As the calendar turned over to Oct. 1, tens of thousands of workers in Alberta got a raise.
The province's minimum wage rose to $12.20 an hour, the highest rate among the provinces. Across Canada, only the Northwest Territories at $12.50 and Nunavut at $13.00 have higher minimum wages.
This year's pay bump is just a first step on the way to meeting the provincial NDP's commitment to implement a minimum wage of $15.00 an hour by 2018.
But some warn that those gains for Alberta's low income workers comes at a steep price. The Canadian Federation of Independent businesses says that one in four of its members will be forced to cut jobs following the wage hike.
CFIB Alberta Directror Amber Ruddy says that raising the minimum wage during a prolonged recession makes little sense for small businesses or the provincial economy.
Ruddy says that the boost in minimum wage is just one of a number of challenges small businesses in Alberta are facing as the province's economy continues to suffer under the yoke of low oil prices.
For her part, Premier Rachel Notley says her government remains committed to rolling out both the looming carbon tax and future bumps to the minimum wage, rejecting the notion that either policy will be a drag on the provincial economy.
The executive director of the poverty reduction group Vibrant Communities Calgary agrees. Franco Savoia insists that higher minimum wages are actually good for the local economy.
Savoia argues that communities across Canada should be moving away from the notion of a minimum wage and begin focusing on paying a living wage.
In Calgary, Savoia says, a living wage would be around $18.25 an hour, significantly higher than even the $15 minimum that the province has committed to.
No province has yet to commit to paying a living wage to all workers but minimum wages went up in a number of jurisdictions across Canada today.
In Saskatchewan, the minimum wage edged up to $10.72 an hour and in Ontario it saw a bump to $11.40, the second-highest provincial rate.
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