Move will make territory’s minimum wage highest in Canada; minister cites need for relief from high cost of living.
Nunavut’s minimum wage will rise to $19 an hour next year from the current $16 in a move aimed to combat inflation and the high cost of living, the territorial government announced Friday.
That change — an 18 per cent raise, starting Jan. 1, 2024 — will make Nunavut’s minimum wage the highest in Canada, over $2 an hour more than the second-highest of $16.77 in Yukon.
“I would highly doubt that there would be any job losses as a result” of the higher minimum wage, Wilson said.
Meanwhile, two Ottawa university professors disagreed Friday over the impact a higher minimum wage could have.
Asked in the interview what he thought raising the minimum wage in Nunavut to $19 from $16 would lead to, Lee answered:.
In an interview, he said that contrary to popular opinion minimum wage increases do not generally lead to higher unemployment. »