Ontario’s minimum wage going up to $17.20 an hour, advocates say still not a living wage

Ontario’s minimum wage will rise later this year to $17.20 an hour.

The annual Oct. 1 increase is tied to inflation and is a boost of 3.9 per cent from the current rate of $16.55 per hour.

Labour Minister David Piccini says the government is giving businesses certainty and predictability by announcing the increase six months in advance.

The government says the new minimum wage rate will be the second highest of the provinces, behind British Columbia’s $17.40 per hour.

The Ontario Living Wage Network says a living wage in the Greater Toronto Area is around $25 an hour.

The Progressive Conservatives cancelled a planned minimum wage increase from $14 to $15 per hour after they took office in 2018, then raised it to $15 in January of 2022 and tied later increases to inflation.