IMPACT – MEDIUM

What is the change? Canada has released current median hourly wages by province or territory.

What does the change mean? Employers should use the newly published median hourly wages to determine if their employees qualify for a Labour Market Impact Assessment under the Stream for High-wage Positions or the Stream for Low-wage Positions.

  • Effective date: April 22.
  • Applications affected: High-wage and low-wage stream positions.

Additional information: In Canada, employees who will earn a salary at or above the provincial or territorial median hourly wage must apply under the Stream for High-wage Positions while employees who earn a salary below the provincial or territorial median hourly wage must apply under the Stream for Low-wage Positions. The median hourly wages, in Canadian dollars, are as follows:

Province/Territory Wages prior to April 22, 2019
2017 wage ($/hour)		 Wages as of April 22, 2019
2018 wage ($/hour)
Alberta $26.40 $26.67
British Columbia $23.00 $23.98
Manitoba $20.83 $21.00
New Brunswick $19.35 $20.00
Newfoundland and Labrador $21.98 $22.00
Northwest Territories $32.00 $34.00
Nova Scotia $20.00 $20.00
Nunavut $31.00 $30.00
Ontario $22.50 $23.08
Prince Edward Island $19.00 $19.49
Quebec $21.75 $22.00
Saskatchewan $24.00 $24.52
Yukon $28.00 $30.00

Analysis & Comments: Employers should take note of the adjusted median hourly wages when submitting applications for high-wage and low-wage temporary work permit applications. Failure to do so may result in rejection of the work permit application.

This alert was prepared by Garson LLP, an independent law firm, allied with Deloitte LLP in Canada.