Ontario’s minimum wage now 2nd highest in Canada after increase

Ontario’s minimum wage is now the second highest of all the Canadian provinces following the latest increase, the government says.

Starting Tuesday, the minimum wage is now $17.20 an hour, up 3.9 per cent from the previous rate of $16.55 per hour, the province said. Under the Employment Standards Act, Ontario’s minimum wage increases annually based on provincial inflation levels.

Ontario Labour Minister David Piccini announced the hike in March to give businesses “certainty and predictability” by sharing news of the increase ahead of time.

The government said a worker making the general minimum wage and working 40 hours per week would see an annual pay increase of roughly $1,355. It added 935,600 workers were earning at or below $17.20 per hour in 2023.

0:58 ‘Barely’ surviving: A stay-at-home dad and his family’s financial struggles in Ontario

With the new wage kicking in, the government said Ontario’s new minimum wage rate is the second highest of the provinces, behind British Columbia’s $17.40 per hour. Other provinces that hiked their minimum wage on Tuesday include Saskatchewan ($15), Manitoba ($15.80) and Prince Edward Island ($16).

The Ontario Living Wage Network, a coalition of employers, employees, non-profits and researchers, said in 2023 that at a minimum, a living wage in southwest Ontario was $18.65 per hour. That figure varies across the province, with the highest living wage being in the Greater Toronto Area at $25.05 an hour.

Get weekly money news

Get expert insights, Q&A on markets, housing, inflation, and personal finance information delivered to you every Saturday.

Sign up for weekly money newsletter Get Started

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

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

— with files from The Canadian Press