KAWARTHA LAKES-The Ontario government is increasing the minimum wage to $16.55 an hour on October 1, 2023. This IS A 6.8 per cent pay raise for low-income workers.
“Under the leadership of Premier Ford, our government is putting workers in the driver’s seat of their careers, and their lives,” said Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. “This latest increase is a fair and balanced approach that means more money in their pockets so they can support their families and continuing building a stronger Ontario for all of us.”
A worker making the general minimum wage and working 40 hours per week will see an annual pay increase of nearly $2,200. There were 942,400 workers earning $16.55 per hour or below in 2022, the majority of whom are women according to the province.
The special minimum wage rates will also increase for:
- students under the age of 18, who work 28 hours a week or less when school is in session or work during a school break or summer holidays, from $14.60 to $15.60 an hour.
- homeworkers (those who do paid work out of their own homes for employers), from $17.05 to $18.20 an hour.
- hunting, fishing and wilderness guides, from $77.60 to $82.85 per day when working less than five consecutive hours in day, and $155.25 to $165.75 per day when working five or more hours in a day.
Ontario’s new minimum wage will be the highest of any province in the country. For example, Quebec has a minimum wage of $14.25 an hour, British Columbia has a minimum wage of $15.65 an hour, and Alberta has a minimum wage of $15.00 an hour.
Tthe federal minimum wage will increase from $15.55 to $16.65 per hour on April 1, 2023. Based on the Consumer Price Index, which rose 6.8% in 2022,
