As the fiscal year comes to an end, employers in the Atlantic provinces and those that are federally regulated will be raising their minimum wages. Most other provinces in Canada, on the other hand, are getting ready for their yearly raises.
But advocates and people who work for minimum wage say that none of these new rates are enough because the cost of living is going up.
“When we talk about affordability, it’s obviously the cost that a consumer pays when they’re filling their tank full of gas or buying food, paying rent, and so on,” said Andrew Stevens, an associate professor at the University of Regina’s faculty of business administration.
Stevens said, “But the other side of that is that the wages and incomes are not catching up or meeting what it takes to actually get up in the morning, go to work, have a life, pay your bills, and afford accommodation.”
When the minimum wage goes up to $16.75 on Wednesday, workers in Nova Scotia will make an extra 25 cents per hour. In October, it will go up again to $17.
Nolan Young, the province’s Minister of Labour, Skills, and Immigration, said, “This increase means more money in the pockets of hard-working Nova Scotians to help pay for groceries, rent, and other everyday costs.”
But people from the province who don’t like it disagree. The Nova Scotia Federation of Labour said in a news release that workers are not getting close to a living wage. A 2025 report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives said that a living wage was $27.60 an hour.
The center’s report said that Nova Scotia had the highest livable wage of all the eastern provinces. It was $25.31 in Newfoundland and Labrador and $22.77 in Prince Edward Island.
On Wednesday, the minimum wage will go up in both provinces. The hourly rate in Newfoundland will be $16.35, and the rate on the island will be $17.
Click here to watch the video: “Business Matters: Ontario raising the minimum wage to $17.95 on October 1.”
2:10 Business Matters: Ontario will raise the minimum wage to $17.95 on October 1.
The Human Development Council says that New Brunswick’s livable wage is almost $10 more than the new $15.90.
The minimum wage in Alberta will stay at $15, where it has been since 2018.
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He said that he needs extra hours during the busy tourist seasons, but the fall and winter months can be hard.
Esbirdu said, “Right now, because of all the price increases, like the groceries and the (gas), I think it’s important to somehow balance the amount of people’s salaries so we can meet ends and make life a little bit better.”
The minimum wage in Saskatchewan, which is next door, will go up to $15.35 this October. That month, Manitoba will also go up to $16.40.
Kevin Rebeck, president of the Manitoba Federation of Labour, said, “It’s clear that Manitoba has a working poor problem.”
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ report from December 2025 said that $19.77 was a livable wage for people living in Winnipeg.
“It’s really hard for (minimum wage workers) right now. I mean, every time we go to the store, we see that the price of food is going up. When we go to the pumps, we can all see that gas prices are going up. “Everyone is seeing rent or mortgages go up,” Rebeck said.
In May, Quebec’s minimum wage will go up to $16.60. In the next month, British Columbia’s annual increase is set to reach $18.25.
In the territories, this wage is the only one that beats it. Workers in Nunavut make $19.75 an hour, and Yukon will have a higher minimum wage than B.C. on Wednesday, when it will be $18.51.
Queen’s Park said that Ontario’s rate will go up by 35 cents this October, bringing it to $17.95.
On Wednesday, the minimum wage for federally managed workers in Canada will go up to $18.15. This change will affect people who work in federally managed fields, like interp
