Manitoba to increase minimum wage on October 1

Apr. 18, 2018 – The Manitoba government says it will increase the minimum wage on Oct. 1, 2018 for working Manitobans.

“Our commitment is to provide sustainable and predictable increases to Manitoba’s minimum wage,” said Growth, Enterprise and Trade Minister Blaine Pedersen. “Last year we passed legislation to index minimum wage with the rate of inflation through a fully transparent formula. We are improving wages for working Manitobans and providing predictability for businesses that create jobs and generate growth in our economy.”

Pedersen noted the increase of 20 cents per hour will raise the current minimum wage to $11.35 from $11.15, saying the increase will help Manitoba stay competitive with other provinces. This adjustment is based on Manitoba’s 2017 inflation rate of 1.6 per cent, and rounding up to the nearest five cents.

Amendments were made to the Employment Standards Code in 2017 that provide a consistent and predictable way of indexing Manitoba’s minimum wage based on the change in the previous calendar year’s Consumer Price Index, Pedersen noted.