Ontario’s minimum wage has officially gone up.
The minimum wage in Ontario was $14.25. Starting January 1, the province increased the minimum wage by $0.65.
Premier Doug Ford announced back in November that minimum wage would be going up. This followed reports that it would jump up to $15 per hour.
The legislation will also boost wages for liquor servers. Prevously, liquor servers in the province made below minimum wage at a rate of $12.55 per hour. This increase would bump their wages to $15 per hour.
Ford’s Progressive Conservative government scrapped the previous Liberal government’s plans to raise the minimum wage in 2019, instead freezing it at $14 per hour until 2020. Minimum wage in Ontario increased by $0.10 in October to $14.35 per hour.
The increase will put Ontario’s minimum wage closer to the top in the country. Nunavut offers the highest minimum wage in Canada at $16 per hour. Minimum wage in BC, Yukon, and Northwest Territories is $15.20. Alberta’s minimum wage is also $15 per hour.
Students under 18 who work less than 28 hours per week will see their wages go from $13.10 per hour to $14.10 per hour.