HALIFAX/K’jipuktuk – A new publication, Atlantic Canadians need a raise: One-third of workers earn less than $20 an hour, from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives-Nova Scotia underscores the challenges faced by workers in Atlantic Canada. Data obtained from Statistics Canada show that one-third of workers in Atlantic Canada earn less than $20 an hour.
“With 368,249 workers across the region earning $20 or less an hour, Atlantic Canadians not only deserve a wage—they need one,” says Christine Saulnier, co-author of the report and CCPA-NS director. “Raising the minimum wage to $20 is an important market reset to narrow the gap to living wages.”
New data from Statistics Canada dispel common misconceptions that those who would benefit from such an increase are predominantly teenagers or students. In reality, the vast majority of these workers are not students, are over twenty, and are employed in permanent, full-time jobs.
Workers in the Atlantic provinces bring home some of the lowest wages in the country. Despite recent increases, Nova Scotia’s minimum wage remains the third lowest among all provinces in Canada. Other Atlantic provinces are not much farther ahead. The report underlines the large gap between current minimum wages in Atlantic Canada and the living wages necessary to afford basic expenses. This gap is expected to grow larger once 2024 living wage rates are calculated.
The findings highlight the urgent need for steep increases to the minimum wage for workers across Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island.
“Minimum wages are becoming more and more insufficient to meet basic costs of living,” co-author Kenya Thompson says. “Provincial governments need to look closely at actual costs working households face—instead of just listening to industry lobbyists—and ensure minimum wages keep pace with these costs as they work to make ends meet.”
The report, and provincial summaries of the data for each Atlantic province, are available at: https://policyalternatives.ca/AtlanticLowWageWorkers2024
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For more information, or to arrange interviews, please contact Kenya Thompson at ccpans@policyalternatives.ca.
The Nova Scotia office of the CCPA opened its doors in 1999. With the help of our loyal supporters and research associates, we continue to raise debate and propose policy alternatives that will get us closer to achieving an economically and socially just—as well as environmentally sustainable—province and Atlantic region.
