Effective October 1, 2023, general minimum wage rates in Ontario have increased from $15.50 to $16.55 per hour.
The increase was in response to the rising costs of living in the province, taking into consideration the CPI (Consumer Price Index) which provides a balanced analysis of the costs of essential goods and services. The increase was initially announced on March 31, 2023, and follows the recent increase on October 1, 2022 that raised the general minimum wage rate to $15.50.
Minimum wage is the lowest wage rate an employer can pay an employee. Most employees are eligible for minimum wage, whether they are full-time, part-time, casual employees, or are paid an hourly rate, commission, piece rate, flat rate or salary. Some employees have jobs that are exempt from the minimum wage provisions of the Employment Standards Act of Ontario. See Industries and jobs with Employment Standards Act exemptions and/or special rules
for information on these job categories.
Who does the Ontario minimum wage rate increase affect and how?
Most employees fall under the general minimum wage category, regardless of the status of the hours of work (i.e. full-time, part-time, casual) or how they are paid (i.e. hourly rate, salary, commission, piece rate, flat rate). However, with this change, the specialized minimum wage rates have increased as well:
Students
The minimum wage increased to $15.60 per hour for Ontario students, which is an increase from October 2022 wage rates of $14.60 per hour. This applies to students who are under the age of 18 and work 28 hours or less a week during the school term. This is inclusive of scheduled school breaks and summer holidays.
Liquor Servers
The January 2022 increase was a significant shift for liquor servers, as they historically had a lower rate for minimum wage, which was then mandated to be encompassed in the general minimum wage category. As a result, minimum wage for liquor servers increased to $15.50 in October 2022. With the October 1, 2023 minimum wage increase, liquor servers are now mandated to receive $16.55 per hour.
Hunting, Fishing and Wilderness Guides
The hunting, fishing and wilderness guides wages have also increased to $82.85 for working less than five consecutive hours in a day, and $165.75 for working five or more hours in a day, regardless of the hours being consecutive or not. These categories of workers are not paid by the hour, rather by blocks of time.
Homeworkers
Homeworkers, who are defined as workers who perform paid work in the same premises that they primarily reside in (excluding independent contractors). Some examples of work that falls under the homeworkers category are: online research, preparing food for resale, sewing, telephone soliciting, manufacturing, word processing (see section 1 of Employment Standards Act and the Employment Standards Act Guide overview and ). This category of workers minimum wage rates has increased to $18.20 per hour.
| Minimum wage rate | Rates from
October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024 |
Rates from
October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023 |
Rates from
January 1, 2022 to September 30, 2022 |
Rates from
October 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021 |
| General minimum wage | $16.55 per hour | $15.50 per hour | $15.00 per hour | $14.35 per hour |
| Student minimum wage | $15.60 per hour | $14.60 per hour | $14.10 per hour | $13.50 per hour |
| Liquor servers minimum wage | $82.85 per hour | N/A | N/A | $12.55 per hour |
| Hunting, fishing and wilderness guides minimum wage | $77.60 Rate for working less than five consecutive hours in a day $165.75 Rate for working five or more hours in a day whether or not the hours are consecutive |
$77.60 Rate for working less than five consecutive hours in a day $155.25 Rate for working five or more hours in a day whether or not the hours are consecutive |
$75.00 Rate for working less than five consecutive hours in a day $150.05 Rate for working five or more hours in a day whether or not the hours are consecutive |
$71.75 Rate for working less than five consecutive hours in a day $143.55 Rate for working five or more hours in a day whether or not the hours are consecutive |
| Homeworkers wage | $18.20 per hour | $17.05 per hour | $16.50 per hour | $15.80 per hour |
Note: This does not affect the April 1, 2023, Federal minimum wage increase that applies to federally regulated workers (such as such as employees in the telecommunication, banking, shipping, and other federally regulated industries), who received an increase to $16.65 per hour.
Ontario minimum wage rates moving forward
With the recent increase of minimum wage rates in Ontario, starting October 1, 2023, minimum wage rates will be reviewed for potential annual increases every October and will be published on or before April 1, of every year.
If you’re not being paid minimum wage (and are not on the list exempt from minimum wage provisions of the Employment Standards Act of Ontario) or have unpaid wages (see Employment Standards Self-Service Tool to calculate monetary minimum standards), please contact us for a free 30-minute phone consultation.
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