Ontario’s minimum wage now $11 an hour

The minimum wage in Ontario rose to $11 an hour on Sunday — a hike of 75 cents.

Other wage increases now in effect include a 70-cent hike in the student minimum wage to $10.30 an hour and 65 cents for liquor servers, who are now entitled to $9.55.

Premier Kathleen Wynne announced the change in January along with plans to tie future increases to the Consumer Price Index, a key recommendation of Ontario’s Minimum Wage Advisory Panel.

She said if elected on June 12, she will reintroduce the legislation.

Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak also said as premier he’d keep minimum wage at $11 an hour, tied to inflation; while NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said she’d raise it to $12 over two years and cut the corporate tax rate for small businesses.

Anti-poverty activists and labour groups were hoping for $14 an hour, but Wynne said she was concerned about the impact on businesses.

With the current raise, full-time workers are still 16 per cent below the poverty line.

The 75-cent hike is the first since 2010, when the Liberal government froze the minimum wage at $10.25 an hour.

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