Minimum wage increases in 5 Canadian provinces

Minimum wage workers in the provinces of Manitoba, Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Saskatchewan have seen a raise in their pay as of October 1. Increases range from $14 to $16.55 per hour.

What is the minimum wage in Canada?

Here are the current minimum wages for all the provinces and territories in Canada:

See all the average wages in Canada on the Statistics Canada website.

These wage increases follow the federal government’s minimum wage increase that happened in April. Employers of federally regulated private sector employees and interns pay their minimum wage employees $17.30, as at April 1 2024. These federally-regulated occupations include air transportation, banks, and most federal Crown corporations such as Canada Post, among others.

Read on to learn more about the increase in the Canadian province that interests you.

Manitoba minimum wage increases

Manitoba will be increasing the minimum wage to $15.30 per hour. Only the following groups of employees will be excluded from minimum wage in Manitoba:

• domestic workers who work less than 12 hours a week
• people in an approved provincial or federal training program
• election officials, enumerators and any other temporary person appointed under The Elections Act

The new increase follows the April 1 increase, when the minimum wage in Manitoba went up to $14.15 per hour from $13.50. According to Statistics Canada, the average wage in Manitoba in Q2, 2023 was $22.80.

Learn more about immigrating to Canada through the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP).

Ontario minimum wage increases

Ontario’s minimum wage is going up to $16.55 per hour, making it the highest minimum wage in Canada under the federal minimum wage ($16.65) In addition, wages will also increase for:

• students under the age of 18 make at least $15.60 per hour
• people working from home make at least $18.20 an hour
• hunting, fishing and wilderness guides, are making a minimum of $82.85 per day when working less than five consecutive hours, and $165.75 per day when working five or more hours.

The average wage in Ontario in Q2, 2023 was $26.05 per hour.

Learn more about immigrating to Canada through the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP).

Newfoundland and Labrador minimum wage increases

The minimum wage in Newfoundland and Labrador is now $15 per hour. The update in wage has been long coming, since the province released a minimum wage report in 2022.

In Q2, 2023, the average wage in the east-coast province was $23.15.

Learn more about immigrating to Canada through the Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Nominee Program (NLPNP).

Nova Scotia minimum wage increases

Nova Scotia is seeing a minimum wage increase to $15 per hour. It is set to increase again on April 1, 2024, when it will be $15.25 per hour.

In Q2, 2023, the average wage in Nova Scotia was $22.30.

Learn more about immigrating to Canada through the Nova Scotia Nominee Program (NSNP).

Saskatchewan minimum wage increases

The minimum wage in Saskatchewan is $14 per hour — up from $13 per hour. Currently, Saskatchewan has the lowest minimum wage in Canada.

Some employees do not have to be paid the minimum wage. These include:

• farming, ranching or market garden labourers
• some care providers employed in private homes
• babysitters (only those that are of a very temporary or sporadic nature)
• athletes while engaged in their athletic endeavour
• volunteers for non-profit organizations
• individuals who have a physical or mental disability or impairment and work for a non-profit organization or institution in programs that are educational, therapeutic or rehabilitative.

Next year, on Oct. 1, 2024, Saskatchewan is slated to raise minimum wage again to $15 per hour.

In Q2, 2023, the average wage in the prairie province was $23.15.

Learn more about immigrating to Canada through the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP).

Canada’s average weekly earnings increased in July

On September 28, Statistics Canada reported the average weekly earnings in Canada shot up to $1,215.

That’s an increas of 0.8 percent month-over-month, following two months of smaller monthly growth in May and June, which were both at 0.4 percent. The industries that saw the biggest earnings growth in July were public administration (up 1.9 percent to $1,553 weekly) and construction (up 1.6 percent to $1,509 weekly).

Compared to the same time last year, earnings increased by 4.3 percent, higher than the 3.7 percent increase in June. Various factors can affect earnings, such as changes in how much people get paid, the types of jobs people have, and how many hours they work.

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