VANCOUVER — Online retailer Amazon says it is raising the average hourly base wage in Canada to $26.27, up by $1 from last year. A statement from the company on Wednesday says the bump represents a four per cent year-over-year increase and takes effect on Sept. 27. It says the increase means full-time employees working 40 hours a week would earn more than $54,000 per year on average. The union representing workers at Amazon’s Metro Vancouver warehouse says the company’s announcement coincides closely with the end of a mediation process ordered by the British Columbia Labour Relations Board. A statement from Unifor says the company was “feeling the heat” of the contract that is soon to be awarded to workers at the facility. The labour board ruled in favour of using binding arbitration last month to settle the dispute between the company and unionized workers at its warehouse in Delta, B.C., though Amazon had opposed the process. The company had originally rejected a mediator’s recommendation for arbitration, saying it wanted to continue the process of direct negotiation with Unifor. The board had earlier ruled that Amazon violated B.C.’s labour code by excluding the unionized workers in Delta from scheduled pay increases that had been provided to others. Amazon’s latest statement says certain employees will also receive a 10 per cent discount on groceries and daily essentials on its Canadian website starting Oct. 1. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2026.
