Skip to main content

Ontario NDP promise to raise minimum wage to $20 per hour if elected

Share
QUEEN'S PARK -

Ontario's New Democratic Party is promising to boost minimum wage to $20 per hour over the next five years in a major campaign promise ahead of the June provincial election.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath revealed that, if elected, her party would raise minimum wage by a dollar a year between 2022 and 2026 and said the increase is "long past due."

“The price of everything is going up – from gas to housing to hydro bills — and with Doug Ford’s low-wage policy, everyone is feeling the squeeze. Minimum wage earners are working their tails off and still can’t get ahead of the bills," Horwath said.

The NDP pre-election promise comes weeks after Ford announced his government would raise minimum wage to $15 per hour on Jan 1. 2022 three years after schedule. 

Unifor President Jerry Dias -- who supported Ford's minimum wage increase -- said $15 per hour wasn't enough to cover the rising costs of living and said workers in a city like Toronto need $22 an hour to keep up. 

Horwath acknowledged the province wouldn't be able to raise wages in "one felled swoop" but said her party is committing to gradually increase pay for low-income earners. 

The NDP's schedule would see minimum wage rise to $16 on Oct. 1, 2022, $17 on May 1, 2023, $18 on May 1, 2024, $19 on May 1, 2025, and $20 on May 1, 2026, before indexing wages to inflation beyond 2026.

Horwath said to help businesses with the rise in minimum wage an NDP government would offer industry-specific support such as lowering alcohol prices for bars and restaurants. 

The next provincial election is on June 2, 2022.  

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks

Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.

Stay Connected