HR glossary · Pay and payroll

Minimum wage

The minimum wage is the lowest hourly pay the law allows. In Canada each province and territory sets its own rate, and federal employers have one too.

Also called: general minimum wage, minimum hourly wage, statutory minimum wage

What minimum wage means

The minimum wage is the lowest amount you can legally pay an employee for each hour of work. It is a floor, not a guideline: you can always pay more, never less.

Canada has 14 minimum wages. Each province and territory sets its own rate under its employment standards law, and federally regulated employers (Canada Labour Code) have a separate federal rate. The rate that applies is the one for the place where the work is done, not where your head office is.

Most rates now go up on a set date each year, often tied to inflation. If you have staff at or near the minimum, you need to know the date and the new amount so your payroll changes on time.

How it works

The minimum wage applies to hours worked, whatever the job title or schedule. Training is a common grey area: Alberta's rules say to pay people during orientation and training, and Manitoba says job-specific training generally must be paid.

If you pay a salary, a commission or a piece rate, check that the pay works out to at least the minimum wage for all the hours worked in the pay period. Quebec has a lower rate for certain employees who receive tips; elsewhere, check your province's rules before you count tips toward pay.

Some provinces set special rates for particular groups or industries. For example, Alberta has a separate rate for students under 18, Quebec has a tipped-employee rate, and Nova Scotia has separate orders for construction and property maintenance and for logging and forest operations. Federally regulated employers must pay the federal rate, or the provincial or territorial rate where the work is done if that is higher.

Common mistakes: forgetting to update pay on the change date, building pay ranges whose bottom step falls below the new rate, and paying overtime or call-in pay at an old rate. Overtime in New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador is based on the minimum wage, so an increase there changes overtime pay too.

Minimum wage by province

Rates below are the general adult minimum wage, read on each government's page on 27 October 2026. No rate in this table changes on 1 January.

Where the work is done	The rule
Federal	$18.15 an hour since 1 April 2026. The next change is 1 April 2027, set by inflation; the amount was not yet published. If the local provincial rate is higher, the higher rate applies.
British Columbia	$18.25 an hour since 1 June 2026. The next change is 1 June 2027 (inflation-indexed).
Alberta	$15.00 an hour since 1 October 2018. No change announced. Students under 18 have a separate rate.
Saskatchewan	$15.70 an hour since 1 October 2026. The next change is 1 October 2027, announced by 30 June.
Manitoba	$16.40 an hour since 1 October 2026. The 1 October 2027 amount was not yet announced.
Ontario	$17.95 an hour since 1 October 2026. The next change is 1 October 2027, published by 1 April.
Quebec	$16.60 an hour since 1 May 2026; $13.30 for employees who receive tips. The rate changes each 1 May.
New Brunswick	$15.90 an hour since 1 April 2026. The next change is 1 April 2027 (inflation-indexed; amount not yet announced).
Nova Scotia	$17.00 an hour since 1 October 2026. No further change announced.
Prince Edward Island	$17.30 an hour since 1 October 2026, rising to $17.60 on 1 April 2027.
Newfoundland and Labrador	$16.35 an hour since 1 April 2026. The next change is 1 April 2027 (inflation-indexed).
Yukon	$18.51 an hour since 1 April 2026. The next change is 1 April 2027 (inflation-indexed).
Northwest Territories	$17.20 an hour since 1 September 2026. The next change is 1 September 2027.
Nunavut	$20.17 an hour since 1 September 2026. The next change is 1 September 2027.

Special rates for youth, students, liquor servers, farm workers and other groups differ by province and are not all listed here.

Example: Checking a salary against the minimum

Sam runs a 6-person garden centre in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. His assistant, Leah, earns a salary of $1,380.00 every two weeks and works 80 hours in that time. That works out to $17.25 an hour, which is below the $17.30 rate that started on 1 October 2026.

Sam raises Leah's pay to at least $1,384.00 every two weeks (80 hours at $17.30) and adds 1 April 2027 to his calendar, when the rate goes to $17.60 and the same 80 hours will need at least $1,408.00.

Free pay step builder

Staffkin's free pay step builder lets you lay out a pay range and checks each step against the current minimum wage for your province or territory.

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Questions about minimum wage

Which minimum wage applies if my staff work in two provinces?

Generally the rate for the province or territory where the work is done. Federally regulated employers pay the federal rate, or the local rate if it is higher.

Does the minimum wage apply to salaried employees?

Yes. Divide the salary for the pay period by the hours worked; the result must be at least the minimum wage.

When does the minimum wage go up?

It depends on where you are: 1 April, 1 May, 1 June, 1 September or 1 October. None of the general rates change on 1 January.

Official sources

General information for Canadian employers, not legal advice. Rules differ by province and territory and change over time, so check with your provincial employment standards office (or the federal Labour Program if you are federally regulated) before you rely on it. See employment standards by province.

Checked against official sources on 4 November 2026.