Ontario Living Wage vs Minimum Wage

• Despite cooling inflation, living in Ontario costs more than last year, primarily due to rent increases.
• $21.30 is the living wage in Hamilton, Ontario. This is the hourly pay needed to meet ends meet and participate in the community.
• Hamilton's living wage grew 2.4% since last year. It grew almost 11% between 2022 and last year.
• Ontario's minimum wage, which is different from the living wage, increased to $17.20 per hour on October 1.
• Province-wide, living wage rates have increased 3.4% on average over the last year.
• The living wage in the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Niagara region is $20.90.
• The Greater Toronto Area (GTA), including Burlington, has the province's highest living wage at $26.
• Southwestern Ontario, including Windsor and Sarnia, saw the largest increase, with the living wage rising to $19.85. This is 6.4% higher than last year.
• Ontario's minimum wage doesn't meet the living wage anywhere in the province.
• Employers should consider the living wage an "absolute floor" and a starting point for wages.
• Working a full-time minimum wage job in Ontario isn't enough to make ends meet.

Living Wage Calculation

• The Ontario Living Wage Network (OLWN) calculates the living wage, unlike the province's set minimum wage.
• The OLWN calculations are based on the after-tax income needed by three household types to afford a basket of goods and services while working 35 hours per week.
• The three household types considered include: two parents aged 35 with two children aged seven and three, a single parent with a seven-year-old, and a single adult.
• The basket of goods and services includes: rent, food, child care, transportation, medical expenses, savings for time off work, and an emergency fund.
• Repaying debt or saving to buy a home are not included.
• The wage calculation factors in social assistance like the Canada Child Benefit.
• Calculations use a weighted average of the three family types, using census data.
• In Hamilton, the average family of four spends $26,262 a year on shelter.
• Housing costs $20,167 in Brant Haldimand Norfolk Niagara and $32,007 in the GTA.
• Since its founding in 2017, the OLWN has certified about 870 workplaces as paying their local living wage.
• The network is funded by fees from certified employers and supporting organizations.
• Employers have until May to implement the new rates, which the network shares with them in advance.

Local Non-Profit

• Neighbour to Neighbour Centre's executive director, Barrington Hector, states paying a living wage is "the right thing" and is financially beneficial.
• The Hamilton non-profit focuses on food security and education on Hamilton's Mountain and employs about 30 staff, all of whom receive at least the living wage.
• The centre was certified this month and will pay the new rate.
• Becoming a living wage employer was a top priority for Hector, who started in his role last year.
• Summer students received about a $4-per-hour raise, and contracts for third-party contractors were renegotiated to ensure those workers also earn a living wage.
• Being a living wage employer improves company reputation, creates a happier, healthier team, and reduces turnover.
• Paying a living wage has resulted in a return on investment of two to three times.
• Many minimum-wage earners financially support themselves or others.
• The centre has seen a 40% increase in food bank usage in the last two years, going from 1,100 to 1,700 visitors per month.
• Increasingly, food bank users have jobs, some with more than one.
• Paying a living wage allows people to meet their basic needs, and not paying a living wage contributes to rising food bank usage.