Effective Tuesday, Alberta is set to be tied for the lowest minimum wage in the country.
Ontario and Saskatchewan will both increase their minimum wage on Tuesday. Ontario’s will be among the highest in the country at $17.20 an hour. Saskatchewan, which previously had the lowest minimum wage in Canada, will boost its minimum wage to $15, tying it with Alberta for the lowest in the country.
Alberta hasn’t seen an increase to its minimum wage since Oct. 1, 2018. At the time, it was the highest in Canada.
“Fifteen dollars doesn’t go as far as it used to in 2018,” said Bradley Lafortune with Public Interest Alberta.
The non-profit organization focuses on education and advocacy around topics of public interest in the province. Lafortune would like to see the minimum wage increased to a living wage.
“What we would like to see is a $25 minimum wage, which would be basically a living wage across the province except for in a couple places like far north in Fort McMurray or tourist towns like Canmore, Banff and Jasper,” Lafortune said.
“A living wage is really important in Alberta. A lot of people are trying to make ends meet on a minimum-wage job and the price of everything is going up, whether it’s groceries, utilities, mortgage, rent — everything.”
The president of the Alberta Federation of Labour said he would like to see a minimum wage increase that adjusts for inflation — somewhere in the $19-an-hour range.
“Every Albertan understands that we’ve been living through what, in many ways, has been an unprecedented rise in the cost of living,” Gil McGowan said. “But over that six-year period, we haven’t seen an increase in the minimum wage.
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“What we really need right now is a minimum wage that keeps up with inflation, that acknowledges that the cost of living has gone up.”
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business said small businesses need to be considered before increases are made to the minimum wage.
“The organization isn’t opposed to minimum wage increases, as long as the increase is predictable, stable and sustainable,” said Bradlee Whidden, policy analyst for Western Canada with the CFIB.
“That means linking the minimum wage benchmark to something tangible like median wage or labour productivity.”
Whidden said if minimum wage changes aren’t predictable, they can happen too fast for business owners and run them into the ground.
“The last time the minimum wage was increased in Alberta, it caused around half to increase their prices, according to our survey data, and around 30 per cent to cut the labour they have,” he said.
“Many of them simply can’t afford a large hike in their labour costs.”
Alberta’s minister of jobs, economy and trade said in a statement that minimum wage is an important issue for the government, but added that “significant changes to the minimum wage could negatively impact small businesses, youth and Albertans seeking their first job or part-time employment.”
“Further, these changes also affect operational costs, which ultimately flow through to all Albertans,” Matt Jones said.
“Albertans keep more of what they earn, as our province has the lowest provincial income tax rates, the highest personal income tax exemption levels and no provincial sales tax.”
Jones said the province will “continue to monitor the matter closely and evaluate the appropriateness of the current calibration to best serve Albertans.”
Lafortune believes small businesses can be supported through tax credits, grant and job-training programs that see cost-sharing between government and the employer when it comes to paying employee wages. He believes raising the minimum wage can actually benefit small businesses.
“People who are making minimum wage, they’re spending that money in the local economy. So they’re going to spend money at the small businesses and the grocery stores, and it’s staying in Alberta as well. So it’s actually good for small business to make sure that people have enough money to put food on the table, pay their bills and keep a roof over their head,” he said.
“We just can’t afford not to raise the minimum wage. Now is the time to raise it and we don’t need to be last place.”