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- Minimum Wage Increase in Ontario: Here’s a 16-Year Recap
Minimum Wage Increase in Ontario: Here’s a 16-Year Recap
- Minimum wage
Alana Pratt, HR Advisory Manager
(Last updated )
Alana Pratt, HR Advisory Manager
(Last updated )
Effective October 1, 2025, the minimum wage in Ontario has increased to $17.60 per hour from $17.20 per hour. The special minimum wages for homeworkers, students under 18, and hunting, fishing, and wilderness guides have also increased.
This 2.4 percent annualized wage increase is based on the Ontario Consumer Price Index (CPI) and brings Ontario’s minimum wage to the fourth highest among Canadian provinces and territories, following Nunavut ($19.00), Yukon ($17.94), and British Columbia ($17.85).
How has the Ontario minimum wage progressed over the years?
If we take a look at the last 15 years, the increase in hourly pay had been a gradual progression till 2017. Below is an outline of the minimum wage progress over the last 16 years.
| Year | Old Rate | Increase | New Rate |
| 2009 | $8.75 | $0.75 | $9.50 |
| 2010-2013 | $9.50 | $0.75 | $10.25 |
| 2014 | $10.25 | $0.75 | $11.00 |
| 2015 | $11.00 | $0.25 | $11.25 |
| 2016 | $11.25 | $0.15 | $11.40 |
| 2017 | $11.40 | $0.20 | $11.60 |
| 2018 | $11.60 | $2.40 | $14.00 |
| 2019 | - | - | - |
| 2020 | $14.00 | $0.25 | $14.25 |
| 2021 | $14.25 | $0.10 | $14.35 |
| 2022 (Jan) | $14.35 | $0.65 | $15.00 |
| 2022 (Oct) | $15.00 | $0.50 | $15.50 |
| 2023 (Oct) | $15.50 | $1.05 | $16.55 |
| 2024 (Oct) | $16.55 | $0.65 | $17.20 |
| 2025 (Oct) | $17.20 | $0.40 | $17.60 |
What happened to the scheduled Ontario minimum wage increase to $15 from January 1, 2019?
The Liberal government’s Bill 148 was repealed when the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario came to power in 2018. Through Bill 47, Making Ontario Open for Business Act, the new government reversed some changes the Ontario Liberal Party had made to Ontario’s employment laws.
Bill 47 cancelled the scheduled minimum wage increase.
Where does this Ontario minimum wage increase take us in 2025?
Effective October 1, 2025, the minimum wage rates per hour are as follows:
General minimum wage: $17.60 per hour
Student minimum wage: $16.60 per hour
Homeworkers wage: $19.35 per hour
Hunting, fishing, & wilderness guides minimum wage: $88.05 per day (less than five consecutive hours in a day); $176.15 per day (five or more hours in a day, whether or not the hours are consecutive).
Do you have questions about the recent minimum wage increase?
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