Ontario’s minimum wage to increase to $16.55 this weekend

Ontario’s minimum wage is set to increase from $15.50 to $16.55 per hour on Sunday, a boost tied to inflation.

The increase means someone making minimum wage and working 40 hours per week would see their pay increase by nearly $2,200 per year, the government said.

Labour advocates and opposition critics have said Ontario should introduce a $20 minimum wage to provide workers a living wage in the current economic climate.

This proposed $20 wage comes from a 2022 report by the Ontario Living Wage network that stated a living wage in many parts of the province would be $19, but in the Greater Toronto Area it is over $23.

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According to the report, a worker in Hamilton would need a wage of $19.05 per hour to earn a living wage as the cost of living continues to rise.

The Progressive Conservatives cancelled a planned minimum wage increase from $14 to $15 per hour after they took office in 2018. The government then raised the minimum wage to $15 in January of last year.

This increase will have the provincial standard rising along with inflation, which is on par with legislation passed by the Wynne government in 2018 that had minimum wage rising annually with inflation before the Ford government was elected that year.

Also on Oct. 1, the minimum wage for Ontario students will increase from $14.60 to $15.60 an hour for those under age 18 who work 28 hours a week or less during school or work during a school break or summer holidays.

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People who do paid work out of their own homes for employers will have to be paid at least $18.20 an hour, up from $17.05.

The minimum wage for hunting, fishing and wilderness guides is set to rise from $77.60 to $82.85 when working less than five consecutive hours in a day, and from $155.25 to $165.75 when working five or more hours in a day.

This change will mean Ontario will have the second highest minimum wage in the country, falling just below Yukon’s rate of $16.77 per hour.

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