The provincial NDP government announced last week it’s increasing the minimum wage this fall to reflect Manitoba’s 2025 inflation rate.
The wage will rise from $16.00 to $16.40, effective Oct. 1.
The government has increased the minimum wage several times since returning to power in 2022 to help Manitobans facing rising costs.
The cost of living rose significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic due to global supply chain disruptions. More recently, the American-Israeli war on Iran, which began Feb. 28, caused an immediate jump in gasoline prices and is expected to drive global inflation, with potential recession risks depending on its duration.
From $11.95 in 2022, the wage increased to $13.50 that year, then to $14.15 and $15.30 in 2023, $15.80 in 2024 and $16.00 in 2025, according to the province. It had hovered around $11 between 2015 and 2021.
Following the 2022 increase, the province introduced a one-time Small Business Minimum Wage Adjustment Program to help offset costs for employers.
While some businesses may feel the impact of the increase, some organizations say $16.40 won’t meet the needs of many Manitobans.
Manitoba Federation of Labour president Kevin Rebeck said the 40-cent increase falls well short of a living wage and will keep workers “trapped below the poverty line.”
“The small 40 cent increase to the minimum wage announced today falls well short of what minimum wage earners need to afford essentials like groceries and rent,” said Rebeck in a March 31 statement. “No one should work full time and still live in poverty, but that is the harsh reality for many minimum wage earners in Manitoba, because … our minimum wage falls well below a living wage.”
Although the provincial budget includes affordability measures such as free bus passes for youth, free menstrual products and child care for low-income families, Rebeck said a living wage would do “far more” by adding hundreds of dollars to workers’ paycheques.
Citing an analysis by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Rebeck said workers in Winnipeg need to earn $19.77 an hour to meet basic needs.
“The punishing price increases in groceries, housing and other essentials are something all working families are dealing with, but the cost of living crisis is hitting our lowest wage workers the hardest,” said Rebeck.
A living wage helps people avoid poverty but may not address future inflation, savings or debt.
The Express contacted several Interlake businesses and the Gimli Chamber of Commerce for comment on the increase.
