Ontario’s minimum wage will increase this fall. Here’s what it means for workers

This fall, Ontario's minimum wage will increase from the current $15.50 per hour to $16.55 - a 6.8 per cent boost.

The annual change on Oct. 1 corresponds with the rate of inflation in accordance with 2014 legislation introduced by the former Liberal Kathleen Wynne government.

More minimum wage increases coming in October

This fall, the student minimum wage will also rise from $14.60 an hour to $15.60. The rate applies to people under 18 who work 28 hours per week or less when school is in session or work during a school break or summer vacation.

People working from home will have to be paid $18.20 per hour, up from the current $17.05 minimum.

Hunters, fishers and wilderness guides will see their minimum wages increase from $77.60 to $82.50 when working less than five consecutive hours in a day, and from $155.25 to $165.75 when working five or more hours in a day.

Doug Ford's flip flops on increase to Ontario's minimum wage

It was only after the Workers' Action Centre put pressure on the provincial government that former premier Kathleen Wynne introduced legislation in 2014 to tie annual minimum wage increases to the rate of inflation, executive director Deena Ladd said.

The Wynne government introduced the plan to increase the minimum wage to $14 in 2018, and bump it to $15 in 2019 before it would go on to match the rate of inflation each year.

But shortly after, Doug Ford's newly-elected government announced it would cancel the planned $15 increase. It introduced legislation that would cancel following increases tied to inflation in 2020 and 2021, Ladd explained.

In 2021, however, as the pandemic raged and the cost of living continued to climb, Ford announced a $15 increase would still take effect January 2022. The change came ahead of re-election and mounting pressure from the Ontario Public Service Employees' Union.

Last October, the Ford government introduced another bump that pushed the general minimum wage up to today's $15.50.

Last year, he did both - he increased the base rate, and he also allowed the (2014) legislation to go through," Ladd said.

Whereas what he did in 2019 is actually cut the minimum wage because it should have gone up to $15, and then did not allow it to get adjusted to the cost of living for two years."

If Ford hadn't cancelled the Wynne government's plans to increase the minimum wage to $15 in 2019, the minimum wage indexed to inflation would be reaching $17.95 in October, Ladd said.

The impact of minimum wage hike amid an affordability crisis

A dollar difference is huge," Ladd said.

Last year, the Daily Bread Food Bank released a report that found a $1 increase in the minimum wage would reduce annual Toronto food bank visits by nearly 37,000, she noted.

The organization also found Toronto food banks had a record-breaking year with 1.68 million visits between April 2021 and March 2022.

Every bit of money that people have is going toward accommodation needs and housing needs," Ladd said. And the thing that always gets sacrificed is food."

Ladd attributed much of this struggle to people losing their jobs and using up their savings during the pandemic, having no rent control and being forced to spend all their money on shelter.

She noted the Ford government has also ended the Temporary Paid Sick Day program as of March 31, which she said forces workers on minimum wage to make difficult decisions.

These things are massively significant for many workers, but especially those who are minimum wage workers and those who are in part time and contract and temp jobs," she said.

Federal minimum wage increase to take effect on April 1

On Saturday, workers and interns in federally regulated private sectors will also get a minimum wage hike.

The federal minimum wage will increase from $15.55 to $16.65 per hour, in accordance with inflation, under policy adopted by the federal government in 2017.

A living wage in Ontario is around $20

In most Ontario cities, a living wage in 2022 would have been between $19 and $20 per hour, a November report by the Ontario Living Wage Network found. In Toronto, it would have been $23.15.

The calculations are based on the costs of basic necessities, such as housing, food, clothing and transportation. The organization also factors in government benefits.

Manuela Vega is a Toronto-based staff reporter for the Star's Express Desk. Follow her on Twitter: @_manuelavega