Ontario’s Minimum Wage Increases to $11 Per Hour on June 1, 2014

This is an update to the previous blogs:

“Virtually every Canadian trying to survive on minimum wage in any province – and the wages vary – lives below the poverty line. In Ontario … the push for a $14 minimum wage has spawned protests on the 14th of every month…..The minimum wage in Canada ranges from $9.95/hr in Alberta to $11/hr in Nunavut.”
Anna Maria Tremonti
cbc.ca

Hugh Mackenzie provides the interactive infographic CEO vs Average Pay in Canada: All in a Day’s Work?

And Mackenzie’s report All in a Day’s Work? CEO Pay in Canada gives us the following insight:

“Five years after a global recession knocked the wind out of Canada’s labour market, throwing tens of thousands of workers onto the unemployment line and sidelining a generation of young workers, the compensation of Canada’s CEO elite continues to sail along.”
Hugh Mackenzie
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives' Infographic, 2014
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ Infographic, 2014

“Young people used to make up the bulk of minimum wage workers, but the data show that by 2011, nearly 40 per cent were 25 or older.

Various social groups, unions and health-care professionals have been pressuring governments to raise the minimum wage to $14 an hour, noting it would mean a pre-tax difference of $650 a month to thousands of the lowest-paid workers in Ontario.

The Workers Action Centre in Toronto, one of the groups fighting for a $14 minimum wage, is pleased to see increases tied to inflation, but warns it’s not enough.

“A full-time minimum wage earner falls 25 per cent below the poverty line, and we need much more than a cost-of-living increase to address this shortfall,” said spokeswoman Deena Ladd.”
Keith Leslie, The Canadian Press
CityNews Toronto

It is announced today that Ontario is increasing the minimum wage from $10.25 to $11 per hour on June 1, 2014.

  • This new rate reflects the rise in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) since the last minimum wage increase in 2010.
    • Consumer Price Index is a key indicator of how the economy is doing.

This CTV News video from The Globe & Mail presents “Ontario government raising the minimum wage to $11.”

Ontario, Canada

NEWS RELEASE

Ontario Increasing Minimum Wage

New Legislation Would Tie Minimum Wage to Consumer Price Index

January 30, 2014 10:15 a.m.
Office of the Premier

Ontario is increasing the minimum wage from $10.25 to $11 per hour on June 1, 2014. This new rate reflects the rise in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) since the last minimum wage increase in 2010 and is part of the provincial government’s commitment to fairness.

The government will also introduce legislation that would tie future minimum wage increases to the CPI. This will ensure the minimum wage keeps up with the cost of living, and that increases are predictable for businesses and families. Under the proposed legislation, increases would be announced by April 1 and come into effect on Oct. 1.

The proposed legislation would act on the recommendations of Ontario’s Minimum Wage Advisory Panel, which included business, labour, youth and anti-poverty representatives.

Ensuring the minimum wage is fair and predictable for both workers and business is part of the Ontario government’s economic plan to invest in people, build modern infrastructure and support a dynamic and innovative business climate.

Quick Facts

  • The 75 cent increase reflects the annual change in Ontario’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) since the last increase on March 31, 2010.
  • The province’s Minimum Wage Advisory Panel recommends that the province perform a full review of its minimum wage rates and revision process every five years.
  • The panel held 10 public consultations across the province and received more than 400 submissions from organizations, businesses, and individual Ontarians.
  • Increasing the minimum wage supports Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy. In the first three years of the strategy, approximately 47,000 children and their families were lifted out of poverty.
  • The current minimum wage is $10.25 per hour. It has increased nearly 50 per cent since 2003.

Quotes

“Increasing the minimum wage will help improve the standard of living for hardworking people across the province, while ensuring that businesses have the predictability necessary to plan for the future.”
Kathleen Wynne
Premier of Ontario

“Our government is focused on helping hardworking Ontarians by ensuring fairness for people living on minimum wage and predictability for business. By establishing a transparent, fair and responsible method of setting minimum wage in the future, we are taking the politics out of minimum wage. This will provide fairness for Ontario workers and their families and predictability and transparency for our businesses to remain competitive and succeed.”
Yasir Naqvi
Minister of Labour

Learn More

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