Halifax ‘living wage’ estimated at $28.30 an hour, says new report on cost of living

HALIFAX — A new report is calling on provincial governments in Atlantic Canada to do more to bridge a gap between what people earn and what they need to pay for their basic needs.

The report by the Nova Scotia office of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says that while living wage rates are broadly comparable across the Atlantic region, the cost of living is not.

It defines the “living wage” as the hourly take-home pay — including federal and provincial transfers — that a person needs to pay for things such as rent, clothing, shelter, transportation, health care and basic household expenses.

Co-authored by the centre’s director Christine Saulnier and by Russell Williams, a professor at Memorial University, the report studied Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador. It says a comparable study for 2024 in New Brunswick is to be released soon by the Human Development Council.

The report says Halifax has the highest living wage among the three provinces, at $28.30 per hour, followed by Newfoundland’s Great Northern Peninsula at $27.30.

Prince Edward Island has the lowest living wage at $23.30 for Charlottetown and $22.20 for Summerside.

The report says that the rise in minimum wages over the years has not kept up with cost-of-living increases, leaving many people with less money than they need to live with dignity.

Lower-wage earners across the region have been affected by a severe housing crisis, growing food insecurity and an absence of affordable public transportation. The report says for many people in Atlantic Canada the minimum wage in their province is now more than $10 an hour less than what the centre estimates is the living wage in their region or city.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 28, 2024.

The Canadian Press