Minimum wage · Ontario
Ontario minimum wage.
What Ontario employers must pay per hour in 2026, and what that comes to per week, per pay period and per year.
Ontario's general minimum wage is $17.60 an hour, in force from 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2026. It rises to $17.95 on 1 October 2026.
Students under 18 who work 28 hours a week or less while school is in session, or who work during a school break, may be paid $16.60. Homeworkers must be paid $19.35 — a higher rate, not a lower one.
Inputs
Minimum you must be paid
Fill the form and press Calculate.
Ontario minimum wage rates in 2026
| Rate | Amount | In effect from |
|---|---|---|
| General minimum wage | $17.60/hour | 1 October 2025 |
| Student under 18 working 28 hours a week or less while school is in session, or during a school break | $16.60/hour | 1 October 2025 |
| Homeworker (paid work done in their own home, students of any age included) | $19.35/hour | 1 October 2025 |
| Hunting, fishing or wilderness guide — less than five consecutive hours in a day | $88.05 per day | 1 October 2025 |
| Hunting, fishing or wilderness guide — five hours or more in a day, consecutive or not | $176.15 per day | 1 October 2025 |
| Scheduled increase | $17.95/hour | 1 October 2026 |
Ontario has no liquor server rate. The separate lower rate for servers of alcohol was abolished and the Ministry’s own worked example now pays a liquor server the general minimum wage. Rates are indexed to inflation each year: the new figure is published on or before 1 April and takes effect the following 1 October.
Source, last verified 2 September 2026: Ontario.ca — Minimum wage, Your guide to the Employment Standards Act.
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum wage in Ontario right now?
The general minimum wage is $17.60 an hour, in force from 1 October 2025 until 30 September 2026. From 1 October 2026 it becomes $17.95.
Ontario indexes the rate to inflation. The new figure is published on or before 1 April each year and takes effect the following 1 October, so the increase is always known months in advance.
Is there a lower minimum wage for students in Ontario?
Yes, but it is narrow. The student rate of $16.60 applies only to students under 18 who work 28 hours a week or less while school is in session, or who work during a school break or the summer holidays.
A student under 18 who works more than 28 hours in a school week must be paid the general minimum wage for those hours. A student of 18 or over is on the general rate no matter how few hours they work.
Do liquor servers in Ontario have their own minimum wage?
No. Ontario abolished the separate liquor-server rate, and servers are now paid the general minimum wage of $17.60 an hour on top of any tips.
The Ministry's own three-hour-rule example on its minimum wage page pays a liquor server $17.60 and calls that the general minimum wage, which settles it.
What can my employer deduct before minimum wage?
Very little. Minimum wage is a floor on what you actually receive for the hours you work. Tips are yours and cannot be counted toward it, and a uniform or till shortage cannot be deducted in a way that takes you below the minimum.
Room and board can be counted at prescribed amounts, and those amounts are set in the regulation rather than by the employer.
Estimate only — not legal advice
This calculator produces an estimate from the published employment-standards minimums. It is not legal advice and it is not a determination of what you are owed. Minimum wage in Ontario is set by the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development and can change on a fixed indexation date.
Collective agreements, employment contracts, exemptions for your occupation, averaging agreements and permits can all change the answer. For a binding answer, contact the employment-standards office named above or a lawyer.