There is lots of talk about minimum wage in Canada. Many political parties discuss the need to hike both the federal and provincial minimum wage. This presentation will discuss issues the impact on changing the minimum wage in Canada.

1. MINIMUM WAGE - CANADA
BY: PAUL YOUNG, CPA, CGA

2. MINIMUM WAGE
• There is lots of talk about minimum wage in Canada. Many
political parties discuss the need to hike both the federal and
provincial minimum wage. This presentation will discuss issues
the impact on changing the minimum wage in Canada.

3. COMMENTARY
• CLC has charmed in to say there is 100,000 workers that are paid minimum wage -
http://canadianlabour.ca/news/news-archive/why-canada-needs-federal-minimum-wage
• It does seem the NDP is using CLC numbers, but they do not align with stats -
• Source - http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/fact-check-ndp-and-liberals-on-the-15-minimum-wage-1.2517664
• Source - http://thetyee.ca/News/2015/08/11/NDP-Federal-Minimum-Wage/. NDP source says it 100,000 worker, but no stats to
back up claim. We all know the NDP inflate their numbers to look good to their sheep
• Source - http://globalnews.ca/news/2151323/reality-check-does-the-ndp-minimum-wage-plan-leave-out-99-of-minimum-
wage-earners/
• We all know the “100,000 level” was done on purpose to play to low informed voter! It seems my sources which
includes about 5 have a different take than CLC. CLC is labor group so we all know they will push pro-NDP policies
including skewing the numbers

4. FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE / MINIMUM WAGE
http://www.retailcouncil.org/quickfacts/minimum-wage

5. MINIMUM WAGE
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-630-x/11-630-
x2015006-eng.htm
• When the minimum wage goes up, the proportion of employees
paid at minimum wage may increase. This is because some
employees who were earning above the minimum wage join the
ranks of those earning the minimum wage.
• In 2014, as in 1997, youth, women, students and people with a
lower level of education were the groups most likely to be paid at
minimum wage. In 2014, 49% of employees aged 15 to 19 years
and 15% of those aged 20 to 24 were paid at minimum wage.
The rate for women was 9%, compared with 6% for men. Among
students, 29% were paid at minimum wage, versus 5% of non-
students. Lastly, 20% of employees with less than a high school
diploma were paid at minimum wage, compared with 3% of
employees who had a university degree.
• When the minimum wage goes up, the proportion of employees
paid at minimum wage may increase. This is because some
employees who were earning above the minimum wage join the
ranks of those earning the minimum wage.
• In 2014, as in 1997, youth, women, students and people with a
lower level of education were the groups most likely to be paid at
minimum wage. In 2014, 49% of employees aged 15 to 19 years
and 15% of those aged 20 to 24 were paid at minimum wage.
The rate for women was 9%, compared with 6% for men. Among
students, 29% were paid at minimum wage, versus 5% of non-
students. Lastly, 20% of employees with less than a high school
diploma were paid at minimum wage, compared with 3% of
employees who had a university degree.

6. • Who make up minimum wage earners?
• We sought to answer this question in a recent Fraser Institute study, using data from Statistics Canada. The results may be surprising for minimum wage
advocates. Specifically, we found that:
• • 88 per cent of minimum-wage earners do not live in a low-income household, as measured by Statistics Canada’s low income cut-off (LICO).
• • 83 per cent of workers living in a low-income household earn more than the minimum wage.
• In other words, most Canadians who earn the minimum wage are not “poor,” and most of those living in “poor” households earn more than the minimum
wage. For a government policy aimed at helping the working poor, the minimum wage simply does not efficiently or effectively target the people it is
supposed to help.
To help explain these results, we looked at some of the other characteristics of minimum-wage earners including their age, education, and more. Here is
what we found:
• • 58 per cent of minimum-wage earners are teenagers or young adults aged 15 to 24, with the vast majority of them (85 per cent) living with their
parents or other relatives. For many youths, a minimum wage job is their first while in school and often a stepping stone to higher paid employment.
• • 54 per cent of minimum-wage earners have achieved a high school diploma or less, signalling very low levels of education. If we focus on all workers
who hold a university degree, then only 3 per cent earn the minimum wage. This should put to rest the idea that a substantial share of university
graduates is working minimum wage jobs.
• • 58 per cent of minimum-wage earners work part-time. More broadly, however, part-time workers are much more likely than full-time workers to be
earning minimum wage. Consider that just 4 per cent of all full-time workers earn the minimum wage, challenging the notion that a large cadre of full-
time career workers is dependent on the minimum wage.
• • 20 per cent of minimum-wage earners have an employed spouse, meaning there is more than one earner in the household. And the vast majority of
their spouses earn more than the minimum wage.
• • Just 2 per cent of minimum-wage earners are single parents with a young child, diffusing the misperception that minimum-wage earners are generally
single parents struggling to survive.
• The facts paint a surprising picture of the typical minimum-wage earner in Canada: a young person, usually living with parents or other relatives, while
often in school and working a part-time job.
https://www.fraserinstitute.org/blogs/the-typical-minimum-wage-earner-in-

7. NDP POLICY

8. WHO ARE FEDERALLY REGULATED

9. STATS / MINIMUM WAGE

10. WAGES
Source – Stats Canada

11. IMPACT ON FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE

12. IMPACT OF MINIMUM WAGE

13. IMPACT OF MINIMUM WAGE

14. ALBERTA MINIMUM WAGE HIKE

15. ALBERTA MINIMUM WAGE HIKE

16. ALBERTA – MINIMUM WAGE
• http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-minimum-
wage-restaurant-group-wants-exemptions-1.3107969
• http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/15-minimum-
wage-worries-retailers-restaurants-small-business-
1.3110431

17. SKILLS GAPS

18. OTHER SOURCES
• Poverty - http://www.slideshare.net/paulyoungcga/poverty-
and-low-income-Canada