Starting on October 1 the minimum wage in Alberta has been raised to $15 dollars an hour.

This is up from the previous $13.60 an hour, and is the final step in the provincial governments goal to raise the standard of living for lower income Albertans set in 2015.

Alberta Minister of Labour Christina Gray says she believes this change will improve the quality of life for low-income earners.

"Every hard-working Albertan deserves to be paid fairly. The $15 minimum wage will make life more affordable for women, single parents, families and everyone who has been working a full-time job or more but is still struggling to put food on the table and pay their rent. I'm proud that we are delivering on our commitment to everyday Albertan families."

More than 250,000 Albertans previously earned less than $15 per hour, with only 24 percent in that bracket being 15-19 years old.

Nearly two thirds of lower income earners are women and over 37 percent of low income earners have children.

With this raise a full time worker making minimum wage will now earn $2912 more annually.

 

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