B.C. minimum wage to vault to $10.25

B.C.'s minimum wage is going up to $8.75 as of May 1, Premier Christy Clark announced Wednesday.

The province's current rate has remained at $8 an hour for ten years and is the lowest in Canada.

It will go up again to $9.50 on Nov. 1 and to $10.25 on May 1, 2012.

Clarks said that also as of May 1, B.C. is eliminating its "training wage," which allows employers to pay first-time workers just $6 an hour for the first 500 hours of employment.

"Raising the minimum wage and eliminating the training wage is a fair and reasonable step forward in putting families first and building our economy," the new premier said in a release.

"This increase could mean more than $4,000 additional dollars annually for a full-time employee, providing more support to B.C. workers and the families who depend on them."

But there is one job category that will be an exception to the new wage. The minimum wage for liquor servers will top out at $9 an hour on May 1.

"[The wage] will be modelled on what now exists in Ontario for employees who serve liquor directly to customers or guests in licensed premises as a regular part of their work," Clark said.

Once B.C.'s Nov. 1 increase comes through, Alberta will have the lowest hourly wage in the country, at $8.80.

Ontario currently has the highest minimum wage — $10.25.