Alberta raising minimum pay

Community Action, Feb 21, 2005

EDMONTON -- Alberta's minimum wage earners will see an increase in pay from $5.90 per hour to $7.00 per hour, an increase of nearly 20 per cent. Albertans will be asked to recommend whether the increase should be introduced all at once or in stages. The last minimum wage increase was introduced in three stages in 1998-99.

Minimum wages in other provinces range from a high of $8.00 per hour in British Columbia to a low of $6.00 per hour in Newfoundland. In the past five years average hourly wages have increased by almost 18 per cent, the Consumer Price Index has increased by 18.5 per cent, and the Gross Domestic Product has increased by 22 per cent.