British Columbia’s lowest earners will be making a little bit more, come June 1st.
That’s when the province’s general minimum wage jumps by 65 cents an hour, to $17.40.
The 3.9 per cent hike is consistent with the average rate of inflation as tied to BC’s Consumer Price Index for 2023.
Alternative minimum wages will receive the same percentage bump, compared to their existing numbers.
Provincial Minister of Labour Harry Bains says this supports their commitment to keep wage raises tied to cost-of-living.
“BC has gone from having one of the lowest minimum wages in the country to the highest of all the provinces,” says Bains. “We made a commitment to tie minimum-wage increases to the rate of inflation to prevent B.C.’s lowest-paid workers from falling behind.”
After only two increases in the first 15 years of the century, the provincial minimum wage has risen gradually each year from 2015’s standard of $10.45 an hour. This year’s rise is 3 per cent less than 2023’s 6.9 per cent rise of a $1.10 to the current $16.75 an hour.
