Ontario's general minimum wage is $17.95 an hour from 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027, as of October 2026. Students under 18 have a lower rate of $16.90, homeworkers have a higher rate of $19.70, and the general rate applies to most employees whether they're full-time, part-time, casual, salaried or paid by commission.
The Ontario government ties the increase to the Ontario Consumer Price Index, and it's the same pattern every year: the new rate is published on or before 1 April and comes into effect on 1 October. So if you run payroll in Ontario, 1 October is the date to diarise.
Ontario minimum wage rates for 2026 and earlier years
| Rate | 1 Oct 2026 to 30 Sep 2027 | 1 Oct 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 | 1 Oct 2024 to 30 Sep 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| General minimum wage | $17.95 per hour | $17.60 per hour | $17.20 per hour |
| Student minimum wage | $16.90 per hour | $16.60 per hour | $16.20 per hour |
| Homeworkers | $19.70 per hour | $19.35 per hour | $18.90 per hour |
| Hunting, fishing and wilderness guides: under five consecutive hours a day | $89.75 | $88.05 | $86.00 |
| Hunting, fishing and wilderness guides: five or more hours a day | $179.50 | $176.15 | $172.05 |
For context, the federal government's table of provincial rates shows Ontario at $17.95, below Nunavut, Yukon and British Columbia but above Alberta, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces.
Who gets the student and homeworker rates
The student rate applies to students under 18 who work 28 hours a week or less when school is in session, or who work during a school break or the summer holidays. It doesn't apply to a 17-year-old who's left school and works full time.
Homeworkers are employees who do paid work in their own homes, and the government's examples include answering calls for a call centre or writing software for a high-tech company. This is the detail that surprises people: a student of any age, including one under 18, who's employed as a homeworker must be paid the higher homeworker rate, not the student rate. If you hire remote staff in Ontario, check which category they fall into.
Minimum wage is checked per pay period
Compliance is measured across the pay period, not hour by hour. The government's own example: Julia works 38 hours in a week and is paid weekly, so she must be paid at least $682.10 for that week before deductions. Eating periods don't count as hours worked.
The same rule applies to commission and other pay methods. In the government's example, Luba earns $300 in commission in a week but works 25 hours. Twenty-five hours at $17.95 is $448.75, so her employer owes her the $148.75 difference. If you pay sales staff on commission only, run that check every pay period.
If the rate changes partway through a pay period, Ontario treats it as two separate pay periods, and the employee gets at least the minimum wage that applies in each.
The three-hour rule
When an employee who regularly works more than three hours a day is told to report to work but works less than three hours, they must be paid the higher of three hours at their regular rate, or what they earned plus their regular wage for the rest of the three hours. The government's example is a liquor server on $17.95 sent home after two hours: they get $35.90 for the time worked plus one more hour at $17.95, a total of $53.85.
Room and board you can count
Ontario lets employers count room and board towards the minimum wage, but only if the employee received the meals and occupied the room. The deemed amounts, as of October 2026:
| Item | Amount deemed paid as wages |
|---|---|
| Private room (weekly) | $31.70 |
| Non-private room (weekly) | $15.85 |
| Each meal | $2.55 |
| Meals, weekly maximum | $53.55 |
| Room and meals, private room (weekly) | $85.25 |
| Room and meals, non-private room (weekly) | $69.40 |
Jobs with exemptions or special rules
Some jobs are exempt from the minimum wage rules of the Employment Standards Act, or have special rules, and Ontario keeps a separate list of them, including an exception for some business and information technology consultants. Don't assume a role is exempt because of its title. Check the list for that exact job, and keep a note of which exemption you're relying on and why.
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Checklist for Ontario employers
- Update hourly rates to $17.95 (or $16.90 for eligible students, $19.70 for homeworkers) from 1 October 2026.
- Check every commission-only or salaried employee earns at least the minimum for their hours in each pay period.
- Split any pay period that straddles 1 October.
- Apply the three-hour rule when you send people home early.
- Only count room and board that was received and used.
- Check whether a role has an exemption or special rule under the Employment Standards Act before you rely on it.
If you're registering a new business here, my guide on setting up a CRA My Business Account covers the payroll account side, and the T4A slip explains what you issue to contractors instead of employees.
My verdict
The headline number is easy: $17.95. Where Ontario employers slip is the detail. Commission staff who have a slow week, a student homeworker on the wrong rate, a pay period that crosses 1 October, or a shift cut to two hours. Build those four checks into payroll once and you won't need to think about them again until next April, when the 2027 rate is announced.
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum wage in Ontario in 2026?
The general minimum wage is $17.95 an hour from 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027. Before that it was $17.60.
What is the student minimum wage in Ontario?
$16.90 an hour from 1 October 2026, for students under 18 who work 28 hours a week or less during the school term, or who work during school breaks.
When does Ontario's minimum wage go up?
Every year on 1 October. The new rate, tied to the Ontario Consumer Price Index, is published on or before 1 April.
Does minimum wage apply to commission employees in Ontario?
Yes. Most employees are covered whatever the pay method, and compliance is checked per pay period, so commission pay must at least equal the minimum wage for the hours worked.
What is the three-hour rule in Ontario?
If an employee who regularly works more than three hours a day is sent home after less than three hours, they must be paid for at least three hours under the rule's formula.
What is the homeworker minimum wage in Ontario?
$19.70 an hour from 1 October 2026. Students employed as homeworkers must be paid this rate too.
