GNWT Working on New Method for Determining Minimum Wage

The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) is changing the way it calculates and adjusts the territory’s minimum wage.

Beginning September 1, 2023, the minimum wage will be adjusted annually using a formula based on the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Yellowknife and the percentage change in the average hourly wage (AHW) in the Northwest Territories (NWT) for the preceding calendar year.

As such, beginning in 2023, the minimum wage in the NWT will be adjusted using the established formula on September 1, and annually thereafter, unless otherwise directed by the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment (ECE).

Using CPI as a basis for adjusting the minimum wage rate allows the minimum wage to keep up with the increasing costs for NWT residents, and with other jurisdictions’ minimum wage rates.

Businesses will be able to plan for the minimum wage rate to be adjusted on September 1st each year, and the annual increases will be smaller, which will allow businesses to better absorb the impact of each increase.

Connor Pitre
Connor Pitre
Born and raised in Central Alberta, Connor Pitre attended the Western Academy Broadcasting College in Saskatchewan, before making his way to the NWT in November of 2021. Since then, he has become a regular staple of the True North FM crew in the News department, and occasionally filling in on the afternoon show.

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