In just a few weeks, the B.C. minimum wage is going up as part of annual increases that the government says are “in pace with inflation.”
Last year, the provincial minimum wage jumped to $17.85 per hour, up from $17.40 in 2024.
This year, on June 1, the minimum wage increases to $18.25 per hour, which still falls drastically short of what the living wage is in Metro Vancouver and across most of the province.
“Working people in our province are feeling the pressure of inflation,” said Jennifer Whiteside, Minister of Labour, in the February announcement.
“That’s why we acted to bring in annual minimum-wage increases, which have helped paycheques keep up with increasing costs of essentials like food and transportation. This matters for everyone, and especially for minimum-wage workers, the people doing the jobs so many of us rely on every day,” Whiteside added.
The minimum wage works a little bit differently for app-based ride-hailing and delivery service workers, who are going to see a jump to $21.89 per hour of engaged time.
Minimum wage differs greatly from the living wage, and it falls well short of it here in B.C. and in most of the country. The living wage is the hourly income that is needed for a worker to cover their basic, essential expenses, which include food, housing, childcare, and transportation, without relying on government subsidies.
Living wage is location-specific, and in Metro Vancouver, the living wage is $27.85 per hour, almost $10 per hour more than the minimum wage.
The B.C. Ministry of Labour points out that there was no increase for nine consecutive years between 2002 and 2010, and there was no increase in 2013 or 2014.
In 2011, B.C. had the lowest minimum wage in Canada at just $8 per hour.
The ministry also has some facts about minimum wage workers, including the fact that most people who earn minimum wage are young adults, women, and racialized workers in retail, food service and care industries.
B.C. business response to minimum wage increase
As we’ve seen in previous years, businesses and business organizations in the province have had a lot to say about the annual minimum wage increases.
Jairo Yunis, director of policy for the Business Council of British Columbia (BCBC), said he understands the goal of this policy and the importance of helping workers keep up with rising costs.
“My concern is more about the unintended consequences of this in the current economic environment,” he told Daily Hive in an interview earlier this year.
“Wage policy doesn’t operate in isolation. Businesses are facing rising costs and there are broader labour market dynamics here to consider, particularly for entry-level employment and youth employment,” he said.
Ian Tostenson, the president and CEO of the British Columbia Restaurant Association, agreed.
“This is particularly evident in quick service restaurants, where you have somebody that walks in, and they have no experience, and they’re getting $18.25 an hour and they’re not productive — and that’s not a criticism, just… they don’t know — so, it probably takes them two or three months, perhaps, to become efficient and productive,” he said.
Minimum wage over the years:
- 2001: $8
- 2002 – 2010: No increase
- 2011: $8 to $8.75 to $9.50
- 2012: $10.25
- 2013-2014: No increase
- 2015: $10.45
- 2016: $10.85
- 2017: $11:35
- 2018: $12.65
- 2019: $13.85
- 2020: $14.60
- 2021: $15.20
- 2022: $15.65
- 2023: $16.75
- 2024: $17.40
- 2025: $17.85
- 2026: $18.25
With files from Hanna Hett