March 30, 2006
Manitoba’s minimum wage will increase by 35 cents to $7.60 an hour effective April 1, continuing the government’s commitment to help lower-income earners and maintain the buying power of the minimum wage, Labour and Immigration Minister Nancy Allan announced today.
"The lack of increases during the 1990s severely eroded the purchasing power of the minimum wage," said Allan. "The minimum wage must reflect the realities of the economy today and must be at a level that will encourage people to enter the labour market. However, the increases must be carefully introduced to address the business community’s concerns."
The minimum wage was $6 an hour on Dec. 31, 1999. The increases have been introduced in increments of 25 cents an hour every year up to 2005, bringing the rate to $7.25 an hour. The 35-cent scheduled increase was announced in December and represents a total increase of 26 per cent since 1999. The next scheduled increase for the minimum wage is April 1, 2007, when the rate will rise by 40 cents to $8 an hour.
This increase will maintain Manitoba’s position near the middle of rates among Canadian jurisdictions. Minimum wages across Canada as of March 1 were Nunavut, $8.50; Northwest Territories, $8.25; British Columbia, $8; Quebec, $7.60; Yukon, $7.20; Ontario, $7.75; Saskatchewan, $7.55; Prince Edward Island, $6.80; Nova Scotia, $6.80; New Brunswick, $6.50; Newfoundland and Labrador, $6.50; and Alberta, $7.
- 30 -