Manitoba’s NDP government now promises to raise the minimum wage by 50-cents to $15.80-an-hour this October 1st.
Labour minister Malaya Marcelino says the the government lacked time to study and consult on the wage increase in 2023 after the fall election. She told the CBC, “After October 18th when I was called to cabinet, there wasn’t really a lot of time to be able to make those types of decisions, to make the calculations and then to go through the requisite consultation period.”
“At that time, we were still in transition and there were other things that were priorities for us,” she added, referring to other affordability measures such as cutting the gas tax and the fact the minimum wage had already been increased three times within a year.
The CBC reports the new wage is based upon a formula tying annual increases to inflation, and the former Progressive Conservative government gave itself the power to boost the minimum wage past the formula’s constraints if inflation topped 5-percent. They increased the wage to $13.50 from $11.95 on October 1, 2022, followed by subsequent rises to $14.15 on April 1, 2023 and $15.30 on October 1, 2023.
Manitoba currently has the third-highest minimum wage among Canadian provinces, behind British Columbia and Ontario.
(With reporting from CBC Manitoba)
