(Ottawa) The federal minimum wage drops this Wednesday to $ 15 an hour.
The increase was announced on December 17 by the Government of Canada.
Labor Minister Seamus O’Regan Jr. said the change would affect federally regulated private sector workers.
For those who work in provinces or territories where the minimum wage is higher, it is the latter that applies.
Changes to the Canada Labor Code to establish a new federal minimum wage also ensure that the minimum wage will rise with inflation. From 2022, each year the 1er April, the federal minimum wage will be adjusted based on the previous year’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) published by Statistics Canada.
The Government of Canada estimates that 26,000 federally regulated private sector employees earn less than $ 15 an hour and will benefit from the new rate. Most of them work in Ontario and Quebec.
It is estimated that 59% of them are men and 41% are women.
Most of these employees work in non-road transport, road transport, telecommunications, broadcasting, postal services and banking services.
In Budget 2021, the Government of Canada proposed to set the federal minimum wage at $ 15 an hour.