The Ontario Living Wage Network certified employer directory lists everything from small salons with a few employees to large automotive manufacturers. As their annual renewal date approaches, each employer receives a notice to pay their annual fee plus an invite to fill out a multi-part survey.

Since 2023, our survey has moved beyond mere compliance to collect data on workforce aspects like benefits, turnover, and employer perceptions of the program's impact. This report examines the experiences of both first-year and long-term certified employers.

To qualify for ongoing certification, employers must pay all employees at least the local living wage, pay an annual fee, and sign a legal agreement. They must also include living wage rate increases in their compensation level every November where applicable.

Key findings

• Number of wages raised by renewing employers in Ontario in 2025: 1,600, a decrease of -8.9% vs. 2024.
  
  
• Sectors with the highest percentage of raised wages were Retail (54.2%) and Cleaning Services (54.2%).
  
  
• 85.6% of respondents reported offering health benefits to employees, vs 84% in 2024
  
  
• 57% of renewing employers were already paying above the living wage before the renewal process, vs 50% in 2024
  
  
• 94% of respondents agreed that "Paying a living wage has helped us live up to our organization/company's values".

Employer Certification Program

The OLWN calculates living wage rates for 10 living wage regions across Ontario based on local expenses like shelter, food, and childcare for three family configurations.

Certified living wage employers (LWEs) commit to paying both direct employees and eligible third-party contracted workers at least a living wage. In 2025, 368 employers completed the renewal survey, representing 68% of the total renewing employers for the year.

Certified Living Wage Employers 2025

By December 31, 2025, there were 610 certified living wage employers in Ontario. Of these, 68 joined for the first time, and 542 elected to recertify. Including all branches and additional locations, there were 836 living wage workplaces by year-end.

2025 Employer Survey Results

The OLWN manages renewals via Google Forms, emailing employers 30 days before their anniversary with links for fees and the renewal survey. While wage-level data is mandatory for recertification eligibility, questions regarding employer experiences and feedback are voluntary.

The 2025 survey received 368 responses (58% for-profit, 38% non-profit, and 4% public sector), representing 22,766 total employees. It should be noted that some wage figures are approximations due to reporting uncertainties, particularly among larger employers who implement significant annual adjustments.

Employers by Economic Region

The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) continues to have the highest number of certified employers and survey responses, followed by regions with historically strong local movements like Waterloo and Niagara.

Wage Increases

Renewing employers raised 1,600 wages to meet the latest living wage rates, representing 8.3% of the total represented workforce. This is a slight decrease from the 8.8% reported in 2024.

Wages Raised in Typical Lower Wage Sectors:

• Retail: 54.2% of employees in this sector received a raise.
• Cleaning Services: 54.2% of employees received a raise.
• Food/Beverage/Hospitality: 32.2% of employees received a raise.

“when a new contract is set up, we offer at least living wage”

“Everyone was already above living wage before their increases. We provide a 4-day work week and pay staff the same as their 5-day work week.”

“Employees below were raised $40 above a living wage, all employees received cost of living increases of a minimum 3%”

Health Benefit Offset

The living wage calculation includes health insurance costs by default, as the methodology assumes employees do not receive private coverage. Employers providing non-OHIP health benefits can use those costs to offset the required hourly rate by up to 100% of the cost of health insurance within the calculation, depending on the coverage provided. In 2025, 85.6% of employers reported offering health benefits, with 11.0% utilizing the offset to meet their regional living wage standard

Cost of Implementing the Living Wage

A total 58.4% of employers reported no cost to implement the program in 2025. Only 3 employers (all non-profit) reported costs exceeding $100,000, which likely reflects cumulative or initial implementation impacts.

Revenue Changes and the Living Wage

42% of employers reported a revenue increase, with 27% of those attributing the gain to their status as a living wage employer.

Comments from employers who saw a decrease in revenue due to paying a living wage:

“Wages are our primary expense, any increase directly impacts other expenditures such as employer contributions associated with payroll, and benefits. “
“As a non profit, salary expenses are one of our largest expenses, paying employees a living wage helps with employee retention particularly in times of economic uncertainty”
“Staffing costs are the biggest cost to our organization. As federal and provincial funding dries up and donations are down, we are still committed to providing living wages, however, this means that layoffs are more likely (and a reality this year, unfortunately).

Comments from employers who saw an increase in revenue due to paying a living wage:

“Our employees are respected and valued, and their work reflects this. Our clients reap the rewards of this positive resolve! As a result, our clients invest more into our services.”

“Clients seek us out specifically because we are living wage certified and employee owned.”

“Increased community support means more sales and more smiles on both side of the counter. If you pay more you get more from folks.”

“We have retained far more staff than the industry minimum in large part because we compensate them properly through this program. Our customers love the fact that we take care of them and some businesses actually come to us for events because of our stance on taking care of our staff. Our community loves it!!”

Benefits of Paying a Living Wage

Aligning with prior surveys, 2025 results confirm that living wages improve retention, morale, and value alignment. Significantly, 94.2% of employers agreed certification helps uphold their organizational values. Respondents also detailed specific business and workforce changes noticed since becoming certified.

Although 73% of employers reported that they did have employee turnover in the past year, 79% still indicate that paying a living wage has helped with employee retention rates.

Awareness and Word of Mouth

The expansion of the living wage certification program in Ontario is primarily driven by word of mouth, visibility, and organizational reputation. In 2025, 25% of certified employers reported receiving inquiries from other businesses regarding the program, a slight increase from 23% in 2024.

Further details regarding program awareness include:

• Inquiry Sources: Beyond other employers, 33% of certified organizations reported inquiries from customers, clients, or patrons, and 15% were questioned by third-party contractors.
• Visibility Tools: The OLWN encourages employers to utilize digital badges, window or vehicle decals, and physical certificates to signal their commitment. Interested businesses frequently cite seeing these markers at existing certified locations as their primary reason for seeking certification themselves.
• Reputational Benefits: In the 2025 survey, 74% of respondents agreed that certification created positive publicity and enhanced their organization's reputation. Some employers noted that this reputation helps them become "destination employers" in their region or causes clients to seek them out specifically because they are living wage certified.
• Digital Discovery: While word of mouth is the leading growth factor, a significant number of employers also discover the program through online searches.

Conclusion

Employers continue to report positive benefits from paying a living wage and being certified as a living wage employer. We continue to hear that paying a living wage supports strong staff retention, better quality of applicants and reflects the values of an organization.

These benefits lead to more engaged staff teams, client satisfaction and 27% of employers feel that it’s lead to an increase in revenue. All these findings support the business case for a living wage.

When people earn a living wage it means more than just being able to cover basic expenses. Through our program we’ve raised more than 4000 wages over the past 2 years. As more employers join the program and make this commitment to their staff teams and their communities, we’ll see more workers in Ontario who are able to provide for themselves and their families and live in dignity.

Appendix - 2025 Employer Renewal Survey

The renewal survey is sent via an automatically generated email to employers 30 days before their annual fees are due. There are a total of 30 questions across 17 sections in a Google Form, with mandatory fields regarding compliance with the certification program. For simplicity and ease of review, we have removed questions unrelated to the feedback covered in this report such as current address, contact confirmation and other administrative needs.