Alberta’s minimum wage has been $15 for seven years. But some students at Mount Royal University say that it is no longer acceptable.
“I feel like the minimum wage just isn’t keeping up with the cost of inflation and everything. So I believe that it should increase like everything else is increasing,” said Katherine Kha, a first-year business student at MRU.
As of Oct. 1, Alberta’s minimum wage is the lowest in the country.
Most provinces pay between $16 and $17 per hour or higher.
The Alberta government, however, defends its $15 wage.
Earlier this month, Nathan Neudorf, the affordability minister, stressed the province is proceeding cautiously because of “extremely high levels” of unemployed youth.
Alberta’s youth unemployment rate is 14.9 per cent as of October 2025, a high when compared to pre-pandemic levels, according to Alberta’s economic dashboard.
In response, the opposition NDP tabled a bill in the legislature to raise the minimum wage to $18 by 2027.
Premier Danielle Smith says boosting Alberta’s minimum wage will lead to layoffs of youth workers, but students at MRU say Alberta’s current rate is unlivable.
“An increase in minimum wage would be beneficial for the student populace because minimum wage being less than $17, in this current climate, especially with our economy, you can’t really survive on that,” said Kha.
Like Kha, many students have bills to pay, including tuition, parking, rent and additional school supplies. She says it’s challenging to afford them on such a low wage.
Financial supports
While student loans can help pay for school, some students worry about the burden of paying them off after graduating.
“I did take out a student loan, so just trying to build up the money so I can pay off my loans right away after school is just kind of my ideal,” said Shayne Santiago, a nursing student at MRU.
Santiago works two jobs to help pay for her costs.
Youth are often directly affected during minimum wage negotiations.
Alberta’s last minimum wage hike from $10.20 to $15 led to a loss of youth employment, primarily in rural areas, according to a 2020 expert panel that studied the increase.
Qiongda Zhao, an economics professor at MRU, says Alberta’s minimum wage highlights the affordability challenges young adults face.
“Everything becomes more expensive. If your wage has been staying the same, then it’s a declining of purchasing power,” said Zhao.
Zhao adds that while minimum wage increases always affect employers’ pockets, they don’t lead to mass layoffs.
Often, the hike in minimum wage leads to small-scale layoffs and sometimes even “opposite results,” added Zhao.