Alberta's minimum wage will officially become $15/hour in 2018

It’s official: come 2018, Alberta will have a minimum wage of $15.

The wage hike will happen in gradual steps, starting with an increase to $12.20 an hour on October 1,2016 then an increase to $13.60 an hour on October 1, 2017, before reaching the final increase to $15 on October 1, 2018.

The move was approved by the province on September 9, 2016.

According to a press release, 59,000 Albertans currently work for minimum wage, 61% of which are women.

The wage hikes were promised by the NDP during their campaign trail in 2015.

The province also plans to make changes to the minimum wage paid to bartenders and servers, which is traditionally a dollar less an hour to compensate for tips.