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B.C.’s minimum wage surpasses $15

June 2, 2021  By Government of British Columbia (edited)


B.C.’s lowest paid workers received a pay boost this week, with the general minimum wage increasing to $15.20 an hour on June 1.

Over the past four years, B.C.’s general minimum wage has increased from $11.35 to $15.20 per hour. Prior to June 1, the minimum wage was $14.60. The province says this increase has benefited close to 400,000 British Columbians over those years – the majority of whom are women, immigrants and youth.

“In 2017, our government made a commitment to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour by June 2021, through regular, measured and predictable increases,” said Harry Bains, provincial minister of Labour.

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When this work began, B.C. had one of the lowest minimum wages in the country, but was one of the most expensive places to live.

B.C. now has a minimum wage that is the highest of any province and starting next year, the increases for minimum wage will be tied to inflation.

The gradual increase of the minimum wage over four years was designed to give businesses time to prepare for each increase, offering them stability and certainty.

June 1 also marks the end of the discriminatory lower minimum wage for B.C. liquor servers, which the province says disproportionally affects women.

Alberta has the next highest general minimum wage among the provinces at $15 per hour, followed by Ontario at $14.25 per hour. Nunavut has the highest minimum wage among the provinces and territories combined, at $16 per hour.


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