In many places, poverty results not from unemployment but from underemployment - being forced to take a job that doesn't pay you enough to support yourself. Therefore whether you're a tubing cutter or a fast food clerk, the government of Canada has stepped in to make sure you're earning enough to get by. Under the employment standards act, there is a minimum wage that your employer is required to pay you, which helps to ensure self-sufficiency in the workforce.

Each province in Canada for example, has its own employment rates and issues, so they're responsible for setting their own minimum wage according to the constitution of Canada. Say, for example, you're just starting out in the field of rebates and assessments for homeowners, (much like Rentalrebate.ca does) - you may find that your base salary in some provinces is higher than in others. This does not necessarily mean you will be able to put more money away in those provinces, because they will also tend to have higher costs of living. The federal government sets its own minimum wage for its employees.

Nunavut has the highest minimum wage in Canada at last check. Ontario is just behind it. If you were working in Sudbury the least they could get away with paying you is $10.25 per hour. Newfoundland and Labrador has a minimum wage of $10.00, while Quebec and Nova Scotia sit at $9.65. Manitoba and New Brunswick are not far behind, with minimum wage levels of $9.50 per hour. New Brunswick is expected to upgrade to $10.00 per hour early in 2012.

Prince Edward Island has a minimum wage level of $9.30, though it will soon increase to $9.60 and later to $10.00. Sitting just above PEI on the wage scale is Alberta at $9.40, followed by Saskatchewan at $9.25. The Northwest Territories and the Yukon are allowed to pay EFL Canada employees $9.00 per hour, while British Columbia, the province with the highest cost of living, has the lowest minimum wage: just $8.75 per hour. It will increase by mid 2012 to $10.25.

Current minimum wages by Province - Click Here

Though the minimum wage gives you a ballpark estimate of how much you can expect to be paid, there are exceptions to every rule. Some provinces, for example, allow food servers to be paid lower wages in the expectation that their gratuities will make up for the rest. Other provinces have a special, lower minimum wage for workers with no experience or still in their teens.