Minimum Wage Rates in Canada
By Province

Part 4 in the Canadian Payroll Series

by L. Kenway BComm CPB Retired

When BC BC introduced their first minimum wage rate increase in 10 years in 2011, I decided it was time to start tracking what the rest of Canada was doing as well. Many of the provinces now tie their minimum wage to inflation and adjust the rate annually. It won't be long before B.C. falls behind.

I thought it would be nice and convenient to know where to locate provincial employment standards as well, so I've included that in the table of minimum hourly rates by province too.

As of 2017, you can also find current rates on the Government Of Canada website under Labour Program. The Retail Council of Canada also tracks current minimum wage. I thought I'd keep my table anyway as it also has prior period information. 

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Minimum Wage Rate and Labor Laws Table
By Province

Updated: March 17, 2019

Minimum wages vary by province and territory. There is no national legislation regulating the minimum wage since 1995. The laws, exemptions to the wage and other labor law issues are provincially and territorially regulated. (see source notes)

Federal employees minimum wage rate is the general adult minimum rate of the province / territory where they work.

Almost all provinces and Yukon now tie their minimum wage to inflation or a formula which includes CPI. The provinces and territories that don't regularly monitor and review the rate. 

In some provinces, employees who receive gratuities, are inexperienced or are employed in certain professions such as liquor servers may be paid at a lower regulated rate. In 2018, the NDP government announced it was transitioning away from this model moving everyone to one general rate by 2021.

It is interesting to note that Canada's minimum wage rates are higher than the federal minimum wage in the US which was set in 2009 at $7.25 USD however many states have minimum wages that are higher than the federal rate.

Currently BC, where I live, had the lowest minimum wage in Canada in 2015. The next two wage increases (2016 and 2017) were designed to move BC to the middle of the pack.

The table below shows the minimum rate history as it is useful when doing backwork on a client's file.

Source Reference: Federal Minimum Wages and Low-Income Workers in Canada, Parliament of Canada - Library of Parliament Research Publications says, "Prior to 1996, the Canadian federal government set its own minimum wage rate, a single rate that was applied to all employers covered under Part III of the Canada Labour Code. Since that time, the federal minimum wage has been set according to the applicable provincial or territorial legislated rate for adult workers".

Province	Rank	General Rate	Special Rate*	Effective Date	Authority
B.C.		$13.85	$12.70	Jun 1, 2019	CPI is not known until March 2019
		$12.65	$11.40	Jun 1, 2018	CPI is not known until March 2018
		$11.35	$10.10	Sep 15, 2017	CPI is not known until March 2017
	8	$10.85	$9.60	Sep 15, 2016	New rate includes $0.10 for CPI and $0.30 to take BC out of last place
		$10.45	$9.20	Sep 15, 2015	will announce annual increases each March based on CPI; to be effective Sep. 15
		$10.25	$9.00	May 1, 2012
		$9.50	$8.75	Nov 1, 2011
		$8.75	$8.50	May 1, 2011	BC Ministry of Labour Employment Standards Act
Alberta		$15.00	$14.50	Oct 1, 2018
	1	$13.60	$13.10	Oct 1, 2017
	3	$12.20	$11.70	Oct 1, 2016
		$11.20	$10.70	Oct 1, 2015
		$10.20	$9.20	Sep 1, 2014
		$9.95	$9.05	Sep 1, 2013
		$9.75	$9.05	Sep 1, 2012
		$9.40	$9.05	Sep 1, 2011	increase annually on September 1 by formula using average weekly earnings in Alberta as well as CPI.
		$8.80		Apr 1, 2009	Employment and Immigration Employment Standards
Saskat- chewan		$11.06	$45.00**	Oct 1, 2018
		<$10.96	$32.88**	Oct 1, 2017
	10	$10.72	$32.16**	Oct 1, 2016
		$10.50	$31.50**	Oct 1, 2015
		$10.20	$30.60**	Oct 1, 2014	now indexed to CPI and announced annually on June 30.
		$10.00	$30.00**	Dec 1, 2012
		$9.50	$28.50**	Sep 1, 2011
			$27.75**	May 1, 2009	Labour, Employee & Employer Services Labour Standards
Manitoba		$11.65	See ICI table	Oct 1, 2019
		$11.35	See ICI table	Oct 1, 2018
		$11.15	See ICI table	Oct 1, 2017	now based on the previous year's inflation rate
		$11.00	See ICI table	Oct 1, 2015
		$10.70	See ICI table	Oct 1, 2014
		$10.45		Oct 1, 2013
		$10.25		Oct 1, 2012
		10.00		Oct 1, 2011	Labour and Immigration Employment Standards
Ontario		$15.00	$13.05 liquor	Jan 1, 2019	cancelled
		$14.00	$12.20 student $12.20 liquor	Jan 1, 2018	starting in 2020, will increase annually on Oct 1
		$11.60	$10.90 student $10.10 liquor	Oct 1, 2017
	4	$11.40	$10.70 student $9.90 liquor	Oct 1, 2016
		$11.25	$10.55 student $9.80 liquor	Oct 1, 2015
		$11.00	$10.30 student $9.55 liquor	Jun 1, 2014	will be indexed to inflation beginning Oct 1, 2015; increases announced 6 months in advance
		$10.25	$9.60 student $8.90 liquor	Mar 31, 2010	Ministry of Labour Employment Standards
Quebec		$12.50	$10.05	May 1, 2019
		$12.00	$9.80	May 1, 2018
		$11.25	$9.45	May 1, 2017	scheduled increases 2018 $11.75; 2019 $12.10; 2020 $12.45 tipped increases 2018 $9.70; 2019 $9.85; 2020 $10.00
	9	$10.75	$9.20	May 1, 2016
		$10.55	$9.05	May 1, 2015
		$10.35	$8.90	May 1, 2014
		$10.15	$8.75	May 1, 2013
		$9.90	$8.55	May 1, 2012
		$9.65	$8.35	May 1, 2011	Commission des norms du travail Labour Standards
New Brunswick		$11.50		Apr. 1, 2019
		$11.25		Apr. 1, 2018	to be adjusted annually to CPI going forward
		$11.00		Apr. 1, 2017
	12	$10.65		Apr. 1, 2016
		$10.30		Jan. 1, 2015
		$10.00		Apr 1, 2015
		$10.00		Apr 1, 2012
		$9.50		Apr 1, 2011	Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour Employment Standards
Nova Scotia		$11.55	$11.05	Apr 1, 2019
		$11.00	$10.50	Apr 1, 2018	to be adjusted annually to CPI going forward
		$10.85	$10.35	Apr 1, 2017
	11	$10.70	$10.20	Apr 1, 2016
		$10.60	$10.10	Apr 1, 2015
		$10.40	$9.90	Apr 1, 2014
		$10.30	$9.80	Apr 1, 2013
		$10.15	$9.65	Apr 1, 2012
		$10.00	$9.50	Oct 1, 2011	Labour and Advanced Education
PEI		$12.25		Apr 1, 2019
		$11.55		Apr 1, 2018
		$11.25		Apr 1, 2017
	5	$11.00		Oct 1, 2016
		$10.75		Jun 1, 2016
		$10.50		Jul 1, 2015
		$10.35		Oct 1, 2014
		$10.20		Jun 1, 2014
		$10.00		Apr 1, 2012
		$9.60		Oct 1, 2011	Community Services, Seniors and Labour Employment Standards
Newfoundland	7	$11.15		Apr 1, 2018	Based on CPI annually and announced Jan 31
	7	$11.00		Oct 1, 2017
	12	$10.75		Apr 1, 2017
	13	$10.50		Oct 1, 2015
		$10.25		Oct 1, 2014	was reviewed every 2 years until 2014, now reviewed every January
		$10.00		Jul 1, 2010	Labour Relations Agency Employment Standards
Nunavut	1	$13.00		Apr 1, 2016	Department of Justice Labour Board Standards
		$11.00		Jan 1, 2011	Department of Justice Labour Board Standards
NWT	2	$13.46		Apr 1, 2018
	2	$12.50		Jun 1, 2015
		$10.00 (see section 5 of regs)		Apr 1, 2011	Education, Culture and Employment Employment Standards Act & Regulations
Yukon		$12.71		Apr 1, 2019
		$11.51		Apr 1, 2018
		$11.32		Apr 1, 2017
	7	$11.07		Apr 1, 2016
		$10.86		Apr 1, 2015
		$10.72		Apr 1, 2014
		$10.54		Apr 1, 2013
		$10.30		May 1, 2012	Now based on CPI
		$9.27		Apr 1, 2012	Department of Community Services Employment Standards Act

*Special wages refers to liquor servers and/or inexperienced workers. I have not identified any special rates with regards nannies.

**Minimum call-out pay is 3 times the minimum wage

Hours of Work Compliance

Hours of work compliance affects your payroll tax rates. I found two articles that I think may be of interest to my readers. Both are from the website HRinfodesk - Canadian Payroll and Employment Law at work.

The first article is titled Regarding hours of work compliance, what is the most confusing issue? By Christina Catenacci LL.B., Editor, hrinfodesk.com---Canadian Payroll and Employment Law News, June 2011.

They polled their readers and this article summarizes the results. The article discusses the three most confusing issues - salaried versus hourly work, whether workers are exempt, and attendance and absenteeism.

In the article there was a link to a second article titled Are Managers/Supervisors entitled to overtime pay? By Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B., Managing Editor at hrinfodesk.com---Canadian Payroll and Employment Law News, July 2007

It was interesting to note that "in all Canadian jurisdictions, determining who is a Manager/Supervisor is not based on:

• The title given to a position or the fact that other employees refer to that person as a ‘Manager.'
• The form of payment of wages (e.g.., salary, hourly wage, commission).
• The responsibility to open and close the business for the day."

BOOKKEEPER'S HANDY REFERENCE

Employment Standards Act
Unclaimed or Uncashed Pay Cheques

How to deal with unclaimed or uncashed pay cheques is covered under the Employment Standards Act in each province.

Each province's Act can be found in or around the links provided in the Minimum Wage Rate table above. For example, in B.C. you would look under Section 3 -19 where the Unclaimed Property Act is discussed. There are instructions on what to do if you can't locate the employee.

However, in the Simply Accounting community forum, it stated that in a 2007 discussion with Employment Standards in BC, the employer fulfilled their responsibility when they issued the pay cheque. It is the employee's responsibility to cash the cheque and/or provide the employer with a change of address. Therefore, the employer does not need to remit the amount to the director if the employee actually received the cheque and chose not to cash it.

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