Minimum wage workers in Ontario will soon see a small bump on their paycheques.
As of October 1, 2025, several provinces will introduce new minimum wage hikes, including Ontario. The general minimum wage will rise from $17.20 to $17.60 per hour, reflecting the province’s 2.4 per cent inflation rate.
The increase comes a year after the previous bump, when Ontario raised wages from $16.55 to $17.20 per hour, and just six months after the federal minimum wage was raised to $17.75 per hour, back on April 1, 2025.
Ontario’s minimum wage will be the second highest provincial rate in Canada, behind British Columbia’s rate at $17.85 per hour as of June 1, 2025. Out of all the provinces and territories, Nunavut leads with minimum wage set at $19.75 per hour, and Alberta and Saskatchewan currently tied for the lowest at $15.
The federal increase only applied to employees and interns in federally regulated industries such as banking, telecommunications, and interprovincial transportation by air, rail, road, and marine. In the instance that a province or territory sets a higher minimum wage, federally regulated employers must pay the higher rate.
According to the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training, and Skills Development, full-time minimum wage workers in Ontario clocking 40 hours a week could see their annual earnings grow by as much as $835 under the new rate.