The Northwest Territories government announced Tuesday it's increasing the territory’s minimum wage to $12.50 an hour.

The new minimum wage would be the highest in Canada and will take effect June 1.

The last increase was to $10 an hour in 2011.

Lyda Fuller says a minimum wage increase could make a big difference for many families.

Across Canada, minimum wages range between $10 and $11 an hour.

In Yukon, it’s $10.72 an hour. In Nunavut, $11 an hour.

Lyda Fuller, executive director of the YWCA in Yellowknife, welcomes an increase.

“We have a number of families in our housing program who make minimum wage and have a really hard time paying rent and being able to feed their families,” Fuller says. “I think it’s really important for minimum wage to go up so that they can better meet the high cost of living here without struggling so much.”

Minimum wages across Canada

Alberta $10.20 British Columbia $10.25 Manitoba $10.45 New Brunswick $10.30 Newfoundland and Labrador $10.25 Nova Scotia $10.40 Nunavut $11.00 Ontario $11.00 Prince Edward Island $10.35 Quebec $10.35 Saskatchewan $10.20 Yukon $10.72

Source: Retail Council of Canada