Charlottetown, October 1, 2026 – Prince Edward Island’s minimum wage increases to $17.30 per hour today, remaining the highest in Atlantic Canada, with another increase to $17.60 already scheduled for April 1, 2027.
For small businesses, the concern is not only today’s 30-cent increase. Every increase to the wage floor can put pressure on the broader wage scale, affecting employees earning above minimum wage and adding to payroll costs throughout a business.
“Small business owners want to pay good wages and retain good employees. The issue is how minimum wage is being set,” said Frédéric Gionet, Atlantic Director for CFIB. “Businesses need a system that is predictable and tied to what is actually happening with wages in the Island economy, rather than a series of increases that continually reset their payroll costs.”
With the Employment Standards Board currently reviewing future minimum wage rates, CFIB is calling for PEI to move toward a ‘set-and-forget’ approach: one predictable adjustment per year, tied to changes in the prevailing median wage.
“PEI already has the highest minimum wage in Atlantic Canada, and another increase is coming in six months,” added Gionet. “This is the right time to establish a transparent formula that gives workers and employers predictability and keeps future increases connected to real wage growth in the province.”
CFIB also continues to encourage government to use measures such as income-tax relief and increases to the basic personal amount to improve affordability by allowing workers to keep more of what they earn without adding directly to employer payroll costs.
For media enquiries or interviews, please contact:
Frédéric Gionet
Director, Legislative Affairs, Atlantic
frederic.gionet@cfib.ca
C: 506-961-2793
About CFIB
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada’s largest association of small and medium-sized
businesses, with 103,000 members across every industry and region. In Atlantic Canada alone, CFIB represents
more than 10,000 members, and collectively employ more than 124,000 people in the region. CFIB advocates for
policy change at all levels of government, provides expert advice and tools, and negotiates exclusive savings to
help business owners succeed. Learn more at cfib.ca.