B.C. to raise minimum wage by 25 cents

B.C. is set to raise its minimum wage by 2.6 per cent this summer, attempting to keep pace with inflation.

The province says the general minimum wage will increase from $17.40 to $17.85 per hour on June 1. The increase follows the changes mandated in the spring 2024 updates to the Employment Standards. Act.

Labour Minister Jennifer Whiteside says minimum wage earners are vulnerable to inflation and unpredictable price jumps.

“That’s why we took action last year to ensure the minimum wage keeps up with the cost of living so workers don’t fall further behind,” Whiteside said in a release Friday.

Minimum wage rates for residential caretakers, live-in home-support workers, camp leaders, and app-based ride-hailing and delivery services workers will reportedly increase by the same rate in June. At the very end of the year, the minimum piece rates for 15 hand-harvested crops will also increase by the same percentage — to ensure farmers will not have to adjust wages in the middle of the harvesting season.

The province has increased its minimum wage every June 1 since 2018, when it first reached $12.65 per hour. B.C. currently offers the highest provincial minimum wage, with Ontario 20 cents behind. Nunavut and Yukon lead with $19 and $17.59, respectively.

After being the first province to implement a $15 minimum wage, Alberta lags behind the rest with no increase since 2018.