Ontario Minimum Wage Now $16.55 an Hour With New Workers’ Legislation

Ontario workers earning minimum wage will be bumped up to a wage of at least $16.55 per hour from the previous $15.50 per hour starting Oct. 1.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford (C) waves to workers as he tours a warehouse that ships personal protective equipment, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Milton, Ont., on Sept. 30, 2020. The Canadian Press/Nathan Denette

Ontario workers earning minimum wage will be bumped up to a wage of at least $16.55 per hour from the previous $15.50 per hour starting Oct. 1, regardless of whether they are full-time, part-time, or casual.

David Piccini, Ontario’s minister of labour, immigration, training and skills development, said in a news release issued Sept. 29 that the $1.05-per-hour raise, a 6.8 percent increase, came following passage of the government’s third Working for Workers Act, expanding on the earlier versions of the act in 2021 and 2022,

Mr. Piccini said the increase would help “more than 900,000 hard-working men and women across our province earn more take-home pay for themselves and their families” and would give workers up to $2,200 more in their pockets annually.

The increase, which is tied to inflation, means Ontario has one of the highest minimum wages in the country, and Mr. Piccini said it will help families “offset the rising cost of living”.

The minimum wage increase was first announced in March, to give businesses time to plan.

“Our government is continuing to deliver steady and predictable annual increases, helping families offset the rising cost of living while also providing certainty to businesses by announcing this increase six months in advance,” said Mr. Piccini in the news release.

Some organizations, for example the Ontario Living Wage Network, have said the increase is not high enough to address the high cost of living in the province, suggesting a living wage for someone residing in the Greater Toronto Area is in the range of $23 per hour.

“Part of what we’re also seeing right now in terms of people struggling to survive is the fact that the minimum wage should have actually been closer to 18 dollars right now,” said Deena Ladd, executive director of the Workers’ Action Centre in Toronto.

The Ontario government has also announced it will require women’s-only washrooms on construction sites, with equipment and gear provided specifically to fit females, and increased cancer coverage for firefighters.

The province said it is the first province in the country to ban unfair Canadian work experience requirements in more than 30 regulated professions and trades, which Ontario said will “help newcomers work in the fields they trained for” and “ensure more immigrants are getting a fair shot.”

“We passed the highest health and safety fines in the country, along with new penalties for those who try to abuse vulnerable temporary foreign workers by withholding their passport or work permit,” said Mr. Piccini.

Along with the minimum wage increase, the province is also implemented job-protected leave for military reservists more flexible and comprehensive and will protect remote workers during mass layoffs.

Mr. Piccini said that in the coming months he will be introducing more legislation to improve living in the province.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.