The B.C. government will increase the minimum wage to $10.85 per hour effective September 15, 2016.

The 40 cent increase will move British Columbia out of last place nationally for minimum wage.

“We are the fastest growing economy in the country and with an economy growing this fast we should absolutely make sure the people making minimum wage in our province should be doing better than they are today,” said Premier Christy Clark.

The current minimum wage is $10.45 — the lowest among Canadian provinces.

The 2016 increase will, for the first time, be based on the Consumer Price Index. In the past, changes have been pegged to inflation rather than how well the economy is performing.

The government has decided to add an additional 10 cents an hour to the CPI increase. The province is also committing to increase the minimum wage to $11.25 on September 15, 2017.