Quick Answer
As of October 2026, a full-time minimum wage worker takes home between $26,989 a year (Alberta, $15.00/hr) and $35,265 a year (Nunavut, $20.17/hr) after federal tax, provincial tax, CPP, and EI. In Ontario ($17.95/hr), full-time minimum wage works out to $30,911 a year or about $2,576 a month after deductions.
What Minimum Wage Is Really Worth in 2026
Minimum wage headlines always quote the hourly rate. But a $17.00 wage in one province and a $16.60 wage in another can leave a worker with almost the same money in the bank, because provincial taxes and payroll deductions differ sharply across Canada.
We ran every provincial and territorial minimum wage (current as of October 1, 2026, re-verified that morning on each government's own site; Prince Edward Island's page could not be reached due to an automated-access block, so its rate is confirmed via the province's April 2026 announcement and corroborating news coverage) through the CanPay Insights tax engine to answer one question: what does a full-time minimum wage worker actually keep?
Key findings
- The national gap is $8,276 a year. A full-time minimum wage worker in Nunavut takes home $35,265; in Alberta, $26,989.
- Nova Scotia takes the biggest bite. Deductions consume 18.8% of a minimum wage salary in Nova Scotia — the highest in Canada. Alberta takes the smallest share (13.5%), but its $15.00 wage is so low that Alberta workers still finish last in actual dollars.
- PEI's higher wage mostly evaporates. PEI's $17.30 wage is 70 cents above Quebec's $16.60, but after deductions the difference shrinks to about $89 a month.
- Saskatchewan nearly catches Manitoba. Saskatchewan pays 70 cents less per hour than Manitoba, but its lower deductions close the annual net gap to just $485.
Full results: minimum wage take-home pay by province (rates in force October 1, 2026)
Figures assume full-time hours (40 hours/week, 2,080 hours/year), basic personal amounts only, and 2026 tax rates.
| Province | Min. wage | Gross (full-time) | Take-home / year | Take-home / month | Net hourly | Deduction rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nunavut | $20.17 | $41,954 | $35,265 | $2,939 | $16.95 | 15.9% |
| Yukon | $18.51 | $38,501 | $32,152 | $2,679 | $15.46 | 16.5% |
| British Columbia | $18.25 | $37,960 | $31,889 | $2,657 | $15.33 | 16.0% |
| Ontario | $17.95 | $37,336 | $30,911 | $2,576 | $14.86 | 17.2% |
| Northwest Territories | $17.20 | $35,776 | $30,238 | $2,520 | $14.54 | 15.5% |
| Prince Edward Island | $17.30 | $35,984 | $29,470 | $2,456 | $14.17 | 18.1% |
| Nova Scotia | $17.00 | $35,360 | $28,706 | $2,392 | $13.80 | 18.8% |
| Quebec | $16.60 | $34,528 | $28,402 | $2,367 | $13.66 | 17.7% |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | $16.35 | $34,008 | $28,109 | $2,342 | $13.51 | 17.3% |
| Manitoba | $16.40 | $34,112 | $28,082 | $2,340 | $13.50 | 17.7% |
| Saskatchewan | $15.70 | $32,656 | $27,597 | $2,300 | $13.27 | 15.5% |
| New Brunswick | $15.90 | $33,072 | $27,370 | $2,281 | $13.16 | 17.2% |
| Alberta | $15.00 | $31,200 | $26,989 | $2,249 | $12.98 | 13.5% |
Deduction rate = (federal tax + provincial tax + CPP/QPP + EI, and QPIP in Quebec) as a share of gross pay.
The hourly rate you never see on the poster
Translating take-home pay back into an hourly figure shows how much of every advertised minimum wage hour a worker actually keeps:
- Nunavut: $20.17 advertised → $16.95 in the bank
- Ontario: $17.95 advertised → $14.86 in the bank
- Quebec: $16.60 advertised → $13.66 in the bank
- Alberta: $15.00 advertised → $12.98 in the bank
No Canadian jurisdiction lets a full-time minimum wage worker keep more than 87% of their gross pay — Alberta, the lightest, keeps 86.5%.
Why the deduction rates differ so much
At minimum wage income levels ($31,000–$41,000 a year), three things drive the differences:
- Provincial basic personal amounts. Provinces with low basic personal amounts — Nova Scotia ($11,932) and Ontario ($12,989) are among the lowest — start taxing income much earlier than Alberta ($22,769) or the territories, and Nova Scotia pairs that with a first-bracket rate of 8.79%, well above Ontario (5.05%) or BC (5.60%).
- Quebec's separate system. Quebec layers QPP (at a higher rate than CPP) and QPIP on top of income tax, partly offset by the federal Quebec abatement.
- CPP and EI are flat at this level. CPP (5.95%) and EI (1.63%) apply almost uniformly, so they hit low earners proportionally harder than higher earners who exceed the contribution ceilings.
Wage increases that took effect October 1, 2026
Five jurisdictions raised their minimum wage today, and the table above already reflects the new rates:
- Ontario: $17.60 → $17.95
- Saskatchewan: $15.35 → $15.70
- Manitoba: $16.00 → $16.40
- Prince Edward Island: $17.00 → $17.30
- Nova Scotia: $16.75 → $17.00
Methodology
Calculations use the CanPay Insights tax engine with 2026 federal and provincial tax brackets, CPP/CPP2 (QPP/QPP2 and QPIP for Quebec), and EI premiums. We assume a single worker, full-time hours (2,080 hours/year), no RRSP contributions, no benefits, and basic personal amounts only. Real paycheques will vary with credits, benefits, and actual hours. Minimum wage rates are current as of October 1, 2026, sourced from the Government of Canada minimum wage database and provincial announcements; Prince Edward Island's rate was confirmed via the province's official April 2026 announcement and corroborating news coverage, since its government page blocks automated access.
You can verify any figure with our free payroll calculator or the province pages, for example the Ontario paycheck calculator and the hourly wage calculator.
This study is free to cite and republish with attribution and a link to this page.
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Disclaimer: This content is based on publicly available information and general tax knowledge for reference only. Individual tax situations may vary. Please consult a qualified tax professional or accountant for personalized advice.