Ontario Minimum Wage Calculator
Calculate your earnings at Ontario's 2026 minimum wage rates. Hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and annual breakdowns.
🇨🇦 2026 Ontario Minimum Wage Rates
| Category | Hourly Rate | Effective |
|---|---|---|
| General Minimum Wage | $17.60/hr | Oct 1, 2025 |
| Student (under 18, ≤28hrs/wk) | $16.60/hr | Oct 1, 2025 |
| Liquor Servers (same as general since 2022) | $17.60/hr | Oct 1, 2025 |
| Homeworkers | $19.35/hr | Oct 1, 2025 |
| Hunting/Fishing Guides (< 5 hrs/day) | $88.05/day | Oct 1, 2025 |
| Hunting/Fishing Guides (5+ hrs/day) | $176.15/day | Oct 1, 2025 |
Ontario Minimum Wage — What You Need to Know
Ontario's minimum wage is set under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 and applies to most employees in the province. Since 2020, the rate has been indexed to Ontario's Consumer Price Index, meaning it increases automatically each year to keep pace with inflation. The general minimum wage increased to $17.60 per hour on October 1, 2025.
Not all workers fall under the same rate. Students under 18 who work 28 or fewer hours per week during the school year qualify for the student minimum wage. Homeworkers — employees who do paid work at home for an employer — earn a higher rate to account for home office costs. As of January 1, 2022, Ontario eliminated the separate lower liquor server wage; all employees now receive at least the general minimum wage.
This calculator converts minimum wage rates into annual, monthly, weekly, and daily totals — useful for budgeting or comparing job offers. Note these are gross figures before income tax, CPP, and EI deductions. Use the paycheque calculator for a net take-home estimate.
Frequently Asked Questions
$17.60/hour (general rate), effective October 1, 2025. Student rate is $16.60/hour. An increase to $17.95/hr is expected October 1, 2026.
No, except in a very small number of specific exemptions in the ESA. If you believe you are being underpaid, contact the Ontario Ministry of Labour.
Increases are announced by the Ontario government annually and typically take effect October 1st. Check ontario.ca for the latest confirmed rates.
Ontario raises the minimum wage every October 1
Ontario indexes its general minimum wage to inflation and applies the change on October 1 each year, not January 1. That means the rate you are paid changes partway through the calendar year, and any annual earnings estimate has to be split across two rates rather than multiplied by one.
Practically: if you work the full year, roughly nine months are paid at the old rate and three at the new one. A quoted "annual minimum wage income" that uses a single rate will be slightly wrong for any year in which the rate moved — which is every year.
The liquor server wage is gone
Ontario eliminated the separate, lower minimum wage for liquor servers on January 1, 2022. Serving staff who handle alcohol are now entitled to the same general minimum wage as everyone else, and tips are on top of that rather than a justification for paying less.
If you are a server in Ontario being paid a lower "server rate," that is not lawful. Some other provinces do still maintain a reduced alcohol-server rate, so the rule is genuinely province-specific — but in Ontario the distinction no longer exists.
Special rates, and what they actually mean
A lower rate applies to students under 18 who work 28 hours a week or less during the school term, or who work during a school holiday. Once a student turns 18, or exceeds 28 hours in a term week, the general rate applies. Employers sometimes keep paying the student rate after a birthday — worth checking.
People doing paid work in their own home for an employer are entitled to a higher rate than the general minimum — the opposite of what most people assume. Students of any age doing homework are included at that higher rate.
An employer cannot count tips toward meeting the minimum wage. Minimum wage is the floor on wages; tips sit above it. Nor can an employer deduct from wages to cover shortages, breakages or walkouts.
What minimum wage does not cover
Your hourly rate is only part of what the Employment Standards Act guarantees. Overtime is payable at 1.5× your regular rate after 44 hours in a work week in Ontario — a higher threshold than most provinces, and one that catches people who assume it starts at 40. Public holiday pay, vacation pay of at least 4%, and termination notice all apply regardless of whether you earn minimum wage.
Minimum wage is also a gross figure. CPP, EI and income tax come off before you see it, so full-time minimum wage take-home is meaningfully below the headline annual number. Use the paycheque calculator to see the net figure, and the overtime calculator if you regularly pass 44 hours.