Sask raising minimum wage to $13 this fall, $14 in 2023, $15 in 2024

May 3, 2022, 3:21 pm

The government of Saskatchewan will increase the province's minimum wage to $13 an hour this fall, $14 an hour in 2023, and to $15 an hour in 2024.

On October 1, 2022, the provincial minimum wage will increase from $11.81 to $13.00 per hour.

On October 1, 2023, minimum wage will increase to $14 per hour and on October 1, 2024, it will increase to $15 per hour.

This will represent a 27 per cent increase to the minimum wage from the current level to the fall of 2024.

“World events continue to put upward pressure on the cost of living in Saskatchewan and across Canada,” Labour Relations and Workplace Safety Minister Don Morgan said.

“Our government is committed to ensuring life is affordable for our low income residents by increasing the minimum wage over the next three years. This commitment to affordability will support Saskatchewan workers, and ensure Saskatchewan is the best place to live, work, and raise a family.”

The increases to minimum wage reflect a market adjustment, rather than using the province’s traditional indexation formula.

The indexation formula gives equal weight to changes to the Consumer Price Index and Average Hourly Wage for Saskatchewan.

However, for this year as well as 2023 and 2024, the increase to minimum wage will reflect a move to more closely align workers’ salaries with changing market forces.

“As we continue to grow Saskatchewan, we want to attract quality investments and jobs so that all citizens can benefit. Making this change to the minimum wage is a step in that direction,” Morgan said.

In 2007 the minimum wage in the province was $7.95, and by 2024 there will have been a total increase to the rate of nearly 89 per cent.

The minimum wage increase was criticized by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business for being unaffordable to businesses, and was criticized by the Canadian Union of Public Employees for not moving to $15 an hour quickly enough.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) said it "is disappointed that the Saskatchewan government both neglected to consult with the small business community before abruptly announcing plans to hike minimum wage by 27% over two and a half years and failed to announce any mitigating measures to help small businesses absorb the cost."

"Today’s announcement comes on the heels of a budget that will see the small business corporate tax rate increase in both 2022 and 2023, along with a PST expansion that’s going to hurt many of the small businesses that were most heavily impacted by the pandemic," said CFIB. "Small business costs are going up across the board, with SaskPower proposing rate hikes of 4.4% in both 2022 and 2023, Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Employment Insurance (EI) premiums going up, and the pressures of pandemic-related debt, inflation, and supply chain disruptions."

CUPE Saskatchewan is calling for an immediate increase of the minimum wage in Saskatchewan to $15.00 per hour.

“Saskatchewan workers need relief now, not in months or years from now. At $11.81 per hour, full-time workers can’t afford the basic costs of living and are increasingly relying on food banks to feed their families,” said Judy Henley, president of CUPE Saskatchewan.