annually, if working 40 hours per week.
Ontario’s new minimum wage will be the fourth highest in the country, behind British Columbia, Yukon and Nunavut.
Prince Edward Island’s minimum wage will increase from $16 to $16.50, as determined by the Employment Standards Board, which reviews the rate annually. The province will see another increase to $17 on April 1.
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Saskatchewan’s minimum wage will increase to $15.35 an hour, with Manitoba rising to $16.
Manitoba’s minimum wage will increase to $16, as regulated by the Employment Standards Code.
Lastly, Nova Scotia will see the wage rise to $16.50.
The current hourly minimum wages across the country for the provinces and territories not seeing increases next week are as follows:
British Columbia: $17.85
Alberta: $15
Quebec: $16.10
New Brunswick: $15.65
Newfoundland and Labrador: $16
Yukon: $17.94
Northwest Territories: $16.95
Nunavut: $19.75
Federal: $17.75 — this rate applies to federally-regulated industries. If an employee is in a province or territory where the minimum wage is higher than this rate, they must be paid that jurisdiction’s hourly pay.
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