N.B. minimum wage going up by 35 cents on April 1, but is it enough?

New Brunswick's minimum wage is going up by 35 cents starting April 1, part of an annual scheduled increase to match inflation.

The new rate will be $15.65 per hour, up from the current wage of $15.30, but at least one advocacy group says it's not enough.

The Saint John Human Development Council, which publishes a report each year on what a living wage would be, said in 2024 that amount would need to be $24.62 an hour.

But New Brunswick's 2025 increase falls nearly $10 short of that.

"It merely preserves the purchasing power of what I would describe as an already too low minimum wage," Randy Hatfield, the council's executive director, said.

While admitting the living wage is an "aspirational" number, he said that it's a robust calculation that takes into account expenses such as food, education, transportation and other costs families face each year. 

"It doesn't have any ... power behind it," Hatfield said. "But it is instructive for governments and for employers to know that if they want those that work for them to enjoy a standard of living that allows them to meet basic needs, then we're going to have to improve the current minimum wage."

The province said in a news release said that six per cent of all employees in New Brunswick were earning minimum wage last year, and 56 per cent of those workers were working part-time. 

Neighbouring Nova Scotia will be raising its minimum wage in two stages, to a full $16.50 an hour, by October.

While the minimum wage is highest in the territories, British Columbia and Ontario have the highest minimum wage among the provinces, at $17.40 and $17.20, respectively. 

And even if it is below a calculated living wage, Hatfield said at least the province indexes the rate to inflation.

"We welcome that effort on the part of the province to preserve the purchasing power of the minimum wage, but I think it's generally conceded to be inadequate and insufficient to meet basic needs for full time workers."

Many New Brunswickers face an affordability crisis for expenses such as rent and food prices, Hatfield said.

"Meeting basic needs continues to be a struggle for those that are earning minimum wage."