N.B. will soon have highest minimum wage in Atlantic Canada

N.B. minimum wage to increase New Brunswick is about to have the highest minimum wage in Atlantic Canada.

New Brunswick will soon have the highest minimum wage in Atlantic Canada following a scheduled increase in April.

The province says a $1 per-hour increase will take effect on April 1, marking the third increase the province has seen over the past 12 months.

Following the increase, New Brunswick's new minimum wage will sit at $14.75 per hour.

After two increases in 2022 that totalled $2 per hour, the province says the minimum wage is once again indexed to the province's consumer price index, which grew by 7.3 per cent in 2022.

In 2019, the New Brunswick government officially indexed minimum wage adjustments to New Brunswick's consumer price index, then made what it called “a course correction” in 2022.

“Our government has done significant work in terms of New Brunswick’s minimum wage from indexing adjustments to the consumer price index, to making a necessary course correction in 2022 to make us more competitive and improve the standard of living,” said Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour Minister Trevor Holder.

“We are incredibly proud to support New Brunswick residents through improvements to the minimum wage which has raised $3.50 per-hour by our government.”

Currently, there are about 19,000 minimum wage earners in New Brunswick, or about 5.7 per cent of the paid workforce.

In Nova Scotia, the minimum wage sits at $13.60 per hour.

Those earning minimum wage on Prince Edward Island are making $14.50 per hour.

In Newfoundland, the minimum wage is $13.70 an hour.