Canada: Minimum Wage Increases Effective October 1, 2025

Effective October 1, 2025, five Canadian provinces will implement minimum wage increases. These changes reflect inflation adjustments and cost-of-living concerns, and are relevant for employers, HR professionals, and legal advisors navigating employment law and wage compliance.

Ontario: 

Effective October 1, 2025, the general minimum wage will increase from $17.20 to $17.60 per hour. This increase reflects a 2.4% rise in the Ontario Consumer Price Index. 

The general minimum wage applies to most employees in the province, whether they are full-time, part-time, or casual employees, and regardless of whether they are paid on an hourly, salaried, commissioned, or other basis.

In addition to the general minimum wage, special minimum wage rates will also increase as follows:

• Students under 18 years of age, working 28 hours or less per week: Increase from $16.20 to $16.60 per hour
• Hunting, fishing, and wilderness guides:
  • Working less than five consecutive hours in a day: from $86.00 per day to $88.05 per day
  • Working five or more hours in a day: from $172.05 per day to $176.15 per day
• Homeworkers (those who do paid work out of their own homes for employers): Increase from $18.90 to $19.35 per hour

Manitoba: 

Effective October 1, 2025, the provincial minimum wage will increase from $15.80 to $16.00. This increase corresponds to Manitoba’s 2024 inflation rate of 1.1%, rounded up to the nearest increment of five cents.

Nova Scotia: 

Effective October 1, 2025, the provincial minimum wage will increase from $15.70 to $16.50 per hour. This is the province’s second minimum wage increase in 2025. The Nova Scotia government updates the minimum wage every April 1, using the previous year’s consumer price index as a benchmark and adding an extra 1%. This year, it introduced an additional increase on October 1 to respond to growing concerns about the rising cost of living.

Prince Edward Island: 

Effective October 1, 2025, the provincial minimum wage will increase from $16.00 to $16.50. Each year, the Prince Edward Island Employment Standards Board reviews the province’s Minimum Wage Order and assesses whether it ought to be changed. As part of its mandate, the Board considers a range of economic and social factors to guide its approach and sets a single minimum wage for all employees.

Saskatchewan: 

Effective October 1, 2025, the provincial minimum wage will increase from $15.00 to $15.35. The Saskatchewan government calculates its minimum wage using an indexation formula that gives equal weight to changes in the Consumer Price Index and the province’s average hourly wage.

*Tharmela Ganendralingam is an articling student in Littler’s Toronto office.