Published • loading... • Updated
Ontario Minimum Wage Now $17.95 an Hour
The increase will add about $728 a year for a full-time worker, but advocates say it still trails rent and food costs.
- Ontario's general minimum wage rose to $17.95 an hour on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, an increase of 35 cents affecting more than 700,000 workers across the province.
- Under the Employment Standards Act, 2000, the province adjusts the minimum wage annually on Oct. 1 based on the Consumer Price Index, ensuring predictable increases tied to inflation.
- For a worker earning minimum wage and working 40 hours a week, the increase translates to an additional $14 per week, or approximately $728 annually before taxes.
- Advocates, including Workers' Action Centre executive director Deena Ladd, called the 35-cent increase a "travesty," arguing rising costs for food, gas, and shelter make it "absolutely unaffordable."
- Anne Coleman, executive director of the Ontario Living Wage Network, noted the living wage in the Greater Toronto Area is $27.20 an hour, $9.25 higher than the new minimum wage.
Insights by Ground AI
25 Articles
25 Articles
Coverage Details
Total News Sources25
Leaning Left14Leaning Right0Center5Last UpdatedBias Distribution74% Left
Bias Distribution
- 74% of the sources lean Left
74% Left
L 74%
C 26%
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
