Minimum wages in Canada.

• Author: Bowal, Peter
• Position: Employment Law

Provincial minimum wage legislation sets out the compensation floor in Canada, essentially a "living wage." Historically, it only applied to children and women as they comprised the majority of working class people who were not organized in a union. Now, these laws apply to all non-unionized workers, although very few people work at these minimum compensation levels.

In 2008, only 5.2% of Canadian workers were employed at the minimum wage. Of these, 29% were between the ages of 25 and 54 and 60% of the minimum wage earners were women. Around 2009, all provinces except British Columbia increased their minimum wage rates, which in turn, increased the number of Canadian workers working at minimum wage to 5.8%, or some 817,000 people. Alberta has one of the lowest proportions of minimum wage workers, at fewer than 20,000 workers, or about 1.3% of its population.

The existence of minimum wage legislation suggests that it serves a positive purpose for the most wage-vulnerable workers, yet at the same time imposes little adverse impact on employers. With a living wage, employees not only support themselves and retain their dignity, but they also spend locally and contribute to the consumer economy.

British Columbia was the first province to adopt a minimum wage for men in its Men's Minimum Wage Act of 1925. This was followed by other provinces. Alberta's legislation came in 1936. Prince Edward Island, in the early 1960s, was the last province to join the consensus to stipulate all employees a minimal remuneration.

On September 1,2011, Alberta's minimum wage rate rose to $9.40/hour, an increase of 60 cents from the last increase in April 2009. The process for setting future minimum wage rates will presumably take into account the Alberta annual average weekly earnings level and changes to the Consumer Price Index in Alberta. This formula and any updates will occur on September 1 of each year. The government seeks predictability and consistency, and includes in its analysis any inflation factor.

Minimum Liquor Serving Province Wages Effective Date Minimum Wage Alberta $9.40 Oct 01,2011 $9.05 British Columbia $9.50 Nov 01,2011 $8.75 Saskatchewan $9.50 Sept 01,2011 $- Manitoba $10.00 Oct 01,2011 $- Ontario $10.25 Mar 31,2010 $8.90 Quebec $9.65 May 01,2011 $8.35 Nova Scotia $10.00 Oct 01,2011 $- NL $10.00 July 01,2010 $- New Brunswick $9.50 Apr 01,2011 $- PEI $9.60 Oct 01,2011 $- Yukon $9.00 Apr 01,2011 $- NWT $10.00 Apr 01,2011 $- Nunavut $11.00 Jan...