Ontario minimum wage to increase Oct. 1 to $17.20 an hour

Ontario’s minimum wage will rise later this year to $17.20 an hour.

The annual Oct. 1 increase is tied to inflation and is a boost of 3.9 per cent from the current rate of $16.55 per hour.

Labour Minister David Piccini says the government is giving businesses certainty and predictability by announcing the increase six months in advance.

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The government says the new minimum wage rate will be the second highest of the provinces, behind British Columbia’s $17.40 per hour.

The Ontario Living Wage Network says a living wage in the Greater Toronto Area is around $25 an hour.

The Progressive Conservatives cancelled a planned minimum wage increase from $14 to $15 per hour after they took office in 2018, then raised it to $15 in January of 2022 and tied later increases to inflation.