How Alberta went from being a leader to a loser on minimum wage

In 2018, Alberta broke new ground in Canada, increasing the province’s minimum wage to $15 per hour. It was a trailblazing move by Alberta. No other province had contemplated as bold a strategy.

But that trend was not long to last. Many other provinces began to follow suit, increasing their rates to meet Alberta’s new benchmark.

A rising tide

First was Nunavut, with an increase to $16.00 in 2020. British Columbia then increased its minimum wage to $15.20 in June of 2021. The Northwest Territories did the same just a few months later in September of 2021.

By 2024, every province has crossed the threshold, with minimum wages varying from a highwater mark of $19.00 in Nunavut, $17.59 in Yukon, Ontario standing at $17.20, and almost every other province fashioning increases over $15.00.

However, a recent opinion editorial published by the Parkland Institute notes that the outlier to this trend has been – Alberta.

Since 2018, minimum wage in Alberta has stood still. And on October 1, when Saskatchewan finally increased its minimum wage to $15.00, Alberta assumed the dubious title of being tied for the lowest minimum wage in the country.

The impact has been hard to miss.

Alberta’s fall from grace

As the Parkland Institute’s Research Manager, Rebecca Graff-McRae, notes, “While the current government may use the term [Alberta Advantage] to refer exclusively to Alberta’s low corporate income and sales tax environment, historically the “advantage” also encompassed the distinction of having the highest average wages in the country across all sectors. Those days are long gone — by design.”

Graff-McRae goes on to cite a 2023 report by the Alberta Federation of Labour that shows, “wage growth in Alberta between 2019 and 2023 was the lowest in the country, and well below the national average.”

In short, standing still on our province’s minimum wage has caused us to fall further and further behind at a time when Albertans are struggling to make ends meet.

This trend also has an impact on our members.

Fighting back

“A low minimum wage harms our members,” says UFCW 401 President Thomas Hesse. “Having the lowest minimum wage and wage growth in the country makes it that much harder for us to push for the kinds of increases our members need.”

“Those challenges haven’t stopped us,” continues Hesse. “We’re a fighting union that will do whatever it takes to meet the needs of our members. We’ve been using every tool at our disposal to push employers to do the right thing, and we’ll keep doing that every chance we get.”

The next several years will be pivotal for Local 401 members as their union negotiates new contracts in the wake of the affordability crisis.

“We’re preparing for some of the most aggressive bargaining we’ve ever coordinated,” projects Secretary Treasurer Richelle Stewart. “At every negotiating table, for every member, we’re going to be pushing employers for landmark increases that will make life more affordable.” 

Local 401’s approach stands in stark contrast to the wage-suppressing strategy the Graff-McRae attributes to Alberta’s current government. But data from respected Canadian economist, Jim Stanford, supports our union’s efforts.

People over profits

In a 2023 report, Stanford noted that profit, not wages, had driven Canadian inflation.

“Corporate profits have swelled dramatically during the pandemic, to the highest share of GDP in history. And those profits are concentrated in the same industries that lead inflation: petroleum, real estate, building materials, car dealers and, yes, supermarkets.”

Earlier this year, Stanford expanded on his data reporting that:

“Businesses took advantage of the unique circumstances of the post-lockdown economic re-opening (including disrupted global supply chains, shortages of many strategic commodities, temporary shifts in consumer demand, and a global oil price shock in 2022) to increase their prices far higher than costs, adding substantially to inflation.”

A sober reminder

October 17 is the International Day For Eradicating Poverty.

The day acts as a sober reminder that it is high time we righted the scales by increasing the minimum wage in Alberta and making the companies whose profits have driven the affordability crisis pay their employees what they need and deserve.

Posted on: October 17,2024