The Canadian province of British Columbia increased its minimum wage by over a dollar on June 1, 2023. The new pay rate of $16.75<\/a> an hour resulted in a raise of 6% for workers. BC’s minimum wage is one of the highest among the provinces, trailing only behind Yukon (which has an hourly pay of $16.77 as of April 1, 2023, leading by just 2 cents).<\/p>\n The changes have been put into effect by the provincial New Democratic Party (NDP) government, as a measure to buffer low-wage workers from last year\u2019s inflationary pressures. Indexed to the inflation rate<\/a> of 6.9 percent in 2022 \u2013 and adjusted annually based on last year\u2019s Consumer Price Index (CPI) \u2013 these workers are prevented from \u201cfalling behind\u201d, as per BC Minister of Labor Harry Bains. This reflects the government’s policy of \u201ctying the minimum wage to inflation.\u201d<\/p>\n The measure highlighted above is supposed to affect 150,000 people working minimum wage jobs, 58 percent of whom are women. They are typically involved in occupations such as food service, grocery store work, and retail work \u2013 all essential occupations<\/a>, as was demonstrated through the COVID pandemic. Not only does the wage increase guarantee certainty for these individual workers, but also gives businesses a predictable outlook for the future.<\/p>\n It is also set to impact the labor market shortage, which \u2013 like in other Canadian provinces \u2013 has been a major point of administrative concern. The Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation Brenda Bailey ties a higher minimum wage to the possibility of increasing British Columbia\u2019s attractiveness<\/a> as a place to live. This would both draw in more workers, and retain the labor that is already residing in the province.<\/p>\n