The provinces with higher minimum wages also have the steepest rental costs, report says
Highlighting the seriousness of the ongoing affordability crisis, full-time minimum wage workers across Canada need to allocate more than 30% of their incomes to housing, according to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
This was most pronounced in British Columbia, where the gap between the minimum wage and the one-bedroom rental wage was 76%.
“British Columbia and Ontario had the two highest minimum wages but also the two highest rental wages in the country,” the CCPA said in its report. “In practice, this means that the higher minimum wages in these provinces don’t directly translate into better living conditions because landlords capture a larger share of those wages through high rents.”
The average asking rent for all residential property types in Canada grew by 9.7% annually in February to reach $1,984, according to the latest National Rent Report by @Rentalsdotca and Urbanation.https://t.co/zxMmPhHnSd#mortgage #marketupdates #CAhousing #CArentals
— Canadian Mortgage Professional Magazine (@CMPmagazine) March 16, 2023
“In Vancouver and Toronto, even two full-time minimum-wage workers cannot afford a one-bedroom unit without spending more than 30% of their combined income on housing,” the CCPA said.
The trend has serious implications on the long-term ability of a significant share of the population to participate in the housing market, the report warned.
“The discrepancy between the rental and minimum wage is such that, in most Canadian cities, minimum-wage earners are extremely unlikely to escape core housing need,” the CCPA said. “They are likely spending too much on rent, living in units that are too small – or, in many cases, both.”
