Ontario minimum wage 2026: the new rate at a glance

If you work a minimum wage job anywhere in Ontario, from a coffee counter on Queen West to a warehouse in Brampton, your pay went up on October 1, 2026. The general minimum wage is now $17.95 an hour, up 35 cents from the $17.60 rate that applied from October 1, 2025.

The raise is not a political decision made each year from scratch. Under the Employment Standards Act, Ontario adjusts its minimum wage every October 1 based on the annual change in the Ontario Consumer Price Index. For 2026, that inflation figure was 1.9 per cent, and the province announced the new rates in the spring so employers had time to update payroll.

Every Ontario minimum wage rate in effect now

Ontario has a handful of special rates alongside the general one. Here is what applies as of October 1, 2026:

Hunting, fishing and wilderness guides are paid by the day rather than the hour: at least $89.75 for less than five consecutive hours in a day, and $179.50 for five or more hours, whether consecutive or not.

A few points trip people up. The student rate only applies if you are under 18 and working within those hour limits; once you turn 18, or work more than 28 hours a week during the school year, you must get the general rate. Ontario no longer has a separate, lower rate for liquor servers. That category was eliminated in 2022, so a bartender in the Entertainment District gets at least the general minimum, before tips.

What $17.95 an hour means for a full-time worker in Toronto

Here is the math for someone working a standard 40-hour week, 52 weeks a year, before taxes and deductions:

• Weekly: about $718
• Monthly: about $3,111
• Yearly: about $37,336

The 35-cent raise adds roughly $14 a week, or about $728 a year, for a full-time worker. That is real money, but it does not go far in Toronto. According to the Rentals.ca and Urbanation national rent report for September 2026, the average asking rent for a one-bedroom in the city was $2,220 a month. That alone eats more than 70 per cent of gross monthly pay at minimum wage, which is why so many minimum wage earners in the GTA share apartments, rent basements in Scarborough or Brampton, or work more than one job.

Keep in mind that take-home pay will be lower once CPP, EI and income tax come off. Your exact deductions depend on your tax credits, so check your pay stub or use the Canada Revenue Agency’s payroll deductions calculator.

How Ontario compares with other provinces

Ontario sits near the top of the country but is not the highest. Here is how the general rates line up after this fall’s increases:

Note the federal rate. If you work in a federally regulated industry, such as banking, airlines, interprovincial trucking or telecom, the federal minimum of $18.15 applies to you instead of Ontario’s rate, even if your office is in downtown Toronto or near Pearson in Mississauga.

Employer rules: what your boss can and cannot do

The minimum wage is a floor, not a suggestion. Under Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, employers must follow a few core rules:

• Pay the new rate from October 1. Hours worked on or after that date must be paid at $17.95 or more, even if the pay period started earlier.
• No deductions that push you below minimum. Employers generally cannot deduct for cash shortages, dine-and-dash losses or broken dishes.
• Overtime kicks in after 44 hours a week for most jobs, at one and a half times your regular rate. At minimum wage, that is at least $26.93 an hour.
• Vacation pay is at least 4 per cent of wages for employees with fewer than five years of service, and 6 per cent after five years.
• Public holidays come with public holiday pay if you qualify, and premium pay if you work that day.
• The three-hour rule: if you regularly work more than three hours a day and are sent home early, you are generally owed at least three hours of pay.

Being paid in cash does not change any of this, and neither does being a student, a newcomer or on probation.

Tips and gratuities in Ontario

Tips belong to workers. Ontario law says an employer cannot take or withhold an employee’s tips, except in limited cases such as a tip pool that is shared among employees, or where required by law, like a court order. Owners and managers can only share in a pool if they regularly do the same work as the staff in it. Employers also cannot deduct credit card processing fees from tips paid by card, and tips cannot be counted toward meeting the $17.95 minimum.

If you work at a restaurant in Liberty Village or a salon in Markham and suspect your tips are being kept, keep your own records of shifts and tips received. That paper trail matters if you file a complaint.

What to do if you are underpaid

Start by checking your pay stub, which your employer must provide each payday. If your hourly rate is still $17.60 for hours worked after October 1, raise it with your manager or payroll in writing first. If that does not fix it, you can file a claim with the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, generally within two years of the unpaid wages being owed. Retaliation for asking about your rights is illegal.

The bottom line

Ontario’s minimum wage is $17.95 an hour as of October 1, 2026, with $16.90 for eligible students under 18 and $19.70 for homeworkers. A full-time worker earns about $3,111 a month before deductions, which still leaves very little room once Toronto rent is paid. Check your first pay stub after October 1, know your rights around overtime and tips, and expect the next CPI-based adjustment to be announced in spring 2027 and take effect that October.

Frequently asked questions

What is the minimum wage in Ontario right now?

Since October 1, 2026, Ontario's general minimum wage is $17.95 an hour. Students under 18 working limited hours earn at least $16.90, and homeworkers earn at least $19.70.

When does Ontario's minimum wage go up next?

Ontario adjusts its minimum wage every October 1 based on Ontario CPI inflation. The next increase is expected on October 1, 2027, with the rate usually announced in the spring.

Can my employer keep my tips in Ontario?

No. Under the Employment Standards Act, employers cannot withhold or take tips except in limited cases such as an employee tip pool, and tips cannot count toward paying the minimum wage.

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Information current as of October 2026. Rates, fares and rules change: check official sources (ontario.ca, toronto.ca, ttc.ca) before making decisions.