Ontario Raising Minimum Wage Effective October 1, 2025
October 6, 2025
The Ontario government is raising the minimum wage from $17.20 to $17.60 an hour, effective October 1, which will support over 800,000 workers. This annualized wage increase of 2.4 per cent is based on the Ontario Consumer Price Index (CPI) and delivers on the government’s plan to protect and support workers while keeping Ontario competitive in the face of U.S. tariffs.
“At a time when many families are feeling the pressure of global economic uncertainty, our government will protect Ontario workers with a minimum wage increase that supports our world-class workforce,” said David Piccini, Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. “We will continue to take action to build a strong, resilient workforce ready to face whatever comes our way.”
As a result of the changes, a worker making the general minimum wage and working 40 hours per week will get an annual pay increase of more than $800. 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 delivering on its plan to protect Ontario workers. Since its launch in 2021, Ontario has invested $1.5 billion through the SDF Training Stream and Capital Stream to help train more than one million workers for in-demand careers. As announced in the 2025 Budget: A Plan to Protect Ontario, the government is investing $1 billion more through the Skills Development Fund over the next three years, bringing the total to $2.5 billion, to support key industrial sectors and help train even more workers.
Quick Facts
- Under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 Ontario’s minimum wage increases annually based on the Ontario CPI, a measure of inflation that represents changes in prices experienced by Ontario consumers.
- The specialized minimum wages for students, homeworkers and hunting and fishing guides are also increasing.
- About 36 per cent of workers at or below the wage of $17.60 per hour are in retail trade and 23 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 as of today.
- This latest increase brings Ontario’s minimum wage to the second highest provincial rate in Canada.
Additional Resources
- New minimum wage rates.
- Learn about rights and responsibilities under the ESA (Employment Standards Act).
- Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy
