Ontario's minimum wage increases to $17.20 today

Those earning minimum wage in Ontario will now make more money per hour. The annual wage increase is tied to inflation and jumps to $17.20 per hour on Tuesday, marking a 3.9 per cent increase from the previous rate of $16.55 per hour.

Those earning minimum wage in Ontario will now make more money per hour.

The annual wage increase is tied to inflation and jumps to $17.20 per hour on Tuesday, marking a 3.9 per cent increase from the previous rate of $16.55 per hour.

According to the province, the raise will result in an annual increase of up to $1,355 for a general minimum wage worker, who works 40 hours per week. In 2023, the province said there were 935,600 workers in Ontario earning at or below $17.20 per hour.

The increase will also extend to student minimum wages, which apply to workers under the age of 18 who work 28 hours a week or less when school is in session or during a school break or summer holidays. Those workers will make $16.20 per hour, up from $15.60 per hour, starting Tuesday.

Hunting, fishing and wilderness guides, whose minimum wage is based on blocks of time instead of by the hour, will now make $86.00 when they work fewer than five consecutive hours in a day – up from $82.85. They’ll make $172.05, previously $165,75, when they work more than five hours in a day, whether or not the hours are consecutive.

Finally, homeworkers, including those who perform paid work in their own homes (i.e. call centre employees, seamstresses), will be paid $18.90 per hour, up from $18.20 per hour.

After Tuesday’s increase goes into effect, Ontario will have the second highest provincial minimum wage in Canada, behind British Columbia’s rate of $17.40 per hour.