Prince George’s lowest-paid workers got a $0.45 per hour raise today

The lowest-paid worker in Prince George received a $0.45 per hour pay increase on June 1.

B.C.’s minimum wage increased from $15.20 per hour up to $15.65 per hour. The increase was based on the province’s inflation in 2021, which was calculated at 2.8 per cent.

For an employee working 40 hours per week, the minimum wage increase will mean an additional $18 per week in earnings before taxes.

"Having a fair minimum wage is a key step in helping to lift more people out of poverty, make life more affordable and build a strong economy for B.C.," B.C. Labour Minister Harry Bains said in a statement issued on Wednesday. "We will continue to advocate for fair wages for all workers, especially those low-income workers who have been so essential to our health and well-being during the pandemic."

According to statistics released by the provincial government, six per cent of workers in the province – 136,300 people – earned minimum wage in 2021. Of those workers, 52 per cent were older than 25 and 58 per cent were women.

Since 2018, increases to the province’s minimum wage has benefited as many as 400,000 workers in B.C., the majority of whom are women, immigrants and young people, the statement issued by the province said.

B.C. now has the third-highest minimum wage in Canada, behind Nunavut ($16 per hour) and the Yukon ($15.70 per hour).

Across the other provinces, minimum wages range from $15 in Alberta and Ontario to $11.81 in Saskatchewan.