The general minimum wage in B.C. is set to increase in just a few months, a move the provincial government says will help the lowest-paid workers keep pace with inflation.
The Ministry of Labour announced today that the minimum wage will rise by $0.40 starting June 1.
It follows changes made in Spring 2024 to the Employment Standards Act, which made annual wage increases mandatory.
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“Working people in our province are feeling the pressure of inflation,” said Jennifer Whiteside, minister of labour, in a release. “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.”
The increase from $17.85 to $18.25 an hour represents a 2.2 per cent jump.
According to the Government of B.C., the province’s average monthly inflation in 2025 was just over 2.1 per cent.
Rates for residential caretakers, live-in home-support workers and camp leaders, piece-rate agricultural workers, and app-based ride-hailing and delivery services workers will also receive the increase.
On Dec. 31 of this year, the minimum piece rates for hand-harvested crops will jump by the same percentage.
“Since 2017, B.C. has made regular, gradual increases to the minimum wage to give workers certainty and to give businesses predictability,” said the Ministry of Labour in its release. “In 2024, minimum-wage increases were protected in law, with the amount automatically tied to the previous year’s inflation.
“Over time, these changes have moved B.C. from near the bottom to among the highest minimum wages in the country. B.C. has the highest minimum wage among all Canadian provinces.”
According to Living Wage for Families, Metro Vancouver’s living wage climbed to $27.85 per hour in 2025,
This is an increase of three per cent to Vancouver’s living wage since the previous year, or 80 cents an hour.
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“A rising cost of living, especially for housing, has caused Metro Vancouver’s living wage to accelerate to the highest amount since the calculation began, this year’s report shows,” said LWBC.
“Metro Vancouver’s living wage is now $10 more per hour than the province’s minimum wage, meaning more must be urgently done to support the hundreds of thousands of low-wage workers in the region and across B.C.”