Manitoba minimum wage to jump 50 cents

Manitoba's minimum wage will jump to $8.50 on April 1, 2008, provincial officials announced Thursday.

The 50-cent jump is the steepest increase since the NDP took power in 1999.

The new rate is a compromise between figures proposed by business and labour groups, said Labour Minister Nancy Allan.

"This will mark the eighth time since 1999 that our government has increased the minimum wage, which fell behind the real cost of living as a result of a lack of increases during the 1990s," the minister said in a release.

The increase will keep Manitoba near the middle of the pack among provinces where minimum wage rates are concerned.

Ontario's minimum wage will rise to $8.75 in March, the highest in the country. At that time, P.E.I. will have the lowest, at $7.50.