Thousands of Albertans will be enjoying a slightly bigger paycheque starting Thursday as the first phase of the NDP government’s plan to hike the minimum wage in our province comes into effect.

The base pay as set by the province has been pushed up by a buck, sitting now at $11.20 per hour.

However, this is just the first phase of a multi-year proposal from Notley’s NDP where Albertans will see three more hikes on an annual basis until the province’s minimum wage leads the country at $15 per hour.

The move has been praised by many activist groups who say the change is long overdue.

Meanwhile, business owners are concerned that the hike will hurt their bottom line and the Opposition is worried that the hike will do more damage than good; negatively impacting youth, non-profits, and the province’s most vulnerable.

Notley is standing by her government’s minimum wage plan, saying the only way to go is forward.

“By moving forward as we have, we still are not the highest minimum wage in the country. Notwithstanding that, we have the highest average weekly earnings in the country, but we move forward on it. And, as I’ve said before, I’m of the view, and I think there’s fairly strong evidence to support this view, that putting additional money into the pockets of the lowest income earners actually serves to generate economic activity. So I feel the plans we’ve announced to move forward in October are still the right ones.”

Meanwhile, residents of Calgary are sharing mixed feelings about the change, with some saying that the new changes will be a burden on small businesses but others saying they will help lower-income Albertans.

"It's good because the economy is low right now. People need money, so it's good to put some money into the hands of the people, maybe boost the economy for the little businesses here," one man said.

"I think helping the people that really need it, the lower income is a good thing," another woman told CTV.

Saskatchewan and Manitoba are also raising their minimum wages on Thursday, by 30 cents to $10.50 and $11.00 per hour respectively.