The minimum wage in Ontario is going up next month
The minimum wage in Ontario is going up in October. That’s good news for workers as about a million people across the province are about to see a boost in their bank accounts.
Based on the Ontario Consumer Price Index (CPI), the minimum wage in Ontario increases annually to keep up with inflation and the subsequent increase in the cost of living across the province — and the time for the hourly wages of Ontario’s nearly 1 million minimum wage workers to go up is just around the corner.
Effective October 1, the minimum wage in Ontario will see a 3.9% boost, increasing by 65 cents from $16.65 to $17.20.
For a worker earning the minimum wage and working a full-time 40-hour week, then, their new annual income will rest at $35,776 before tax, a $1,355 increase.
In spite of the much-welcomed income boost, though, the annual minimum wage income still falls well below the salary required to live comfortably in Toronto.
According to a study by the Wellesley Institute released earlier this year, the average Toronto resident needs to earn between $61,654 and $83,680 annually to live a “healthy” life in the city — roughly double the yearly income of a worker earning the new minimum wage.
Moreover, according to the latest analysis by Ratehub.com from May 2024, the average yearly income required to be able to buy a house in the city is $218,050, more than six times the annual income of a minimum wage worker in Ontario.
Ontario’s last saw its minimum wage increase in October of 2023, when the hourly rate went up to $16.55 from $15.50, then a 6.8% increase.
After the minimum wage increase takes effect on Oct. 1, Ontario will boast the second-highest minimum wage in Canada, trailing just behind B.C. at $17.40.