Minimum wage going up in Alberta and Saskatchewan

Provinces increase minimum wage on Sept. 1

The minimum wages will be increasing in Alberta and Saskatchewan in September.

In Saskatchewan, the minimum wage rate will increase from $9.25 per hour to $9.50 starting Sept. 1.

The general minimum wage rate in Alberta will rise from $8.80 per hour to $9.40. The province is also implementing a specific minimum wage rate for employees who serve liquor as part of their regular job.

Starting Sept. 1, a minimum wage of $9.05 per hour applies to liquor servers in Alberta. The minimum wage for many salespersons will increase from $352 per week to $376.

The minimum wage for domestic employees who live in the employer’s residence is increasing in Alberta from $1,677 per month to $1,791. If an employer provides board and/or lodging to an employee, the amount by which an employer may reduce the employee's wages below minimum wage increases on Sept. 1, from $2.89 per meal to $3.09 for each meal the employee consumes and from $3.82 per day for lodging to $4.08.

The Alberta government is also introducing a new formula for future minimum wage increases that uses an average of changes to Alberta’s annual average weekly earnings and changes to the province’s consumer price index. Changes would take place Sept. 1 of each year and the government would give employers three months’ notice.

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