Saint John is last among major cities in the country when it comes to having the lowest median income after taxes for single parent families.
Stats Canada reports, as of 2014, the figure is just over 35 thousand dollars a year which is more than 6 thousand dollars less than the Canadian average.
New Brunswick Federation of Labour President Patrick Colford argues raising the minimum wage to 15 dollars an hour would benefit small businesses who are opposed because people would have more money to spend in their communities which, to a large extent, would beneft their bottom line.
Women are more likely to work in minimum wage jobs and are also more likely than not to be heading single parent families.
As of 2012, New Brunswick had the lowest median after tax income for all families of any province, more than 12 thousand dollars below the national average.
