The federal minimum wage is set to increase by 40 cents next week, following a routine adjustment to account for inflation. As of April 1, the wage will be raised from $17.75 to $18.15 per hour, according to a recent government announcement.
Annually, the wage adjustment is determined by Canada’s average consumer price index for the previous year, which stood at 2.1 percent in 2025. The new wage is then rounded up to the nearest five-cent increment as per the established protocol.
Introduced by former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government in 2021, the federal minimum wage applies to employees in industries under federal regulation, such as transportation, banking, and telecommunications. It’s worth noting that the majority of Canadian workers fall under their respective provincial or territorial minimum wage rates, which vary from $15 in Alberta to $19.75 in Nunavut.
