Minimum Wage in Canada (2026): Federal and Provincial Rates With Payroll Examples

Canada doesn't have one minimum wage. It has a federal rate for a small slice of employers and separate rates for each province and territory, most of them now changing every year on different dates. That's how payroll mistakes happen. This guide is for small business owners, payroll staff and workers who need the right number in October 2026: the federal rate from 1 April 2026, each provincial rate we could verify on official government pages with its effective date, the special student and tipped rates, and worked payroll examples in Canadian dollars.

Quick answer

The federal minimum wage is C$18.15 an hour from 1 April 2026, but it applies only to federally regulated private-sector employers. Everyone else is paid their province's or territory's rate — for example C$17.95 an hour in Ontario (from 1 October 2026), C$16.60 an hour in Quebec (1 May 2026) and C$15 an hour in Alberta. Where two rates apply, the employee gets the higher one.

• Changed on 1 October 2026: Ontario C$17.95 an hour, Manitoba C$16.40 an hour, Saskatchewan C$15.70 an hour, Nova Scotia C$17.00 an hour

• Federal rate rises every 1 April with CPI (2.1% for 2025)

• Lower student rates exist in Ontario (C$16.90 an hour) and Alberta (C$13 an hour)

• Quebec has a tipped-employee rate of C$13.30 an hour; Ontario no longer has a liquor server rate

• Minimum wage is checked per pay period, on hours actually worked

Federal or provincial: which minimum wage applies

Employment standards in Canada are split by the Constitution. Most workers are covered by their province or territory's employment standards law, which sets their minimum wage. The rest work for federally regulated private-sector employers — banks, airlines, interprovincial trucking and bus companies, railways, telecoms and broadcasters, ports and shipping, and federal Crown corporations — and are covered by the Canada Labour Code.

Since 2021, the Canada Labour Code has had its own standalone federal minimum wage. On 24 March 2026, Employment and Social Development Canada announced that it would rise to C$18.15 an hour on 1 April 2026. It's adjusted every 1 April by the previous calendar year's average increase in the Consumer Price Index, which was 2.1% in 2025, rounded up to the nearest five cents. The government says that adds up to a 21% increase since the federal rate was introduced.

The key rule for federal employers: if the provincial or territorial rate where the employee works is higher, you pay the higher one. In 2026 the federal rate is above every provincial rate we could verify, so a bank teller in Calgary or a trucking dispatcher in Halifax is paid at least C$18.15 an hour, not the provincial minimum.

For a typical small business — a restaurant, shop, trades company or agency — the federal rate doesn't apply. You pay your province's rate, and if you have staff in more than one province, you pay each person the rate where they work.

Provincial and territorial minimum wages in 2026

The table below shows the general adult minimum wage in each jurisdiction as shown on the official government page on 9 October 2026. Several provinces changed their rates on 1 October 2026.

Rates marked "reported" come from employer-industry and news round-ups published in August–September 2026, because the government pages for those six jurisdictions blocked our checks on 9 October 2026 — treat them as a guide and confirm each one before you run payroll. For those six, use the links in the official links section at the end. British Columbia's Employment Standards Regulation confirms that its special minimum wages are adjusted every 1 June, starting in 2025, so B.C.'s June 2026 rates are the ones in force now. The Northwest Territories adjusts its rate every 1 September using the change in Yellowknife's consumer price index and in the territory's average hourly wage, and leaves it unchanged if the formula would lower it.

Ontario

Ontario raises its minimum wages every 1 October, tied to the province's consumer price index. From 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027, the rates are:

• General minimum wage: C$17.95 an hour an hour (up from C$17.60 an hour);
• Student minimum wage: C$16.90 an hour an hour, for students under 18 who work 28 hours a week or less while school is in session, or who work during a school break or summer holidays;
• Homeworkers' minimum wage: C$19.70 an hour an hour, for employees who do paid work in their own homes — such as sewing, call-centre work or software development. Students of any age who work as homeworkers get this rate, not the student rate.

Ontario also has special rules for hunting, fishing and wilderness guides, who are paid by blocks of time rather than by the hour, and sets maximum amounts employers can count for room and meals they provide.

Quebec

Quebec sets its rates by regulation. On 1 May 2026, the general minimum wage rose by 50 cents (3.11%) to C$16.60 an hour, and the rate for employees who receive tips rose by 40 cents to C$13.30 an hour. Piece rates went up too: C$4.93 per kilogram for raspberry pickers and C$1.32 per kilogram for strawberry pickers. The Quebec government says the increase benefits about 258,900 workers and keeps the minimum wage close to its target of 50% of the average hourly wage.

Alberta

Alberta's general minimum wage is C$15 an hour, and the province's page, updated on 8 October 2026, shows no scheduled increase. Since 26 June 2019 Alberta has had a job creation student wage of C$13 an hour for students under 18 enrolled in school. It applies to the first 28 hours a week while school is in session — hours beyond 28 must be paid at the general rate — and to all regular hours during school breaks and summer holidays. It doesn't apply to young people who have left school. Alberta also sets a weekly minimum of C$598 for employees entitled to a weekly rate and C$2,848 a month for live-in domestic employees.

The Prairies and Atlantic Canada

Saskatchewan moved to C$15.70 an hour and Manitoba to C$16.40 an hour on 1 October 2026. Manitoba's fact sheet is explicit that the minimum wage applies equally to students and part-time employees. Nova Scotia's rate has been C$17.00 an hour since 1 October 2026, and the province requires at least three hours' pay at minimum wage — C$51 — when an employee is called in outside regular hours, even if they work only one or two.

Special rates: students, tipped workers and others

Most provinces now have a single adult rate for nearly everyone, but a few exceptions matter to small employers.

Special minimum wages we verified (2026)

Province	Who	Rate	Condition
Ontario	Students under 18	C$16.90 an hour	≤ 28 hrs/week in term, or during school breaks
Ontario	Homeworkers	C$19.70 an hour	Paid work done in the employee's own home
Alberta	Students under 18	C$13 an hour	First 28 hrs/week in term; all regular hours in breaks
Quebec	Employees receiving tips	C$13.30 an hour	Tips are on top; general rate C$16.60 an hour
Quebec	Raspberry / strawberry pickers	C$4.93 / C$1.32 per kg	Piece rates from 1 May 2026
British Columbia	Live-in workers, resident caretakers, farm piece-rate, delivery and ride-hail workers	Set by regulation	Adjusted every 1 June (farm piece rates 31 December)

Ontario

Who

Students under 18

Rate

C$16.90 an hour

Condition

≤ 28 hrs/week in term, or during school breaks

Ontario

Who

Homeworkers

Rate

C$19.70 an hour

Condition

Paid work done in the employee's own home

Alberta

Who

Students under 18

Rate

C$13 an hour

Condition

First 28 hrs/week in term; all regular hours in breaks

Quebec

Who

Employees receiving tips

Rate

C$13.30 an hour

Condition

Tips are on top; general rate C$16.60 an hour

Quebec

Who

Raspberry / strawberry pickers

Rate

C$4.93 / C$1.32 per kg

Condition

Piece rates from 1 May 2026

British Columbia

Who

Live-in workers, resident caretakers, farm piece-rate, delivery and ride-hail workers

Rate

Set by regulation

Condition

Adjusted every 1 June (farm piece rates 31 December)

Liquor servers. Ontario no longer lists a separate liquor server rate, and its own guide uses the C$17.95 an hour general rate in a liquor-server example. Quebec is the main province we verified that still allows a lower rate for tipped employees, and only for those who actually receive tips.

Tips never count toward the general minimum in provinces without a tipped rate. An Ontario server must get at least C$17.95 an hour an hour from the employer, and tips are on top.

B.C.'s special minimums. British Columbia sets separate minimums in its Employment Standards Regulation for live-in home support workers and live-in camp leaders (a daily rate), resident caretakers in apartment buildings (a monthly rate based on the number of suites), farm workers paid by the piece for hand-harvested crops, and app-based delivery and ride-hail workers, who are paid a minimum only for engaged time. Each is indexed every year, so use the current figure on the B.C. government's site rather than the base amount printed in the regulation.

Worked payroll examples

Minimum wage is assessed per pay period, not hour by hour: total wages for the period, before deductions, must be at least the applicable minimum multiplied by the hours worked.

Checking minimum wage on a pay run

1. 1

   Identify the right rate

   Province where the employee works, or federal if you're federally regulated (higher of the two). Check for a student, tipped or homeworker rate.

2. 2

   Count all hours worked

   Include training, opening and closing time and required meetings. Unpaid eating periods aren't counted.

3. 3

   Multiply and compare

   Hours × minimum rate = the floor for the pay period. Compare with gross wages, commissions and piece-rate earnings.

4. 4

   Top up any shortfall

   If earnings fall short, pay the difference on the same payday.

5. 5

   Then calculate deductions

   CPP or QPP, EI and income tax come off gross pay after the minimum-wage check.

1. A weekly-paid retail worker in Ontario. Julia works 38 hours in a week. At C$17.95 an hour, her employer must pay at least C$682.10 for the week (38 × C$17.95) before deductions — the same example Ontario uses in its own guide. Vacation pay is on top.

2. A commission salesperson in Ontario. Luba earns C$300 in commission in a week in which she works 25 hours. The minimum for that week is C$448.75 (25 × C$17.95), so her employer owes her another C$148.75 on top of the commission.

3. A student in Alberta. A 16-year-old high-school student works 30 hours in a week during the school term. The employer can pay C$13 an hour for the first 28 hours (C$364) but must pay the general C$15 an hour for the remaining two (C$30), for a minimum of C$394 that week.

4. A tipped server in Quebec. A server in Montreal works 30 hours and receives tips. The employer must pay at least C$13.30 an hour an hour — C$399 for the week — with the tips on top. A kitchen worker at the same restaurant, who doesn't receive tips, must get the general C$16.60 an hour: C$498 for 30 hours.

5. A federally regulated employee in Ontario. A trucking company dispatcher in Ottawa works 40 hours. Ontario's rate is C$17.95 an hour, but the federal rate is higher at C$18.15 an hour, so the floor is C$726 for the week (40 × C$18.15), not C$718.

6. A uniform deduction in Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia's guide gives the example of an employee earning C$20 an hour for 30 hours (C$600) whose employer deducts C$96 for a uniform. That leaves C$504, or C$16.80 an hour — below the minimum, so the deduction isn't allowed to that extent.

Produce a compliant pay slipFree, no login — show hours, rate, gross pay and deductions for each pay period.

Deductions, call-in pay and other traps

Minimum wage is easy to breach by accident. These are the issues that most often turn into complaints.

Deductions. Provinces allow limited deductions for meals and lodging the employee actually receives, and little else if it takes pay below the minimum. Alberta caps meal deductions at C$3.35 per meal consumed and lodging at C$4.41 per day; Manitoba allows no more than C$1 per meal and C$7 a week for a room to take pay below minimum. Charging staff for uniforms, breakages, till shortages or dine-and-dash losses usually isn't allowed if it takes their pay below the minimum.

Call-in or reporting pay. Several provinces require a minimum number of paid hours when an employee reports for a shift and is sent home early. Nova Scotia's three-hour rule is one example, and Ontario's guide describes a similar rule for employees sent home early. Build these into your scheduling rules.

Unpaid trial shifts and training. Time spent training, in mandatory meetings or opening and closing the store is work and must be paid at least the minimum.

Salaried staff. A manager on a fixed salary can still fall below minimum wage in a week with long hours. Divide the period's salary by the hours worked to check.

Rate changes mid-pay-period. When a rate rises on 1 October or 1 April, hours worked from that date must be paid at the new rate even if the pay period started before it. Update payroll software before the change date, not after.

Key dates to watch

Minimum wage change dates

1 April each year

Federal minimum wage adjusted by CPI (next: 1 April 2027)

1 May (recent years)

Quebec general and tipped rates changed on 1 May 2026

1 June each year

British Columbia rates adjusted

1 September each year

Northwest Territories rate adjusted

1 October 2026

Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia rates changed

Many governments announce the next rate several months before it takes effect — the federal government announced the April 2026 figure on 24 March. Set a reminder to check your province's page a month before its usual change date, and update your payroll system and job postings at the same time.

Handling a rate change in your payroll

A minimum wage increase touches more than the hourly rate in your software. Before the effective date, list every employee within a dollar or two of the new minimum — not just those on it — because a raise that pushes juniors up to the level of supervisors often forces adjustments further up the scale. Update the rate in your payroll system with the correct start date, so a pay period that straddles the change is split between the old and new rates.

Then check everything that's calculated from the hourly rate: overtime, public holiday pay, vacation pay and any piece-rate or commission top-ups. Review your job postings and offer letters, too; an advertised wage below the new minimum is a common source of complaints. Finally, keep the records. Employment standards laws require employers to keep payroll records showing hours worked and wages paid, typically for several years, and they're your evidence if an employee or an employment standards officer questions a pay period.

What it costs an employer

The minimum wage is only the start of the cost of an employee. On top of the hourly rate, employers pay vacation pay, public holiday pay, the employer share of CPP or QPP and EI premiums, and workers' compensation premiums in most industries. A rough rule many small businesses use is to budget 15% to 20% above gross wages for these — that's an estimate, not an official figure, and it varies by province, industry and employee.

For an Ontario café paying three part-timers 25 hours a week each at C$17.95 an hour, gross wages are about C$1,346 a week (75 × C$17.95), or roughly C$70,000 a year before the extras. A 35-cent increase like the one on 1 October 2026 adds about C$26 a week, or C$1,365 a year, to that bill. Use our break-even calculator to see how a rate change affects the sales you need, and our hourly rate calculator to price your own time.

Official links

• ESDC — federal minimum wage to C$18.15 (2026)Federally regulated private sector
• Ontario — minimum wageGeneral, student and homeworker rates
• Alberta — minimum wageGeneral and student rates, deductions
• Saskatchewan — payment of wagesCurrent rate and reporting pay
• Manitoba — minimum wageRate and deductions
• Nova Scotia — minimum wageRate, call-in pay, deductions
• B.C. — minimum wageCurrent B.C. rates
• New Brunswick — minimum wageCurrent N.B. rate
• Prince Edward Island — minimum wage orderCurrent P.E.I. rate
• Yukon — minimum wageCurrent Yukon rate
• Northwest Territories — minimum wageRate and indexation

What to do next

Confirm which jurisdiction covers each employee, update your payroll rates for the 1 October 2026 changes if you're in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan or Nova Scotia, and set reminders for the next change dates. If you're hiring for the first time, register a payroll account with the CRA through My Business Account and issue clear pay slips with our salary slip generator.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice — confirm on the official source or with a professional.

Frequently asked questions

What is the minimum wage in Canada in 2026?

There isn't one national rate for everyone. The federal minimum wage is C$18.15 an hour from 1 April 2026, but it only covers federally regulated private-sector employers such as banks, airlines and telecoms. Everyone else gets their province's or territory's rate — for example C$17.95 an hour in Ontario and C$15 an hour in Alberta in October 2026.

Which province has the highest minimum wage in Canada?

Among the rates we could verify on official pages on 9 October 2026, Ontario's C$17.95 an hour (from 1 October 2026) was the highest provincial general rate, followed by the Northwest Territories at C$17.20 an hour and Nova Scotia at C$17.00 an hour. Rates reported (but not yet confirmed on official pages) for British Columbia (C$18.25) and Nunavut (C$20.17) are higher still, and Yukon is reported at C$18.51 — confirm them on those governments' pages.

When does the federal minimum wage change?

Every 1 April, by the previous calendar year's average increase in the Consumer Price Index, rounded up to the nearest five cents. The 2025 CPI rose 2.1%, taking the rate to C$18.15 an hour on 1 April 2026. If a province's rate is higher, federally regulated employers must pay the higher rate.

Is there a lower minimum wage for students in Canada?

Only in some provinces. Ontario's student rate is C$16.90 an hour for students under 18 working 28 hours a week or less during the school term, or during school breaks. Alberta's job creation student wage is C$13 an hour for students under 18, for the first 28 hours a week in term and all regular hours during breaks.

Do liquor servers get a lower minimum wage?

Not in Ontario: its employment standards guide uses the C$17.95 an hour general rate in a liquor server example. Quebec still has a lower rate for employees who receive tips, C$13.30 an hour from 1 May 2026, alongside the C$16.60 an hour general rate. Tips can't be used to top up the general rate elsewhere.

Can an employer deduct uniforms or meals below minimum wage?

Only within strict limits. Provinces allow set deductions for meals and lodging actually provided — Alberta caps them at C$3.35 per meal consumed and C$4.41 per day of lodging — but generally not for uniforms, breakage or cash shortages if that takes pay below minimum wage. Check your province's rules before deducting anything.

Sources & verification

Figures on this page were checked against the sources below when it was last reviewed on 9 October 2026. Each rate and limit is stored once with its own official source and review date, and official update channels are monitored daily so changes are picked up. How we verify

1. 1.These 7 Provinces and Territories Are Increasing Minimum Wage This Fall (Canadian Franchise Association) — Canadian Franchise Association · accessed 9 October 2026
2. 2.Canada Minimum Wage Rates Updated For 2026 And 2027 — CTC News · accessed 9 October 2026
3. 3.Government of Canada raises the federal minimum wage — Employment and Social Development Canada · accessed 9 October 2026
4. 4.Your guide to the Employment Standards Act: Minimum wage — Government of Ontario · accessed 9 October 2026
5. 5.Hausse du salaire minimum — taux général à 16,60 $ l'heure — Gouvernement du Québec · accessed 9 October 2026
6. 6.Minimum wage — Government of Alberta · accessed 9 October 2026
7. 7.Payment of wages, payroll administration, benefits and time sheets — Government of Saskatchewan · accessed 9 October 2026
8. 8.Minimum wage fact sheet — Manitoba Employment Standards · accessed 9 October 2026
9. 9.Minimum wage — Government of Nova Scotia · accessed 9 October 2026
10. 10.Minimum wage — Government of the Northwest Territories · accessed 9 October 2026
11. 11.Employment Standards Regulation, B.C. Reg. 396/95 — King's Printer for British Columbia · accessed 9 October 2026