The province’s lowest paid workers get an increase in pay today, but one advocacy group says it’s still nowhere near the living wage.

As of today, the minimum wage in Newfoundland and Labrador increases 35 cents – bringing it to $16.35 an hour.

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says that leaves a near $9 an hour gap between minimum wage and the province’s living wage of $25.31 an hour.

That makes for a gap of $16,307 annually.

The agency considers the bump in pay a drop in the bucket when it comes to inflation and the cost of living in Atlantic Canada.

When it comes to our Maritime cousins, PEI’s minimum wage has the smallest gap in a living wage ($10,501 a year) while Nova Scotia has the largest – falling short $19,747 annually.

Meanwhile, the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour echoes those concerns, saying the right steps aren’t being taken to close the gap between the minimum wage and a living wage.

In their 2026 budget submission to the provincial government, president Jessica McCormick says they made several recommendations on the cost of living.

On the minimum wage front, she would like to see a committee review of how that wage is calculated.

McCormick says the current process, which ties the rate to the Consumer Price Index, doesn’t go far enough.