Minimum wage increasing to $18.25 in 2026

Press Release

Feb. 26, 2026

VICTORIA

Summary

General minimum wage will increase from $17.85 to $18.25 per hour starting June 1, 2026
Annual minimum-wage increases are based on the province’s average inflation rate from previous year
B.C.’s average monthly inflation in 2025 was just over 2.1%

B.C.’s lowest-paid workers will get a wage increase to $18.25 per hour on June 1, 2026, in pace with inflation.

“Working people in our province are feeling the pressure of inflation,” said Jennifer Whiteside, Minister of Labour. “That’s why we acted to bring in annual minimum-wage increases, which have helped paycheques keep up with increasing costs of essentials like food and transportation. This matters for everyone, and especially for minimum-wage workers, the people doing the jobs so many of us rely on every day.”

Types of wages affected by the 2026 increase

The increase taking effect on June 1 applies to the general minimum wage.
The same increase applies to specialized minimum wages, such as the rates for resident caretakers, live-in home-support workers, live-in camp leaders and piece-rate agricultural workers.
The increase also applies to the special minimum wage for app-based ride-hailing and delivery-service workers, established in September 2024.
Effective June 1, 2026, the minimum wage for app-based ride-hailing and delivery service workers is $21.89 per hour of engaged time.
Minimum piece rates for hand-harvested crops will increase by the same percentage on Dec. 31, 2026.

Among Canada’s highest minimum wages

Since 2017, B.C. has made regular, gradual increases to the minimum wage to give workers certainty and to give businesses predictability. In 2024, minimum-wage increases were protected in law, with the amount automatically tied to the previous year’s inflation. Over time, these changes have moved B.C. from near the bottom to among the highest minimum wages in the country. B.C. has the highest minimum wage among all Canadian provinces.

Why increases happen automatically each year

There were no minimum-wage increases in B.C. for nine consecutive years between 2002 and 2010, or in 2013 or 2014.
In 2011, B.C.’s minimum wage was the lowest in Canada, at just $8 per hour.
Increases during this period did not follow a predictable schedule.

The minimum wage has increased alongside broader wage growth in the province. Over the past five years, the average hourly wage in B.C. has grown by nearly 26%, increasing from just over $30 an hour to nearly $38.

That’s why government legislated predictable minimum-wage increases tied to inflation, replacing the past approach where workers sometimes went years without an increase.

Quote:

Ugo Chukwurah, former junk removal worker, Burnaby –

“Minimum-wage work is serious, hard work. You are giving your time and energy every day and in this day and age, the cost of living is weighing on everybody. That money goes fast. So when the government changes the law to make sure the minimum wage keeps up with the cost of living, it means something real to workers like me. It is saying that our effort counts and that we deserve to not fall further behind.”

Quick Facts:

In B.C., many of those who earn minimum wage are young adults, women, and racialized workers who work in retail, food services and care industries.
Women make up of the majority of minimum-wage earners.
Minimum-wage earners and high-wage earners have vastly different spending patterns, primarily because low-income households devote a large portion of their budget to essential needs, while high-income households have more disposable and discretionary income for savings, investments and luxury goods.
Nunavut has the highest minimum wage in Canada, at $19.75, while Alberta has the lowest at $15 (as of February 2026).

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