British Columbia’s general minimum wage will increase from $17.85 to $18.25 per hour on June 1, 2026, giving employers across the province roughly three months to update payroll systems and employment contracts.
The 2.2 per cent increase is tied to B.C.’s average monthly inflation rate in 2025, which the provincial government says came in at just over 2.1 per cent. Under legislation passed in 2024, minimum wage increases in B.C. are now automatic and linked to the prior year’s inflation rate each year.
“Working people in our province are feeling the pressure of inflation,” said Jennifer Whiteside, Minister of Labour. “That’s why we acted to bring in annual minimum-wage increases, which have helped paycheques keep up with increasing costs of essentials like food and transportation. This matters for everyone, and especially for minimum-wage workers, the people doing the jobs so many of us rely on every day.”
Who is affected
The June 1 increase applies to the general minimum wage as well as specialized rates covering resident caretakers, live-in home-support workers, live-in camp leaders and piece-rate agricultural workers.
App-based ride-hailing and delivery service workers, whose separate minimum wage was established in September 2024, will see their rate rise to $21.89 per hour of engaged time. Minimum piece rates for hand-harvested crops will increase by the same percentage on Dec. 31, 2026.
Ugo Chukwurah, a former junk removal worker from Burnaby, also commented on the change.
“Minimum-wage work is serious, hard work. You are giving your time and energy every day and in this day and age, the cost of living is weighing on everybody. That money goes fast. So when the government changes the law to make sure the minimum wage keeps up with the cost of living, it means something real to workers like me. It is saying that our effort counts and that we deserve to not fall further behind.”
Where B.C. stands nationally
B.C. now holds the highest minimum wage among all Canadian provinces, according to the provincial government. As of February 2026, Nunavut leads all jurisdictions in Canada at $19.75 per hour, while Alberta sits at the low end among provinces at $15 per hour.
The province’s minimum wage was $8 per hour in 2011, the lowest in Canada at the time. There were no increases for nine consecutive years between 2002 and 2010, and again in 2013 and 2014.
Context for HR professionals
The government says many minimum-wage earners in B.C. are young adults, women and racialized workers employed in retail, food services and care industries, with women making up the majority of minimum-wage earners.
Over the past five years, the average hourly wage in B.C. has grown by nearly 26 per cent, rising from just over $30 an hour to nearly $38, according to the province.
