(Dreamstime)

By Josh Hall | @Vancan19

Alberta should follow B.C.’s lead in raising minimum wage, says NDP leadership candidate

Feb 27, 2024 | 2:09 PM

Alberta NDP leadership candidate Kathleen Ganley on Tuesday called for Alberta to raise the minimum wage.

Ganley says B.C.’s move to $17.40 per hour starting June 1 means Alberta, which sits at $15 as a minimum wage, should follow suit. B.C. workers already have a minimum wage of $16.75.

Specifically, Ganley believes the minimum wage should immediately increase to $16, then to $17 next year.

“Alberta workers are falling farther and farther behind,” Ganley said.

“We need an economy that works for people and that’s what I intend to fight for as Alberta NDP Leader and deliver on as Premier.”

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Ganley said working people in B.C. get more in their pockets and the local economy gets a boost while people in Alberta are facing growing costs and quote, “a government that doesn’t care.”

B.C.’s Ministry of Labour says in a statement the 3.9 per cent increase is consistent with the province’s average inflation rate last year.

In a report by The Canadian Press, Labour Minister Harry Bains is cited as saying the province has gone from having one of the lowest minimum wages in the country to the highest of all provinces, and the change is aimed at preventing more workers from falling behind.

Increases for the lowest wage will be automatic from now on and will be determined by the previous year’s average inflation rate, offering predictability for workers and employers, Bains explained.

Last November, a spokesperson with Alberta’s Ministry of Jobs, Economy and Trade, told rdnewsNOW that the government acknowledges the significant pressures Albertans are facing amidst high inflation and interest rate increases.

“We are also aware of the potential consequences of altering the minimum wage, affecting not only workers and small businesses but also leading to increased costs which are ultimately flowed through to all Albertans,” said Andrea Smith, press secretary. “We are actively assessing the appropriateness of the current wage structure.”

In the NDP leadership race, Ganley is up against Rakhi Pancholi, Sarah Hoffman and Jodi Calahoo Stonehouse in the leadership race that ends this June.

— with files from The Canadian Press