Minimum wage rises in six provinces, but is it enough?
Amid a cost-of-living crisis driving up food bank visits and economic anxiety, the minimum wage increased in six provinces today – but both advocates and critics fear it may not be enough to tackle the overarching problem.
While B.C., Alberta, Quebec, New Brunswick and the territories will see no changes to wage rates, the minimum wage in Ontario will go up to $16.55 an hour, Manitoba to $15.30, while Nova Scotia, P.E.I and Newfoundland and Labrador rise to $15.
Saskatchewan’s minimum wage also rose today to $14, but is still the lowest in the country, trailing New Brunswick by 75 cents.
Advocates welcome the raises, but say it is still not enough to help Canadians make ends meet.
"Our living wage is actually $23 dollars and 15 cents,” Craig Pickthorne, communications coordinator with Ontario Living Wage Network, told CTV National News. “That means if you're working full time at minimum wage, even after this increase, you're still short by $230 a week."
The increase represents an annual raise of $2,200 for a person earning minimum wage and working 40 hours a week in Ontario.
Post-secondary student Mya Copeland told CTV National News that the raise won’t fully cover increasing expenses.
“No matter how much you raise minimum wage, things are always going to be so expensive,” Copeland said.
Manitoba’s minimum wage has jumped up by $1.15 per hour, and is now trailing only Ontario, B.C. and the territories in minimum wage. In Canada, the highest minimum wage is in the Yukon, where workers receive $16.77 per hour, followed closely by B.C.’s $16.75 per hour minimum wage.
Nunavut’s minimum wage is $16 per hour, and the Northwest Territories saw its minimum wage increase to $16.05 per hour in September.
With this new increase, Nova Scotia workers are now earning $1.40 more per hour compared to last year.
It’s a change that is eight years overdue, says one policy analyst, as the working class make more visits to the foodbanks.
“They’re getting by by making very difficult choices, whether that may mean not filling their prescription drugs because they can’t afford to, that might mean sacrificing food,” Christine Saulnier, director of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives in Halifax, told CTV National News.
In Saskatchewan, Food Banks of Canada’s poverty index gave the province a barely-passing grade in September, finding that more than a quarter of those surveyed were unable to afford items considered necessary for an adequate standard of living.
The province has pledged to reach a $15 an hour minimum wage by Oct. 2024.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business says the wage increases seen today may create challenges for small business owners that can’t afford to pay their staff, predicting some may have to cut jobs.
“It does push more businesses to try and look at what processes to try and be able to automate, whether they can reduce the number of hours that they have,” Dan Kelly, CEO of the group, told CTV National News.
One economist, on the other hand, warns the minimum wage rises are only a Band-aid solution, and that inflation may cause overall costs to once again outstrip the gains of minimum wage.
“That’s not going to fix the problem,” Moshe Lander, professor at Concordia University, told CTV National News.
“At a time when the Bank of Canada is struggling to reign in inflation, I hate to say it, but this is an inflationary move on multiple provinces which increases the likelihood that at some point in the next six months, we’re probably going to talk about another interest rate increase again.”
A recent Leger survey found that half of young Canadians report living paycheque-to-paycheque, with an increasing number of millennials and Gen Z adults changing their spending habits due to the increasing cost of living.
Advocates say they would like to see all levels of government step in with more policies across the board to support low income workers during these difficult economic times.
YOUR FINANCES

Here's how much more your Christmas dinner will cost this year
Celebrating with your family this December could come with increased expenses as data shows many traditional holiday foods are going up in price.

Canadians increasingly turning to charities to meet essential needs, but cost of living also hitting donations
Every Giving Tuesday, many Canadians generously dig into their wallets to donate to charities, but as the cost of living climbs, research suggests many Canadians are also in need of help.

What is the grocery code of conduct, and will it help to lower the cost of food?
Canada's grocery code of conduct is in the final stages with advocates saying it would help lower food prices while big grocers say it won't.
Poor Inuit housing 'direct result of colonialism': federal housing advocate
A federal housing advocate is accusing every level of government in Canada of failing to uphold the Inuit's right to housing -- and therefore denying their human rights.
Having financial problems? Don't get caught in debt relief scams
With inflation, rising interest rates, and higher costs for gas, groceries and housing, many Canadians are feeling the financial pinch and now personal bankruptcies are on the rise.
Do you tip at a restaurant like Chipotle? Here’s what a survey found
But the majority of Americans say they tip 15 per cent or less for a typical meal at a sit-down restaurant, according to a wide-ranging new poll on tipping attitudes from Pew Research Center. The poll surveyed nearly 12,000 people.
Loblaw raises the affordability alarm as grocery code of conduct nears completion
As the grocery code of conduct nears completion, the Canadian industry's biggest player is raising concerns the guidelines could add fuel to the food inflation fire.
Here's how much it costs to raise children in Canada, according to new statistics
A new report from Statistics Canada estimates how much parents will spend on children over the course of their lifetime.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories

This Canadian couple used surrogacy to have a child. Here's what they want you to know
Families that need help conceiving a child are met with financial burdens that should be covered through government health care and insurance, advocates say.
Renowned Canadian musician and former April Wine singer Myles Goodwyn dead at 75
Myles Goodwyn, the award-winning Canadian singer and songwriter who shot to stardom as the former lead singer of April Wine, has died at age 75.
Renowned Quebec entrepreneur, partner reported dead in Caribbean
Quebec entrepreneur Daniel Langlois and his spouse Dominique Marchand have died in their adopted home of Dominica, in the Caribbean, a source has confirmed.
Another inmate dead at notoriously harsh Newfoundland jail, officials confirm
An inmate has died at Her Majesty's Penitentiary in Newfoundland, one of the oldest operating provincial jails in the country, officials with the provincial Justice Department confirmed.
Commercial ships hit by missiles in Houthi attack in Red Sea, U.S. warship downs 3 drones
Three commercial ships in the Red Sea were struck by ballistic missiles fired from Houthi-controlled Yemen on Sunday and a U.S. warship shot down three drones in self-defence during the hourslong assault, the U.S. military said.
Fatal stabbing of German tourist by suspected radical puts sharp focus on Paris Olympics
A bloodstain by a bridge over the Seine river was the only remaining sign on Sunday of a fatal knife attack 12 hours earlier on a German tourist, allegedly carried out by a young man under watch for suspected Islamic radicalization.
Venezuelans vote in referendum over large swath of territory under dispute with Guyana
Venezuelans are voting in a referendum Sunday called by the government of President Nicolas Maduro to claim sovereignty over a large swath of neighbouring Guyana, arguing the oil- and mineral-rich territory was stolen when the border was drawn more than a century ago.
Israel says military offensive in crowded southern Gaza will be 'no less strength' than in the north
The Israeli military said Sunday its ground offensive had expanded to every part of Gaza, and it ordered more evacuations in the crowded south while vowing that operations there against Hamas would be 'no less strength' than its shattering ones in the north.
Kyiv investigates allegations Russian forces shot surrendering Ukrainian soldiers
Ukrainian officials on Sunday launched an investigation into allegations that Russian forces killed surrendering Ukrainian soldiers -- a war crime if confirmed -- after grainy footage on social media appeared to show two uniformed men being shot at close range after emerging from a dugout.