Minimum wage in Ontario has officially gone up and here's what you need to know

TORONTO -

If you're making minimum wage in Ontario, your earnings increased on Oct. 1.

This increase was the second in as many years for the province, after hourly minimum wage was frozen at $14 from 2018 to 2020.

HOW MUCH IS THE MINIMUM WAGE GOING UP BY IN ONTARIO?

As of Oct. 1, Ontario's minimum hourly wage will increase by ten cents — from $14.25 to $14.35.

WHAT ABOUT SPECIALIZED MINIMUM WAGES?

Students and liquor servers — both of which are paid under the provincial minimum wage — will also see a ten-cent increase.

Student wages will increase from $13.40 to $13.50, while liquor servers’ wages will increase from $12.45 to $12.55.

Hunting, fishing and wilderness guides’ wages will see an increase of 25 cents hourly, with the hourly wage increasing to $71.75.

Homeworkers, which the Ontario government defines as “employees who do paid work in their own homes,” will also see a ten-cent increase, with their wages going up to $15.80 an hour.

The government note that students of any age (including students under the age of 18 years) who are employed as homeworkers must be paid the homeworker’s minimum wage rather than the student’s.

If you are a worker being paid minimum wage and a pay increase occurs partway through your pay period, the government says that “the pay period will be treated as if it were two separate pay periods and the employee will be entitled to at least the minimum wage that applies in each of those periods.”

WHEN DID ONTARIO'S MINIMUM WAGE LAST INCREASE?

On Oct. 1, 2020, the provincial minimum wage increased from $14 to $14.25.

Before that, the minimum wage had not increased since January 2018, when it went up from $11.60 to $14, after which the Ford government implemented a wage freeze.

In June, the Government of Canada announced that the federal minimum wage will officially get bumped up to $15 per hour on December 29, 2021.

WILL ONTARIO’S MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE IN 2022?

According to the province, minimum wage rates stand to increase annually on Oct. 1. The province says that if new rates are to come into effect on Oct. 1, 2022, they will publicly announce so on or before April 1, 2022.