Press Release
Ontario is bringing in the seventh-consecutive annual increase to the minimum wage—raising it to $10.25, effective today (March 31).
As of today, the minimum wage will have increased almost 50 percent since 2004, when it stood at $6.85.
Between 1995 and 2004, the minimum wage in Ontario remained frozen.
Increasing the minimum wage is part of “Breaking the Cycle: Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy,” which will reduce the number of children living in poverty by 25 percent over five years—lifting 90,000 kids out of poverty—by boosting benefits for low-income families and enhancing publicly-funded education.
“We are helping hard-working Ontarians maintain a decent standard of living,” said Labour minister Peter Fonseca.
“A fair minimum wage is good for workers,” he stressed.
The major industries employing minimum wage earners are accommodation and food, retail trade, and agriculture.
