It now costs more to afford basic necessities in Calgary than in any other major city in the country — including Vancouver and Toronto — according to Statistics Canada’s updated market basket measure.
The market basket measure is Canada’s official measure of household income poverty. It defines how much a family of four would have to earn to afford a basic standard of living, and that’s calculated by the cost of a basket of basic goods and services, including food, clothing, shelter and transportation.
Families are considered to be living below the poverty line if their disposable income is less than their city’s market basket measure.
New data, from 2022, shows that Calgary’s annual market basket measure is $55,771 — up from $51,861 the previous year.
That’s compared with $55,727 in Vancouver and $55,262 in Toronto. Edmonton is in fourth place at $55,225, and Ottawa-Gatineau is in fifth spot.
Charles St-Arnaud, chief economist with Alberta Central, said he isn’t surprised by the numbers.
While housing is widely known to cost more in the two larger cities, he said other goods and services cost more in Alberta — like electricity and insurance, for example.
Alberta Central chief economist Charles St-Arnaud says market basket measures, relative to a region’s median income, would be a better calculation to understand how expensive cities actually are. (Kyle Bakx/CBC)
But he said the market basket measure on its own doesn’t tell the whole story.
“We still have higher income than the rest of the country,” said St-Arnaud.
So while Calgarians’ baskets cost more, it’s possible people in other provinces feel the pinch more, said St-Arnaud.
According to the latest census data, Albertans’ median employment income per individual in 2020 was $41,600 — still below Calgary’s market basket measure (for a household), but higher than Ontario and B.C. at $38,000 each.
But St-Arnaud noted the income gap is shrinking.
“[Albertans’ incomes are] not increasing as fast as in the rest of the country, so we’re seeing a convergence,” he said.
Farewell to the Alberta advantage
Meaghon Reid advocates for strategies to address the root causes of poverty in Calgary, as executive director of Vibrant Communities Calgary.
She says it’s important to remember that Alberta has some of the highest income inequality in Canada — meaning the province has the biggest gap between people who make a lot, and people who make very little.
“Because of that, we know that a lot of people at those lower income levels are really far away from even being near that market basket measure line, and I think we have to take that into consideration,” said Reid.
Meaghon Reid is the executive director of Vibrant Communities Calgary. (Claudia T Photography)
In conversations with those living around and below the poverty line, Reid says people are feeling anxious, panicked and resigned that the situation will continue worsening.
She says Calgarians need income-geared solutions to tackle poverty. Like revisiting income support rates and ensuring wages increase with the cost of living.
“If we don’t do that, my fear is that people fall further and further into poverty, and we know that it’s really expensive to service poverty in the long-term,” she said.
“This is something that, with the wealth we have in this province, we can tackle pretty quickly — but there needs to be some urgency behind it.”
For now, she says, these rising costs could mean farewell to the Alberta advantage.
TORONTO – A 21-year-old man is dead after what police are describing as an “interaction” with officers during the execution of a search warrant in Toronto.
York Regional Police say their officers were executing a search warrant in the area of Evans Avenue and Sherway Gardens Road at approximately 5 a.m. Monday.
Police say officers had an “interaction” with a man.
They say a 21-year-old man suffered life-threatening injuries and was taken to hospital.
Police say the man was pronounced dead there.
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit is investigating.
The watchdog agency investigates the conduct of police officers that may have resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault and/or discharge of a firearm at a person.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales rose 1.4 per cent to $71 billion in July, helped by higher sales in the petroleum and coal and chemical product subsectors.
The increase followed a 1.7 per cent decrease in June.
The agency says sales in the petroleum and coal product subsector gained 6.7 per cent to total $8.6 billion in July as most refineries sold more, helped by higher prices and demand.
Chemical product sales rose 5.3 per cent to $5.6 billion in July, boosted by increased sales of pharmaceutical and medicine products.
Sales of wood products fell 4.8 per cent for the month to $2.9 billion, the lowest level since May 2023.
In constant dollar terms, overall manufacturing sales rose 0.9 per cent in July.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
The head of a group that helps homeless people in Saint John, N.B., says it is mourning the death of a 58-year-old man whose body was found in an encampment over the weekend.
Johanne McCullough of Street Team Saint John says John Surette was known for his kindness and for taking care of people around him.
The Saint John Police Force say Surette’s body was found in a tent near Paradise Row in the north end of the city Saturday morning.
Investigators say the circumstances of the death are not considered criminal in nature and an autopsy has been scheduled.
Surrette was found not far from where three people died last winter in two separate tent fires.
McCullough says the community will remember Surrette for his helpfulness and generosity.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
