Most jurisdictions are working towards a $15 minimum wage
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Workers in multiple Canadian provinces will receive higher wages in 2023
Will these increases lead to higher inflation?
Yes, said Desmond Sobool, principal economist with Farm Credit Canada.
“Higher wages contribute to higher inflation,” he told Farms.com. “There’s a real probability the bank of Canada has to increase (interest) rates again to try to get inflation down.”
Here’s an overview of where minimum wage will be going up across Canada in 2023.
In Manitoba, for example, the minimum wage will rise from $13.50 to $14.15 per hour on April 1. Manitoba also projects another minimum wage increase, this one on Oct. 1, to bring the minimum hourly rate to $15 per hour.
The minimum wage in Saskatchewan will go up too.
On Oct. 1, the minimum wage will go up by one dollar to $14 per hour. Saskatchewan plans to bring its minimum wage to $15 per hour in October 2024.
Continuing east, the minimum wage in Nova Scotia will go up twice this year.
The hourly rate will increase by 70 cents to $14.30 per hour as of April 1, 2023. Workers will see another increase of 35 cents on Oct. 1, bringing the minimum wage to $14.65 per hour.
Minimum wage workers in P.E.I. will also see their wages increase.
Workers in that province received an 80-cent raise on Jan. 1, to $14.50 per hour. Another 50-cent increase is expected on Oct. 1, to bump up the minimum wage to $15 per hour.
Workers in Newfoundland and Labrador will also receive two wage increases in 2023.
On April 1, the minimum wage will go up to $14.50 per hour. And six months later, on Oct. 1, the minimum wage will increase again to $15 per hour.