The B.C. minimum wage increases tomorrow. While it is the highest in Canada out of all the provinces (aside from the territory of Nunavut), we thought we’d see how it stacks up against other North American counterparts, as well as the rest of Canada.
Minimum wage across Canada
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British Columbia: $18.25 per hour as of June 1, 2026
Alberta: $15 per hour (unchanged since 2018)
Manitoba: $16 per hour (increasing to $16.40 on Oct. 1)
Saskatchewan: $15.35 per hour (increase to be decided later this year)
Quebec: $16.60 per hour for general employees (increased from $16.10 this year); $13.30 per hour for tip-earners
Ontario: $17.65 per hour, will increase to $17.95 on Oct. 1, 2026
Nova Scotia: $16.75 per hour; $17 per hour as of Oct. 1, 2026
New Brunswick: $15.90 per hour as of April 1, 2026
Newfoundland and Labrador: Increased from $16 per hour to $16.35 per hour in April 2026
PEI: $17 per hour as of April 1, 2026; increasing to $17.30 on Oct. 1, 2026
Nunavut: $19.75 per hour
Concerns about minimum wage in B.C.
B.C.’s minimum wage is the highest in Canada aside from Nunavut. In recent years, B.C. has tied increases to the province’s average inflation rate from the previous year.
“Working people in our province are feeling the pressure of inflation,” said Jennifer Whiteside, Minister of Labour, in a statement.
“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.
Depending on who you’re talking to, some say the increases are a problem, while others say it isn’t enough.
Small businesses have generally been the group opposed to minimum wage increases. The timing of this increase seems to be particularly notable.
Hashem Aboulhosn, the chief growth officer at Merchant Growth, said it is happening during a tough time for small businesses in B.C.
“The 40 cents on its own may not seem like such a big deal, but when it’s the third or fourth wave that’s buffeting small businesses, they feel it much more acutely,” Aboulhosn said.
Merchant Growth recently surveyed B.C. businesses and found that in the last year, 38 per cent of B.C. businesses didn’t pass on any added costs to customers, while 28 per cent passed on less than a quarter of added costs.
There’s also the conversation about the living wage, which the minimum wage falls way short of.
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.
Minimum wage in the United States (in USD)
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Like the way minimum wage varies by province in Canada, the same applies to America, as the minimum wage varies by state. However, some states do not have a minimum wage, and in that case, it defaults to the federal minimum wage.
The federal minimum wage in the United States is $7.25 per hour, approximately C$10. Thankfully, the median wage in the United States is much higher, so it’s likely that most people are making a lot more than $7.25 per hour, even if that is a specific state’s minimum wage requirement.
For the states that set their own wages, these states are among the highest:
District of Columbia: $18.40 per hour as of July 1, 2026 (around C$25 per hour)
Washington: $17.13 per hour
California: $16.90 per hour
Connecticut: $16.94 per hour
New York: $16 to $17 per hour, depending on the area you live in
So, after the currency conversion, the highest minimum wage states generally pay several dollars more per hour than here in B.C. and other Canadian provinces.
While looking at minimum wage rates is interesting, cost-of-living realities are what dictate the importance of those wages. A higher minimum wage doesn’t necessarily translate into a better quality of life.
For example, here in B.C., despite the province having the highest minimum wage among provinces, a single minimum-wage income earner would not comfortably be able to afford to rent an average apartment in Vancouver without supplemental income or a second earner in the home.