A funny thing happened with the most recent living wage calculations for Calgary. The income needs for a single person ($22.75 per hour) were higher than what’s required for a two-parent family with two young children ($18.60 per hour per adult family member).

Explaining why is much easier with visuals.

As you can see single people have fewer mouths to feed, shelter and clothe, but they also don’t benefit from things like family cell phone plans, shared housing and utilities. Also, single folks often don’t get the same level of government benefits that people with children get.

So, which is the actual living wage for Calgary? The answer is $18.60 per hour which is based on the income needs of a two-parent family with two young children. Why did we continue to use this family type? The main reason is it also enables our calculations to align with the Canadian Living Wage Framework. This is important so living wages can be meaningfully compared with other jurisdictions. However, some are calling for changes, and Ontario changed their methodology recently.

“Our 2021 calculations now take into account a weighted average between a family of four, single parent with one child and a single adult. These 2021 living wage rates reflect changing demographics in our province and increases in inflation. We believe they accurately reflect the realities of costs in Ontario,” said Craig Pickthorne, communications coordinator for the Ontario Living Wage Network in a recent blog.

So where do we go now? We asked the Alberta Living Wage Network’s coordinator Ryan Lacanilao. “Using a family of four for our calculation was not intended to make life less affordable for other family types. So, we’re back to crunching numbers. We’re also working with other provinces and Living Wage Canada to determine the best approach toward having consistent data,” he explained.

VCC will continue to work with other municipalities and Living Wage Canada to determine the best approach for a standard methodology. In the meantime, VCC continues to call for an increase to the minimum wage.

Resources

• The Alberta Living Wage Network is working to advance a coordinated living wage movement in Alberta and offers certification for living wage employers.
• Learn more about becoming a certified living wage employer.