Nova Scotia to increase minimum wage to $13.35

Nova Scotia will increase its minimum wage by 40 cents this April.

The Nova Scotia  minimum wage review committee submitted its recommendations to the province to have minimum wage increased to $13.35 an hour starting April 1.

The committee also suggested the move would be followed by a second recommended adjustment to take place on Oct. 1 to increase the wage to $13.60, with the aim to have it increased to $15 by 2024.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Premier Tim Houston said it won't be long before they follow through on some of these recommendations.

“Take about a week to listen to Nova Scotians, talk to Nova Scotians about it,” he said. “Of course, the first increase happens April 1, that will happen.”

The province plans to announce its decision on the rest of the recommendations after receiving additional input from stakeholders.

But Houston said he has no interest in undermining the committee's recommendations.

Nova Scotia's current minimum wage is $12.95 an hour, according to the Retail Council of Canada.

According to the province, an average of 8.1 per cent of workers, or 31,400 Nova Scotians, worked for minimum wage during the period from April 2020 to March 2021.