Federal minimum wage rising to $17.30 per hour on April 1

Press Release

From: Employment and Social Development Canada

March 21, 2024

Every Canadian deserves a real and fair chance at success. Yet some Canadian workers still struggle financially while working part-time, temporary and low- or minimum-wage jobs.

To keep up with the cost of living, the federal minimum wage will increase from $16.65 to $17.30 per hour on April 1, 2024. This adjustment reflects the 3.9% increase in Canada’s annual average Consumer Price Index for 2023 and is aligned with inflation.

Approximately 30,000 employees in the federally regulated private sector will benefit from this raise. Employers are required to adjust their payroll information accordingly to ensure that all employees, including interns, receive the correct hourly wage starting April 1, 2024. Should the provincial or territorial minimum wage rate exceed the federal rate, employers must pay the higher of the two.

For more information, please refer to the Pay and minimum wage, deductions, and wage recovery webpage or contact the Labour Program at 1‑800‑641‑4049.

Quotes

“Everyone’s feeling the pinch of inflation. So, wages must keep up with the cost of living.”

– Minister of Labour and Seniors, Seamus O’Regan Jr.

Quick facts

• The Government of Canada introduced the federal minimum wage in 2021. It is adjusted annually based on Canada’s annual average Consumer Price Index from the previous calendar year. In 2022, the federal minimum wage was increased to $15.55, and in 2023, it was increased to $16.65.
• The Government is working on many fronts to help ensure that federally regulated workplaces are fair, inclusive and safe. This includes:
  • implementing the Pay Equity Act so that workers receive equal pay for work of equal value in federally regulated workplaces;
  • moving forward with changes to improve job protections for gig workers in federally regulated private sectors by strengthening prohibitions against employee misclassification under the Canada Labour Code;
  • requiring federally regulated private-sector employers (with 100 or more employees) covered by the Employment Equity Act to report their salary data in a way that shows aggregated wage gap information; and
  • launching Equi’Vision, a website that provides user-friendly, easily comparable data on workforce representation rates and pay gaps experienced by women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities in the federally regulated private sector.

Contacts

For media enquiries, please contact:

Hartley Witten
Press Secretary and Senior Communications Advisor
Office of the Minister of Labour and Seniors, Seamus O’Regan Jr.
343-575-1065
hartley.witten@labour-travail.gc.ca

Media Relations Office
Employment and Social Development Canada
819-994-5559
media@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca

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