Affordable housing remains out of reach for many

A new study shows the rental wage in every Canadian province is considerably higher than the minimum wage.

The term “rental wage” is the hourly wage needed to afford rent working a standard 40 hour week and spending no more than 30 percent of before-tax income on housing.

The study was released by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, and comes from numbers provided by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s Rental Market Survey.

Ontario ranks second highest, behind BC, where the minimum wage is $15.50/hour, a one bedroom rental wage is $25.96, while a two bedroom is $29.90.

Followed up by Nova Scotia where the minimum wage is $13.60/hour, a one bedroom rental wage is $21.38, while a two bedroom is $26.06.

New Brunswick however, finds itself in an interesting position sitting at both 7th and 8th place.

There the minimum wage is $13.75/hour, a one bedroom rental wage is $16.62, making it 8th, while a two bedroom is $20.40 which puts it at 7th place.

The full report can be found here, where it also includes detailed breakdowns of the affordability in larger cities, such as Thunder Bay, Winnipeg, Moncton, Saint John, and Halifax.