Toronto 
Minimum wage workers in five provinces will receive a pay increase when new rates take effect on October 1.
New rates take effect in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. The increases range from 25 cents to 40 cents an hour, depending on the province.
Here is what workers will earn effective October 1:
- Saskatchewan: $15.70 per hour, up from $15.35. The province calculates its minimum wage using a formula that gives equal weight to changes in Saskatchewan’s Consumer Price Index and average hourly wage.
- Manitoba: $16.40 per hour, up from $16. The 40-cent increase reflects Manitoba’s 2025 inflation rate, rounded up to the nearest five cents.
- Ontario: $17.95 per hour, up from $17.60. More than 700,000 workers are expected to benefit. The province says the 1.9 per cent increase is tied to Ontario’s Consumer Price Index. The student minimum wage also rises, from $16.60 to $16.90 per hour.
- Nova Scotia: $17 per hour, up from $16.75. This is the province’s second minimum wage increase of 2026, following an April increase from $16.50 to $16.75. The increases followed a unanimous recommendation from the Minimum Wage Review Committee.
- Prince Edward Island: $17.30 per hour, up from $17. PEI has already scheduled another increase to $17.60 for April 1, 2027.
Where are minimum wages highest and lowest in Canada?
Looking across the country after the October 1 changes, British Columbia has the highest general minimum wage among the provinces at $18.25 per hour. At the other end, Alberta has the lowest provincial general minimum wage at $15 per hour. Alberta’s rate has remained at that level since 2018.
The territories go higher. Nunavut has Canada’s highest general minimum wage at $20.17 per hour, following an increase on September 1, 2026. Yukon’s rate is $18.51, while the Northwest Territories pays $17.20.
The October changes do not affect the federal minimum wage, which increased to $18.15 per hour on April 1, 2026. It applies to employees in federally regulated private-sector workplaces. When the applicable provincial or territorial rate is higher, federally regulated employers must pay the higher amount.
Other provinces and territories changed their minimum wages earlier in 2026, including British Columbia, Quebec, Yukon, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
