The new minimum wage for BC will be $16.75 an hour 

Today (4 April 2023), the BC Government announced that it will be increasing the minimum wage in line with inflation. 

On June 1st, the minimum wage will be increasing from $15.65 an hour to $16.75 an hour.  However this is still significantly less than the living wage for Metro-Vancouver and Greater Victoria. 

"The Government’s plans to increase the minimum wage to $16.75 is good news for the thousands of workers across BC who depend on it. However, there is still a $7.00 an hour gap between the legal minimum you must pay workers and what they actually need to be able survive" said Living Wage for Families Provincial Manager, Anastasia French. 

"There are nearly 400 employers across BC who are stepping up and paying their staff and contracted workers a Living Wage. They've found that paying a living wage is good for business and good for the community"

Living Wage for Families BC is calling on the Government to take action to both bring costs down and lift the minimum wage, so that workers don’t have to work multiple jobs just to pay for essentials like food and rent. 

In addition, there are several groups of workers who do not even receive the guaranteed minimum wage. These workers include those in the "gig economy" who are misclassified as independent contractors, and farm workers who's wages are set by "piece rate". As well as lifting the minimum wage, the Government needs to take action to ensure these workers are covered by minimum wage law.