Ontarians making minimum wage will see a 15 cent rise in their hourly wages next month.
The province’s annual wage increase will take effect on October 1, bringing the current $11.25 per hour rate to $11.40 per hour for adult employees.
The increase also extends to workers in other categories. Students under the age of 18 will now be paid a minimum of $10.70 per hour, as opposed to the previous $10.55 per hour.
Licensed alcohol servers will also see their minimum wages rise from $9.80 per hour to $9.90 per hour as of next month.
According to the province’s news release, minimum wage rates rise each year as a “result of changes to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 that tie minimum-wage increases to Ontario’s Consumer Price Index, a recommendation by the Minimum Wage Advisory Panel.”
The latest 1.33 per cent wage increase is the tenth such increase since 2003. Ontario’s hourly minimum wage is the fourth highest in the country.
Nunavut has the highest minimum wage in Canada, at $13.00 per hour for adult employees. The Northwest Territories are second at $12.50 per hour, followed by Alberta, which as of October 1, will boast a minimum wage of $12.20 per hour.
Yearly increases are announced in April and implemented by October.
