Ontario Raising Minimum Wage to Support Workers

Press Release

April 01, 2025

Increase to $17.60 an hour will take effect October 1

Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development

TORONTO — The Ontario government is increasing the minimum wage from $17.20 to $17.60 an hour effective October 1, 2025, to support workers and businesses. This annualized wage increase is based on the Ontario Consumer Price Index (CPI) of 2.4 per cent and will bring Ontario’s minimum wage to the second highest provincial rate in Canada.

“Our government will continue to have the backs of Ontario workers, investing in skills training and development and helping ensure that work pays,” said David Piccini, Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. “Ontario’s minimum wage remains one of the highest in the country. Now more than ever, workers and businesses need fair, balanced and predictable wages.”

A worker making the general minimum wage and working 40 hours per week will see an annual pay increase of up to $835.00 as a result of these changes. Under the Employment Standards Act, Ontario’s minimum wage increases annually based on the Ontario CPI, a measure of inflation that represents changes in prices experienced by Ontario consumers.

This increase is just one of the ways the government is supporting Ontario workers and helping make Ontario the best place to work, live and raise a family. Most recently, Ontario passed the Working for Workers Six Act, 2024, which is helping more workers enter the skilled trades, removing barriers to employment, protecting workers and supporting frontline heroes and women at work.

Quick Facts

About 36 per cent of workers at or below the wage of $17.60 per hour are in retail trade and 24 per cent are in accommodation and food services.
Over the past seven years, Ontario’s minimum wage has increased from $14 per hour in 2018 to $17.60 later this year.

Additional Resources