Minimum wage to increase

The minimum wage is increasing from $17.20 to $17.60 an hour effective October 1.

The annualized wage increase is based on the Ontario Consumer Price Index (CPI) of 2.4 per cent and will bring Ontario’s minimum wage to the second highest provincial rate in Canada.

A worker making the general minimum wage and working 40 hours per week will see an annual pay increase of up to $835 as a result of those changes. Under the Employment Standards Act (ESA), Ontario’s minimum wage increases annually based on the Ontario CPI, a measure of inflation that represents changes in prices experienced by Ontario consumers.

About 36 per cent of workers at or below the wage of $17.60 per hour are in retail trade and 24 per cent are in accommodation and food services. Over the past seven years, Ontario’s minimum wage has increased from $14 per hour in 2018 to $17.60 later this year, the provincial government reports. Learn about rights and responsibilities under the ESA.