Labour Minister Monte McNaughton confirmed that the minimum wage will increase to $15.50/hour on October 1.

The increase was already legislated back in December when the government essentially reinstated a Liberal-era policy that Premier Doug Ford cut close to the beginning of his term.

Students under 18 can continue to make slightly less than minimum wage ($14.60/hour, an increase by 50 cents/hour as well) on Oct. 1.

General and specialized minimum wage rates. Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development, April 5, 2022.

In making the announcement, McNaughton didn't clarify how the increase was commensurate with inflation, which the PCs have promised. He did say the government would reveal the new inflation-adjusted minimum wage every year in April and that this was the first of those announcements.

Calling the announcement a “win for workers,” McNaughton said “we’re not going back to where we were before the pandemic hit the province” in response to a question on if the announcement was pre-election hoopla.

Responding to the announcement, NDP MPP Peggy Sattler was skeptical.

“(The PCs) had scrapped the planned increases pretty much a month after they were elected, and then they froze minimum wages for three years. And then, all of a sudden, we now today have this re-announcement of a cost-of-living increase that was already supposed to be taking effect,” Sattler said.

Sattler also emphasized the NDP’s platform that would increase the minimum wage to $16 in October if elected, increasing it again to $17 in May with yearly increases reaching $20 in 2026.

The Liberals, in their “Economic Dignity” plan, have promised to increase the minimum wage to cover the cost of living — at first, matching the NDP by increasing it to $16 — and then tying it to regional living costs.

In Brief: McNaughton confirms minimum wage will be $15.50 in October

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