TORONTO – Minimum wage workers in Ontario will see a little extra on their pay cheques beginning October 1.
The minimum wage in Ontario will go up by 40 cents. to $17.60 per hour. For a person working 40 hours per week, that amounts to $835 more per year before deductions.
This year’s increase is 2.4 per cent, calculated in April based on the province’s Consumer Price Index. Once increased, Ontario will have the second highest minium wage in the country, 25 cents lower than that of British Columbia.
Advocacy group Ontario Living Wage Network said the increases are still lower than the living wage needed for workers.
In late 2024, when the minimum wage increased to $17.20, the organization said that it was over four dollars less than what is needed to live on in Eastern Ontario. OLWN will release its updates to its living wage estimates later this year. The organization says $21.60 per hour in Eastern Ontario, and $22.80 per hour in Ottawa is what they consider a living wage.
A living wage is defined as what is needed to be earned to cover all the basic household expenses including food, shelter, and bills, while maintain a normal standard of living.
Ontario uses its Consumer Price Index to set the minimum wage increase for the year. Statistics Canada reported the CPI is 1.7 per cent in July, and increasing.
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