Manitoba set to have lowest minimum wage

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This article was published 04/05/2022 (1310 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MANITOBA’S minimum wage will become Canada’s lowest in the fall.

The Saskatchewan government announced Tuesday that on Oct. 1 it will increase its minimum wage to $13 from $11.81 — which is currently the lowest in Canada.

Manitoba — where the minimum wage is $11.95 — will take Saskatchewan’s place at the bottom on Oct. 1 — even when it increases minimum wage by 40 cents to $12.35 an hour, based on the 2021 annual inflation rate of 3.4 per cent.

Manitoba’s current minimum wage rose five cents last October to $11.95, reflecting the 2020 annual inflation rate of 0.5 per cent.

Conservative governments in New Brunswick and Saskatchewan have plans to substantially increase their provinces’ minimum wage this year and so should Manitoba, the Manitoba Federation of Labour said Tuesday.

“We think Manitoba workers are worth more than dead last in the country. It’s time for the Stefanson government to start working for working families and take immediate steps to make Manitoba’s minimum wage a living wage,” it said.

The Progressive Conservative government has said indexing Manitoba’s minimum wage to inflation gives businesses predictability in terms of wage costs and ensures the purchasing power of the minimum wage is maintained.

Across Canada, Nunavut has the highest minimum wage among the territories ($16); Alberta is the province with the highest minimum wage ($15 for general workers, $13 for students under 18).