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B.C.’s minimum wage is now the lowest in Canada

By Felicity Stone /

In October 2015, New Brunswick had the lowest minimum wage in Canada. Now B.C. places last
In October 2015, New Brunswick had the lowest minimum wage in Canada. Now B.C. places last

THE#BCBIZDAILY
While the B.C. economy soars, its minimum wage trails the rest of Canada 

British Columbia, with the highest housing costs in the country, now  has the lowest minimum wage. As of April 1, New Brunswick has raised its minimum wage from $10.30 to $10.65, which it plans to increase to $11.00 in 2017, handing B.C. the claim for Canada’s lowest.

B.C. increased the minimum wage from $10.25 to $10.45 in September 2015, and Minister Responsible for Labour Shirley Bond released a statement March 25 that the province expects to announce another increase to take effect in September 2016: “We feel there should be room for a modest incremental adjustment,”  she said. “The balance is between making sure all British Columbians can share in our province’s success while not impeding businesses’ ability to grow.”

But according to a March 2015 poll conducted by Insights West for the BC Federation of Labour, 75 per cent of poll respondents thought raising B.C.’s minimum wage to $10.45 an hour was inadequate and 68 per cent supported increasing it to $15 an hour—as does the BC Fed. “When you raise the minimum wage, you actually create an equal playing field for the people who want to pay people better,” says BC Fed president Irene Lanzinger.

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