Each year the Ontario Living Wage Network (OLWN) calculates an updated living wage rate for areas throughout the province. With affordability becoming an increasingly urgent issue in our community, the living wage rate has increased once again from $19.80 to $20.35 to $20.90, a 2.7% increase. The work of the Ontario Living Wage Network centres on one core goal: the elimination of working poverty.
As inflation has calmed in the past year the 2024 living wage rates have increased by an average of 3.4%. For the most part the increase to this year’s living wage rate is mainly due to rising costs for rent in our province. Inflation of food costs may have calmed but still remain high relative to earlier years.
Despite the annual October 1st increase to the provincial minimum wage to $17.20, there is still no place in Ontario where you could work full-time and cover all your expenses. Read the full report on how we got these numbers here.
There is a growing list of employers who want to know that their employees are able to make ends meet. This is the end goal of our calculation work and certification program: signing up certified living wage employers across Ontario. In order to qualify for certification, all employees must make at least a local living wage, and many see a raise as a result.
The problem of working poverty is complex, and is the product of issues of affordability, policy, cultural norms and attitudes about the value of work and more. Yet the most expedient first step is to simply ensure that a day’s work can cover that day’s expenses.
United Way Niagara is committed to promoting the Ontario Living Wage Network’s provincial living wage employer certification program. Employers can use the living wage rate as a base, and know that they are working towards reducing poverty. To learn more about the certification process, contact Ontario Living Wage.
For more information about the Ontario Living Wage Report visit https://www.ontariolivingwage.ca/documentation
