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October 7, 2025
By Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development/Workplace Safety and Insurance Board
The Ontario government raised the minimum wage from $17.20 to $17.60 an hour on Oct. 1. The government says the wage change will affect over 800,000 workers. This annualized wage increase of 2.4 per cent is based on the Ontario Consumer Price Index. Under the Employment Standards Act, Ontario’s minimum wage increases annually based on the Ontario CPI, a measure of inflation that represents changes in prices experienced by Ontario consumers.
On Sept. 30, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board announced the average premium rate for Ontario businesses in 2026 will be reduced to $1.23 per $100 of insurable payroll, down from $1.25 in 2025. This marks the seventh time in the last 10 years the WSIB has reduced the average premium rate, bringing it down by more than 50 percent since 2017.