On April 1, the third $1 per-hour increase to the minimum wage over the past 12 months will push New Brunswick’s minimum wage to $14.75 per hour, the highest in Atlantic Canada.

Following increases totalling $2-per hour in 2022, the minimum wage is once again indexed to the province’s consumer price index, which grew by 7.3 per cent in 2022.

In 2019, the government officially indexed minimum wage adjustments to New Brunswick’s consumer price index to allow employers and employees to be better prepared for increases when they occur.

In 2022, it temporarily moved away from indexing to allow for a course correction that was necessary to make the province more competitive and improve the standard of living for minimum wage earners.

In Nova Scotia, the minimum wage will rise to $14.30 on April 1, $14.65 on October 1, and eventually to $15 on April 1, 2024. On Prince Edward Island, the minimum wage will rise to $15 on October 1, and in Newfoundland and Labrador, the minimum wage will rise to $14.50 on April 1, before rising to $15 on October 1.

There are about 19,000 minimum wage earners in the province, or about 5.7 per cent of the paid workforce.