Five Canadian Provinces Raise Minimum Wages Amid Affordability Crisis

Five Canadian provinces—Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan—increased their minimum wages on October 1, 2026. The adjustments range from a $0.25 per hour increase in Nova Scotia to $0.40 per hour in Manitoba.

In Ontario, the provincial government raised the minimum wage to $17.95 per hour. Critics argue this rate is insufficient to combat working poverty, noting it remains 90 cents lower than it would have been if the Progressive Conservative Party had not repealed provisions of Bill 148 in 2018. That repeal eliminated a scheduled increase to $15 in 2019 and removed annual inflation adjustments.

Across the participating provinces, new rates remain significantly below the cost of basic affordability. In Saskatchewan, the new $15.70 rate is nearly $7 per hour below the cost of a one-bedroom apartment in Regina or Saskatoon, while Nova Scotia's $17 rate is nearly $10 per hour below rental costs in Halifax. In Ontario, living wage estimates range from $21.05 to $27.60.

Financial strain on low-wage workers is compounded by rising food and shelter costs, the weakening of rent controls, and the loss of the Climate Action Incentive payment, which reduced annual family rebates by approximately $1,500. Data from Our Daily Bread indicates a sharp rise in food bank usage among employed individuals, with 37 percent of users in 2025 citing employment income as their primary source, up from 13 percent in 2018.