The Government of Ontario has announced that it is increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
The increase is a reversal after Ontario Premier Doug Ford previously cancelled a planned raise in the minimum wage from $14 to $15 in 2019. Ford now says he's looking to make life more affordable for people in Canada’s most populous province.
The minimum wage increase is estimated to impact 760,000 Ontario workers, according to the government. Ford made the announcement outside a Unifor building while standing next to Unifor national president Jerry Dias, who has been a harsh critic of the premier.
Dias noted that a living wage in London, Ontario is considered $16.20 an hour, and in Toronto it's $22. But while the labour leader offered some praise for the minimum wage increase, business groups said they are upset with the move.
Both the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said the minimum wage hike comes at a terrible time.
Ford also announced that a separate minimum wage for liquor servers, currently at $12.55 an hour, is being eliminated and they too will see a minimum $15 an hour starting next year.
Back in 2018, the former Liberal government bumped the minimum wage up from $11.60 to $14 an hour, and businesses complained about the speed with which that rise happened.
After Ford was elected that year he cancelled the scheduled increase to $15 because his government said it was too much for businesses to absorb. Increases since then have been tied to inflation, and the most recent increase on October 1 was 10 cents.
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