Alberta now has the lowest minimum wage in Canada

Last Wednesday, five provinces across Canada raised their minimum wage, making Alberta’s the lowest in the country. Alberta once had the highest minimum wage in the country when the provincial NDP raised minimum wage from $13.60 to $15 per hour in 2018.

Christina Gray, current Alberta NDP House Leader and MLA, was the minister of labour in 2018. Grey was a driving force behind the last minimum wage raise and she believes Alberta may be back where it was leading up to the 2015 election.

“It wasn’t enough to make ends meet,” says Gray, “we were seeing, back then, similar things that you are now.”

Grey says she hears from constituents that Edmontonians are struggling to pay rent, especially among marginalized communities, which could hurt the local economy overall. She also cited rising food bank usage across Edmonton.

“We’re going to keep talking about this because families keep talking to us about it.”

With minimum wage workers predominantly being between 15 and 24-years-old, the minimum wage is especially effecting students around the province.

“I don’t think that I could work enough minimum wage hours and be in school full-time to support myself,” says Kaeli Wagner, a part-time University of Alberta student.

Premier Danielle Smith says that Alberta will not be increasing its minimum wage for fear of worsening Alberta’s youth unemployment rate of 17 per cent, currently the highest in the country.

Alberta Living Wage Network says the livable wage in Edmonton is $20.85 hourly. The Alberta Federation of Labour corroborated this in a press release on Oct. 1, by calling for Alberta’s minimum wage to be increased to $20 per hour.

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