The province’s minimum wage is set to rise to $16 in the fall, but a new poll from the Manitoba Federation of Labour reveals that most Manitobans feel the 20-cent hourly increase is inadequate.
According to the poll, 72 per cent of Manitobans believe the modest increase is insufficient for most workers to make ends meet.
“No one should work full time and still live in poverty, but that is the harsh reality for many minimum-wage earners in Manitoba,” MFL president Kevin Rebeck said in a statement.
“This polling shows that a majority of Manitobans understand this small increase to the minimum wage is out of touch with what low-wage workers need to cover groceries, transportation and the other essential costs that only continue to rise during this affordability crisis.”
The survey, conducted by Probe Research for MFL March 4-16, polled 1,000 adults in the province. Results show that only 14 per cent of respondents consider $16 an hour to be sufficient, while another 14 per cent were unsure.
The province announced the annual minimum wage increase Monday, which reflects Manitoba’s 2024 inflation rate of 1.1 per cent, rounded to the nearest five cents.
Rebeck criticized the inflation-based approach, arguing that it factors in a broad range of price changes, rather than focusing on essential expenses. According to Statistics Canada, food prices and housing costs increased by 3.3 and 4.4 per cent, respectively, in the past year — rates significantly higher than the overall inflation rate.
Rebeck urged the NDP government to repeal a 2017 law passed under former Premier Brian Pallister, which ties minimum-wage increases to the previous year’s inflation rate. He noted that this year’s increase does not account for inflationary pressures already being felt in 2025 and suggests there’s a 22-month gap because of Pallister’s legislation.
In 2022, the PCs, under then-premier Heather Stefanson, amended the Employment Standards Code to increase the minimum wage to cope with inflation and rising costs in the province. The increases started with a $1.55 hourly hike Oct. 1, 2022, followed by a 65-cent increase April 1, 2023 and a $1.15 increase to $15.30 per hour on Oct. 1, 2023. Minimum wage increased 50 cents to $15.80 an hour in 2024.
MFL also highlighted that Manitoba has experienced the highest inflation rate in Canada, with low-wage earners disproportionately affected by rising gas prices, public transit fares and MPI rates — none of which are factored into October’s wage increase.
“Manitoba needs a better approach to minimum wage than the one left to us by Brian Pallister,” said Rebeck. “Working families in Manitoba have been facing the highest inflation in the country so far this year and minimum-wage earners are feeling these price increases the hardest. This polling shows that Manitobans don’t think that a couple more dimes an hour will cut it.”
In a written statement Monday, Labour Minister Malaya Marcelino said the NDP government supports Manitoba workers and acknowledged that every increase to the minimum wage helps.
“We’re committed to predictable minimum-wage increases to support workers, while addressing the concerns of businesses,” she said.
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives previously reported that a living wage in Manitoba should have been set at $19.21 per hour, based on 2023 figures. That estimate dipped slightly to $18.75 per hour in 2024, yet the new minimum wage remains $2.75 short.
Niall Harney, the Errol Black Chair in Labour Issues with the Manitoba branch of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, said the 20 cent increase is not enough to cover the rising cost of necessities for minimum-wage workers.
“We once again call on the government to replace the current minimum wage formula with a model based on the living wage,” he said. “Increasing the minimum wage is important at this juncture, as the money they would spend in the local economy on food and other necessities would stimulate Manitoba’s GDP from the bottom up.”
Meantime, Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Loren Remillard argued that minimum wage should not be politicized.
Remillard said Monday that the chamber supports tying wage increases to economic factors such as inflation, which provides businesses with predictability.
“The more we politicize minimum wage, I think we’re doing a disservice to all involved,” he said. “The reality is, minimum wage is not a poverty-reduction tool. We need better programming and thinking if we’re going to tackle the issue of poverty. Minimum wage is not how we are going to do it.”
The wage increase takes effect Oct. 1.
scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca
Scott Billeck
Reporter
Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade’s worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024. Read more about Scott.
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