Under the Constitution of Canada, the responsibility for enacting and enforcing labour laws, including the minimum wage, rests primarily with the ten Provinces of Canada. The three Territories of Canada have a similar power, delegated to them by federal legislation. Some provinces allow lower wages to be paid to liquor servers and other gratuity earners or to inexperienced employees.
The Government of Canada has the constitutional authority to set minimum wages only for employees within federal jurisdiction, such as federal public servants and workers in industries which are under federal regulatory jurisdiction, such as banks, airlines and interprovincial railways. The federal government earlier set its own minimum wage rates for workers under its jurisdiction. In 1996, however, the federal minimum wage was re-defined to be the general adult minimum wage rate of the province or territory where the work is performed.[1] This means, for example, that a railway company could not legally pay a worker in British Columbia less than C$15.20 per hour regardless of the worker's experience. In the 2021 budget, the Government of Canada proposed reestablishing a federal minimum wage for federally regulated industries starting at $15 per hour, rising with inflation every April, starting in 2022. Later, the Government announced that the change will come into effect on December 29, 2021.[2] The current federal minimum wage is $15.55 per hour.
Demographics
In 2013, 50% of minimum wage workers were between the ages of 15 and 19; in 1997, it was 36%. 50.2% of workers in this age group were paid minimum wage in 2013, an increase from 31.5% in 1997. Statistics Canada notes that "youth, women and persons with a low level of education were the groups most likely to be paid at minimum wage."[3]
According to one study, in 2019, 62% of people on minimum wage in Quebec worked part time, and 61% were aged 15 to 24. [4]
Minimum wage levels by jurisdiction
Assuming a 40-hour workweek and 52 paid weeks per year, the annual gross employment income of an individual earning the minimum wage in Canada is between C$24,565 (in Saskatchewan) and C$33,280 (in Nunavut).[1]
The following table lists the hourly minimum wages for adult workers in each province and territory of Canada. The provinces which have their minimum wages in bold allow for lower wages under circumstances which are described under the "Comments" heading.
Note: The following table can be sorted by Jurisdiction, Wage, or Effective date using the icon.
Jurisdiction | Wage (C$/h) [1] | Effective date | Comments | Indexation Formula
("CPI" refers to Statistics Canada's Consumer Price Index — All-items) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Federal[5] | 15.55 | April 1, 2022[6] | ||
Alberta[7] | 15.00 | October 1, 2018 |
|
|
British Columbia | 15.65 | June 1, 2022 | ||
Manitoba[8] | 11.95 | October 1, 2021 | To be increased to $12.35 on October 1, 2022.
|
Each October 1, based on Manitoba CPI for the previous calendar year, unless the government decrees a freeze due to economic conditions.[9] |
New Brunswick | 12.75 | April 1, 2022 | To be increased to $13.75 on October 1, 2022. | Each April 1, based on New Brunswick CPI for the previous calendar year.[10] |
Newfoundland and Labrador[11] | 13.20 | April 1, 2022 | To be increased to $13.60 on October 1, 2022. | Each April 1, based on Canada CPI for the previous calendar year.[12] There were additional increases of $0.50 on October 1, 2020, $0.25 on April 1, 2021, and $0.25 on October 1, 2021.[13] |
Northwest Territories | 15.20 | September 1, 2021 | ||
Nova Scotia | 13.35 | April 1, 2022 | To be increased to $15.00 by April 1, 2024[14] | Each April 1, based on Canada CPI for January through November of the previous calendar year. In 2019 and 2021, an extra $0.30 was added before applying indexation. In 2020, the minimum wage was increased by $1.00 in lieu of indexation.[15] |
Nunavut | 16.00 | April 1, 2020 | ||
Ontario[16] | 15.00 | January 1, 2022 | To be increased to $15.50 on October 1, 2022.
|
Each October 1 (resumed in 2020), based on Ontario CPI for the previous calendar year.[17] |
Prince Edward Island | 13.70 | April 1, 2022 | ||
Québec[18] | 14.25 | May 1, 2022 | * Workers receiving gratuities: $11.40 | |
Saskatchewan | 11.81 | October 1, 2021 | To be increased to $13.00 on October 1, 2022.[19] | Each October 1, based on the average of the changes in the Saskatchewan CPI and in the average hourly wage in Saskatchewan as measured by Statistics Canada for the previous year, subject to Cabinet approval.[20] |
Yukon[21] | 15.70 | April 1, 2022 | Each April 1, based on Whitehorse CPI for the previous calendar year.[22] In 2019, an extra $0.90 was added before applying indexation. In 2020, an extra $0.75 was added after applying indexation. In 2021, an extra $1.35 was added on August 1. |
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Current And Forthcoming Minimum Hourly Wage Rates For Experienced Adult Workers in Canada". services.gc.ca.
- ^ "Federal minimum wage to rise to $15 per hour on December 29". December 17, 2021.
- ^ Galarneau, Diane; Fecteau, Eric (June 5, 2014). "The ups and downs of minimum wage". Statistics Canada. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
- ^ Suburban, Joel Goldenberg The. "Quebec right to avoid significant minimum wage hike: MEI". The Suburban Newspaper. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
- ^ From: Employment and Social Development Canada (December 17, 2021). "Federal minimum wage to rise to $15 per hour on December 29". Canada.ca. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
- ^ From: Employment and Social Development Canada (March 14, 2022). "Federal minimum wage to rise to $15.55 per hour on April 1". Canada.ca. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
- ^ "Minimum wage". alberta.ca. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
- ^ "Employment Standards - Employment Standards". gov.mb.ca.
- ^ Justice, Manitoba. "Manitoba Laws". web2.gov.mb.ca.
- ^ "Minimum Wage Employment Standards Act". gnb.ca.
- ^ "Public Advisory: Employers Reminded of Minimum Wage Increase, October 1". gov.nl.ca. September 16, 2021.
- ^ "CNLR 781/96 - Labour [Standard Regulations under the Labour Standards Act". www.assembly.nl.ca.
- ^ "Provincial Government Announces Increases to Minimum Wage". www.gov.nl.ca. February 21, 2020.
- ^ "Nova Scotia to bump up minimum wage to $13.35 an hour". cbc.ca. January 13, 2022.
- ^ "Minimum Wage Order (General) - Labour Standards Code (Nova Scotia)". novascotia.ca.
- ^ "Minimum wage".
- ^ "Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, c. 41". ontario.ca. January 1, 2019.
- ^ "Wages - Employees receiving tips - CNESST". www.cnesst.gouv.qc.ca.
- ^ "Manitoba's minimum wage to become lowest in Canada this fall". Winnipeg. May 3, 2022. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
- ^ http://www.publications.gov.sk.ca/freelaw/documents/English/Regulations/Regulations/S15-1R3.pdf[bare URL PDF]
- ^ "Find minimum wage in Yukon". yukon.ca. July 29, 2021.
- ^ "Order-in-Council 2021/103, Employment Standards Act" (PDF). laws.yukon.ca. July 28, 2021. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
External links
- "Minimum Wage Database". Department of Human Resources and Skills Development.