List of minimum wages in Canada
 |
This article or section may be slanted towards recent events. (July 2012) |
Under the Constitution of Canada, the responsibility for enacting and enforcing labour laws, including minimum wages in Canada, rests with the ten provinces as well as the three territories also having been granted this power by virtue of federal legislation. This means that each province and territory has its own minimum wage. The lowest general minimum wage currently in force is that of Alberta ($9.75/hour) and the highest is that of Nunavut ($11.00/hour). Provinces allow lower wages to be paid to liquor servers and other tip earners, and/or to inexperienced employees. The Employment Standards Act of British Columbia had up to 2011 formerly allowed employers to pay as little as $6/hour to new workers with less than 500 hours of work experience[1] (about three months of full-time employment, six months half-time, or one year quarter-time).
The federal government in years past has set its own minimum wage rates for workers in federal jurisdiction industries (railways for example). In 1996, however, the federal minimum wage was re-defined to be the general adult minimum wage rate of the province or territory where the work is performed. This means, for example, that a railway company could not legally pay a worker in British Columbia less than $10.25/hour regardless of the worker's experience.
This list of minimum wages in Canada collects the minimum wages in Canadian dollars (CAD) set by each province and territory of Canada. Assuming a 40-hour work week for 4.34 weeks a month, the monthly gross incomes of individuals earning the lowest and highest minimum wages in Canada are $1631 and $1909, respectively. Based on current exchange rates, Canadian minimum wages in every jurisdiction are higher than the U.S. federal minimum wage of $7.25/hour; however, critics of current minimum wage levels in Canada often claim that they are insufficient and advocate that they be raised to what they claim to be the living wage. The federal New Democratic Party had in 2007 called for a separate federal minimum wage of $10/hour,[2] although as mentioned above, such a change could not be enforced on any employer operating under provincial jurisdiction (unless the province voluntarily agreed to harmonize its own minimum wage). On October 1, 2009, M.P. Irene Mathyssen introduced a private member's bill (C-448) to amend the Canada Labour Code with regard to the minimum wage and have the federal minimum wage set to $12/hr.[3]
The following table is a list of hourly minimum wages for adult workers in Canada. The provinces which have their minimum wages in bold allow for lower wages under circumstances which are described under the "Comments" heading.
Note: The following table can be sorted by Jurisdiction, Wage, or Effective date using the 
icon.
| Jurisdiction | Wage (C$/h) | Effective date | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alberta[4] | 9.75 | Sept. 1, 2012 | $9.05 for liquor servers. Any further increases will be set on a yearly basis using the Consumer Price Index as well as average weekly earnings in Alberta.[5] |
| British Columbia[6] | 10.25 | May 1, 2012 | $9.00 for liquor servers.[7] |
| Manitoba[6][8] | 10.25 | Oct. 1, 2012 | Workers involved in construction have a higher starting minimum wage.[9] |
| New Brunswick[10] | 10.00 | Apr. 1, 2012 | |
| Newfoundland and Labrador[6] | 10.00 | Jul. 1, 2010 | |
| Northwest Territories[6] | 10.00 | Apr. 1, 2011 | |
| Nova Scotia[6] | 10.30 | Apr. 1, 2012 | $9.65 for inexperienced workers (less than three months employed in the type of work they are hired to do).[11]On April 1 of each year, this rate is to increase to reflect changes in Statistics Canada’s Low Income Cut-Off figures for the previous year. |
| Nunavut[12] | 11.00 | Jan. 1, 2011 | Currently the highest in Canada. |
| Ontario[6] | 10.25 | Mar. 31, 2010 |
The Ontario government's current custom is that, in any year when the minimum wage changes, the change takes effect on Mar. 31 of that year.[13] For 2012, the government decided to keep the general minimum wage at $10.25.[14] |
| Prince Edward Island[15] | 10.00 | Apr. 1, 2012 | |
| Québec[16] | 10.15 | May 1, 2013 | Workers receiving gratuities receive $8.75. |
| Saskatchewan[17] | 10.00 | Dec. 1, 2012 | |
| Yukon[6] | 10.54 | Apr. 1, 2013 | Yukon currently pegs annual increases (every April 1) to its minimum wage using the Consumer Price Index.[18][19] |
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ Queen's Printer of British Columbia (2009-06-01). "Employment Standards Act - Employment Standards Regulation". Retrieved 2009-10-04.
- ^ NDP Calls for National Plan
- ^ "Introducing C-448, a Federal Minimum Wage". Irenemathyssen.ca. 2009-10-01. Retrieved 2011-03-02.
- ^ "Alberta's Minimum Wage". Employment.alberta.ca. 2011-09-01. Retrieved 2011-03-02.
- ^ "Alta. minimum wage goes up Sept. 1". CBC News. Jun. 1, 2011. Retrieved Jun. 2, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Current And Forthcoming Minimum Hourly Wage Rates For Experienced Adult Workers in Canada". services.gc.ca. Retrieved 2012-06-01.
- ^ "Clark increases B.C. minimum wage after decade-long freeze". theglobeandmail.com. Retrieved 2011-03-16.
- ^ PROVINCE ANNOUNCES MINIMUM WAGE TO INCREASE TO $10.25 PER HOUR OCT. 1
- ^ Wage Schedule – ICI Construction
- ^ "Minimum wage reversal splits opinion - New Brunswick - CBC News". Cbc.ca. 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
- ^ "Minimum Wage to Increase Oct. 1". Government of Nova Scotia, Department of Labour and Advanced Education. 2011-05-10. Retrieved 2011-10-01.
- ^ "Nunavut minimum wage increase effective January 1, 2011". Government of Nunavut. 2010-12-13. Retrieved 2010-10-10.
- ^ Shields, Simon (Jan. 2008). "Chapter 3 - Wages, Holidays and Vacations". Legal Guide: Employment Law (Ontario). Section 2(c). Retrieved 2012-03-19. "It is the practice of the province to regularly re-determine minimum wage rates effective on 31 March (previously 01 February) of each year."
- ^ "Doing Business in Toronto: Invest in Toronto: Wages". City of Toronto. Retrieved 2012-03-19. "The Ontario minimum wage rate will remain at $10.25 per hour in 2012."
- ^ "The Government of Prince Edward Island". gov.pe.ca. Retrieved 2011-02-28.
- ^ "Québec porte le taux général du salaire minimum à 10,15 $ l'heure" (in French). CNW Group. 15 Dec. 2011. Retrieved 8 Apr. 2012.
- ^ "Government news release". gov.sk.ca. 2012-08-01. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
- ^ "CBC News In Depth: Economy". CBC News.
- ^ "Minimum Wage and Minimum Wage Regulation - Department of Community Services- Government of Yukon". Community.gov.yk.ca. 2010-01-20. Retrieved 2011-03-02.
External links [edit]
- Government of B.C., Ministry of Labour and Citizens' Services, Employment Standards, Minimum Wage Fact Sheet
- "Minimum Wage Database". Department of Human Resources and Skills Development. Retrieved 2010-09-26.
- Murray, Stuart; Mackenzie, Hugh (March 2007). "Appendix: Nominal and real minimum wage data for all provinces, 1968–2005". Bringing minimum wages above the poverty line. Ottawa: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. pp. 47–9. ISBN 978-0-88627-531-0.
- Minimum wage rate by provinces
