Ontario HR Compliance · CLC Part III (labour standards)
Federal Minimum Wage (CLC Part III)
The federal minimum wage resets every April 1, indexed to the prior year's CPI and rounded up to the nearest $0.05, and an employer must pay the higher of the federal rate or the applicable provincial rate where the employee works.
Federally regulated employers must pay at least the federal minimum wage. The rate resets automatically every April 1: it’s indexed to the previous calendar year’s annual average Consumer Price Index and rounded up to the nearest $0.05, with no separate legislation needed each year.
Where the minimum wage in the province or territory where an employee actually works is higher than the federal rate, the employer pays the higher amount. For most federally regulated employers in Ontario, that means comparing the federal rate against the Ontario minimum wage and paying whichever is greater.
As of April 1, 2026, the federal minimum wage is $18.15 an hour, up from $17.75 — a 2.1% increase tied to CPI.
This figure resets again on April 1, 2027. Treat it as a snapshot, not a permanent number, and confirm the live rate at the source before running payroll off it.
This is general information, not legal advice; confirm the current federal minimum wage, and the applicable provincial rate where higher, before relying on either.
Source: Government of Canada — Federal minimum wage increase announcement ·
Also: Government of Canada — Federal labour standards
Last reviewed .
Confidence: Verified
Related notes
- Hours of Work and Overtime (CLC Part III) — Standard federal hours are 8 a day and 40 a week, overtime is at least 1.5 times the regular rate beyond that, and a handful of exemptions and averaging arrangements can change the calculation.
- Breaks and Rest Periods (CLC Part III) — Federal employees get an unpaid 30-minute break every 5 consecutive hours of work, at least 8 consecutive hours of rest between work periods, and unpaid medical or nursing breaks where needed.
- Annual Vacation (CLC Part III) — Federal vacation entitlement is tiered by continuous service — 2 weeks/4% after 1 year, 3 weeks/6% after 5 years, 4 weeks/8% after 10 years — a richer scale than Ontario's, which has no statutory 4-week tier.
- General (Statutory) Holidays (CLC Part III) — Federal employees get 10 general holidays, one more than Ontario's 9, because the federal list adds the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Remembrance Day.
- Recordkeeping (CLC Part III) — Federal employers must keep hours and wage records for 36 months, paid-medical-leave records for 3 years, and the required averaging and holiday-substitution notices — recordkeeping failures are a designated AMP violation.
- Federal vs. Ontario Jurisdiction: The Employment-Law "Instead Of" Rule — A federally regulated employer follows the Canada Labour Code and related federal statutes in place of Ontario employment law, not on top of it — the federal regime replaces the ESA, OHSA, Human Rights Code, AODA and Pay Equity Act rather than adding to them.
- Which Sectors Are Federally Regulated — The Canada Labour Code enumerates specific private-sector industries as federally regulated — banking, air and rail transport, interprovincial trucking, telecommunications, and others — plus any business that is vital, essential, or integral to one of them.