{"id":577006,"date":"2026-04-02T08:20:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T08:20:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/577006\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T08:20:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T08:20:16","slug":"advocates-say-rising-minimum-wages-still-fall-short-across-canada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/577006\/","title":{"rendered":"Advocates say rising minimum wages still fall short across Canada"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the fiscal year ending, Atlantic provinces and federally-regulated employers will be implementing new minimum wages. Meanwhile, most other provinces across Canada are preparing for their annual increases.<\/p>\n

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Advocates and minimum wage<\/a> workers, however,\u00a0say\u00a0none of these new\u00a0rates are\u00a0sufficient,\u00a0due to the rising cost of living.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we talk about affordability, it\u2019s obviously the\u00a0cost that a consumer\u00a0pays when they\u2019re filling their tank full of gas or buying food, paying rent, and so on,\u201d said Andrew Stevens,\u00a0an associate professor at the\u00a0University of Regina\u2019s faculty of business administration.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the other side of that is that the wages and incomes are not catching up or meeting what it takes to actually get up in the morning, go to work, have a life, pay your bills, and afford accommodation,\u201d Stevens explained.<\/p>\n

Minimum wage workers in Nova Scotia will earn a quarter more per hour when the rate increases to $16.75 on Wednesday. It will increase again to $17 this October.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThis increase means more money in the pockets of hard-working Nova Scotians to help pay for groceries, rent, and everyday expenses,\u201d said the province\u2019s Minister of Labour, Skills, and Immigration, Nolan Young.<\/p>\n

However, critics from the province disagree. In a news release, the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour said workers are not approaching a livable wage, which was said to be $27.60 an hour in a 2025 report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.<\/p>\n

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Nova Scotia\u2019s livable wage was the highest of the eastern provinces, according to the centre\u2019s report. In Newfoundland and Labrador, it was reported to be $25.31 and Prince Edward Island\u2019s was $22.77.<\/p>\n

Both\u00a0provinces\u00a0will see increases to their minimum wages\u00a0on Wednesday.\u00a0Newfoundland\u2019s\u00a0hourly rate\u00a0will reach\u00a0$16.35, and the\u00a0island\u2019s\u00a0will\u00a0be\u00a0$17.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBusiness Matters: Ontario hiking minimum wage to $17.95 on Oct. 1\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

New Brunswick\u2019s livable wage, as calculated by the Human Development Council, is almost $10 more than the newly implemented $15.90.<\/p>\n

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Alberta\u2019s\u00a0minimum wage will remain stagnant at $15, as it has since 2018.<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully things get better so we can provide more for our families,\u201d said Edward Esbirdu, a housekeeping attendant who works for minimum wage in Calgary.<\/p>\n

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He said that he relies on overtime during tourist seasons, but the quieter periods\u00a0of fall and winter\u00a0can be difficult.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, because of all the price hikes \u2014 for example, the groceries and the (gas) \u2014 I think that it\u2019s important to somehow balance the amount of people\u2019s salaries so we can meet ends and make life a little bit better,\u201d Esbirdu explained.<\/p>\n

In neighbouring Saskatchewan, the minimum wage will increase to $15.35 this October. That month will also see Manitoba\u2019s rise to $16.40.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s clear that Manitoba has a working poor problem,\u201d said\u00a0Kevin Rebeck, the president of the Manitoba Federation of\u00a0Labour.<\/p>\n

According to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives\u2019 report from December 2025, a livable wage for residents of Winnipeg was calculated at $19.77.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s\u00a0looking\u00a0really hard\u00a0for (minimum wage workers). I mean\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0all seeing the price of groceries go up\u00a0every time\u00a0we go to the store.\u00a0We\u2019re\u00a0all seeing the price of gas go up\u00a0when we\u00a0go\u00a0to\u00a0the pumps.\u00a0We\u2019re\u00a0all seeing\u00a0rent go up or mortgages,\u201d\u00a0Rebeck\u00a0explained.<\/p>\n

Quebec\u2019s minimum wage is set to increase to $16.60 in May. Then, the following month, British Columbia\u2019s annual increase is scheduled to hit $18.25.<\/p>\n

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This wage is only beaten in the territories. In Nunavut, workers are paid $19.75, and Yukon\u2019s minimum wage will also surpass B.C., reaching $18.51 on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Queen\u2019s Park announced Ontario\u2019s 35-cent increase to its rate, bringing it to $17.95 this October.<\/p>\n

Across Canada, the minimum wage for federally managed workers will become $18.15 on Wednesday. This change will apply to those who work in sectors that are managed federally, such as interprovincial transportation and banking.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With the fiscal year ending, Atlantic provinces and federally-regulated employers will be implementing new minimum wages. Meanwhile, most…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":380102,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[45,49,48,10262,46,65836,714],"class_list":["post-577006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cost-of-living","tag-economy","tag-minimum-wage","tag-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/577006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=577006"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/577006\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/380102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=577006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=577006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=577006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}