New Brunswick’s minimum wage will increase to $15.30 per hour on April 1, the province announced Monday, still falling far short of what’s considered a living wage.
The province’s current rate of $14.75 is among the lowest in the country, second only to Saskatchewan.
As of April, the 55-cent increase means New Brunswick will still have the second-lowest minimum wage out of the Atlantic provinces, instead of the lowest.
Newfoundland and Labrador’s will increase to $15.60, making it the highest in Atlantic Canada. P.E.I.’s minimum wage will increase to $15.40 and Nova Scotia’s minimum wage will increase to $15.20.
“Our government’s attention to the province’s minimum wage over the past five years has ensured New Brunswick wages are competitive within Atlantic Canada,” said New Brunswick’s Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour Minister Arlene Dunn, in a release.
“Predictable minimum wage increases, which we established in 2019, protect earners from increases in inflation and help businesses to be better prepared for increases when they occur.”
The province’s minimum wage rate is indexed to the consumer price index, rounded to the nearest five cents. The CPI grew by 3.6 per cent in 2023.
The release said the minimum wage has increased by 36 per cent since 2019.
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“The government has legislated that the indexing of minimum wage increases to the consumer price index be reviewed every two years,” it said. “A review will take place this year.”
The release said those “seeking assistance with reaching their career goals or seeking higher-paying work” should visit one of the 19 WorkingNB offices across the province.
In November, New Brunswick’s Human Development Council released a report saying the gap between the province’s minimum wage and the “living wage” — what two working adults would need to make to support a family of four — is too big.
According to the HDC, the living wage is $24.50 in Fredericton, $23.35 in Saint John, $22.75 in Moncton and $21.65 in Bathurst.
“Living wages in New Brunswick communities are the highest they have been since we started calculating them in 2018,” the report reads.
It said increasing minimum wage puts more purchasing power in the hands of New Brunswickers, and that government subsidies and grants must increase with inflation to “ensure that everyone, regardless of work status, can live as fully participating members of our communities.”
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