Ontario's minimum wage went up. Here's what you need to know
Ontario’s minimum wage has gone up.
On Saturday, the provincial minimum wage increased by 50 cents to an hourly rate of $15.50.
The 50 cent hike was first announced by Ontario’s Minister of Labour Monte McNaughton at an April news conference.
In 2018, Premier Doug Ford elected to freeze minimum wage increases before they were scheduled to rise to $15.00 in Jan. 2019. Instead, the province landed on raising it 35 cents to $14.35 an hour.
Then, in Jan. 2022, it was raised to $15.00 an hour -- a year later than originally slated.
WHAT ABOUT SPECIALIZED WAGES?
Students will also see a 50 cent increase in their wages Saturday -- from $14.10 to $14.60 an hour.
The government notes that students of any age (including students under the age of 18 years old) who are employed as homeworkers must be paid the homeworker’s minimum wage rather than the student’s.
Homeworkers, which the Ontario government defines as “employees who do paid work in their own homes,” will see a 55 cent increase, with their wages going up to $17.05 an hour.
Effective Jan. 1, 2022, the special minimum wage rate that previously applied to certain “liquor servers” was eliminated. They are now paid the provincial minimum wage.
To learn more about changes to specialized wages, click here.
WHAT HAPPENS IF I’M MID-PAY PERIOD WHEN THE CHANGE OCCURS?
If a pay increase occurs partway through your pay period, the province 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.”
WILL ONTARIO’S MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE IN 2023?
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, 2023, they will publicly announce so on or before April 1, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Western University researchers unlock potential 'cure' for ALS
New research out of London, Ont.'s Western University is shedding light on a potential cure for ALS, in which the targeting of the interaction between two proteins can halt or fully reverse the disease's progression.
What Michael Cohen said on the stand in Trump hush money case
The star prosecution witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial took the stand Monday with testimony that could help shape the outcome of the first criminal case against an American president.
Collapsed Baltimore bridge span comes down with a boom after crews set off chain of explosives
Crews conducted a controlled demolition Monday to break down the largest remaining span of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
Police release 3D images of young child found in an Ontario river two years ago
Police have released a three-dimensional image of a young child whose remains were discovered in the Grand River in Dunnville, Ont. almost two years ago.
Kamala Harris drops F-bomb during White House live-stream
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris used a profanity on Monday while offering advice to young Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders about how to break through barriers.
Behind the barricades: How protesters spend their first days in a new encampment
Students in Montreal describe life in a newly erected encampment in Montreal as a whirlwind of preparations, from facing rain and a potential police crackdown to setting up a space for the exchange of ideas.
Security video caught admitted serial killer disposing of bodies in Winnipeg garbage bins
Security video caught admitted serial killer Jeremy Skibicki on multiple late-night outings, disposing of body parts in nearby garbage bins and dumpsters in the middle of the night.
Next 48 hours will be 'extremely challenging' for B.C. wildfire crews near Fort Nelson: officials
A wildfire burning dangerously close to Fort Nelson, B.C., has grown to more than 50 square kilometres, and officials are warning that the blaze's behaviour is expected to become more volatile over the next 48 hours.
Southern Ont. man charged with attempted murder in Timmins shooting
One of two men wanted for attempted murder in Timmins has been arrested, while a warrant has been issued for a second suspect, who fled police on foot.