Minimum wage rises to $19.75 in Nunavut

A file photo of Iqaluit in July 2022. The territory’s minimum wage is going up on Monday, and is the highest in Canada. (Tyson Koschik/CBC)

By RCI, CBC News

Minimum wage workers in Nunavut are gettin a pay raise on Monday as the minimum wage in the territory rises to $19.75 per hour.

That’s a 75-cent increase.

The change is part of a new annual adjustment system introduced by the Government of Nunavut that will see the minimum wage reviewed and adjusted each year, the territory said in a news release issued Friday.

The formula for adjusting the wage will be based on the Consumer Price Index and the average hourly wage from the previous year.

“I know 75 cents might not seem like a lot of money, but that increase has been a year and a half since our last one,” said Justice Minister Pamela Hakongak Gross, when the increase was announced in July.

“Going forward, I think it’ll give stability to the employer and to the employees to know if there might be an increase to the standard of living through the minimum wage increase.

”

In years where using the formula would suggest lowering the minimum wage, the wage will remain the same for that year, the government said.

The $19.75 wage is the highest minimum wage in Canada, the government said.

However, a recent report from Statistics Canada found the territory also had the highest costs of living in the country.

With files from T.J. Dhir

This article is republished from RCI.