Adequate employment is central to reducing poverty. Workforce policies in Calgary need to ensure families and individuals receive living wages and that people have opportunities to develop and refresh their skills through continuing education.
Lever of ChangeEmployment
Key Topics
Income from employment that is sufficient to cover the cost of living in a given region is not only vital to reducing poverty but is a necessary component to a resilient city and economy. People need more than the bare minimum, this includes enough income to cover bank fees, education and training, internet costs, and the ability to save for an unexpected event. Other principles identified by Living Wage Canada include a wage that enables working families to have sufficient income to cover reasonable costs, promote social inclusion, and support healthy child development.
The 2022 living wage is $22.40 per hour. Learn more about living wages and how the 2022 rate was calculated.
Minimum wages are legislated by the provincial government and are set so that no employer may pay below the legal minimum. It currently sits at $15 per hour for most employees and $13 per hour for people under the age of 18 and hasn’t gone up since 2018. Alberta is the only province that didn’t increase its minimum wage in 2022, and is one of four provinces that doesn’t periodically adjust minimum wage based on the cost of living.
About 200,000 Albertans are on minimum wage in our province and in Calgary, the living wage is almost 50% higher than the minimum wage.
VCC is a member of the Alberta Living Wage Network which is made up of community organizations and municipalities with the goal of advancing a coordinated living wage movement in Alberta. The network assists communities in their annual living wage calculation and provides certification to qualifying living wage employers.
Each lever of change links to one or more of the 94 calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Employment links to #2 and #7.
E4A in Action
Calgary’s Living Wage is $22.40 per hour
Not surprisingly, the cost of living is up over last year
More Important Than Ever: Enough For All Evaluation Report
Every year Enough for All is evaluated by an independent third-party. The evaluation captures our community's progress towards achieving systems change priorities. The evaluation also provides direction to Vibrant Communities Calgary on its role in successfully advancing the Enough for All Strategy.
Report to Community
Our collective progress towards achieving Enough for All
Poverty Snapshot
Taking Decisive Action
Building Back Better – Enough for All in action
2020 Evaluation Report highlights progress in poverty reduction
Report to Community
Evaluating our collective progress towards achieving Enough for All in 2020
Champions
Africa Centre
Alberta Living Wage Network
Be Local
Calgary Immigrant Women's Association
Calgary Public Library
Canadian Poverty Institute
Centre for Newcomers
Community Development Learning Initiative
Disability Action Hall
Elizabeth Fry Society of Calgary
Home Spritz
Momentum
Rise Calgary
The Alex
Trellis Society
Urban Society for Aboriginal Youth
Women in Need Society
YWCA Calgary
News & Events
Newsletter
Get updates directly in your inbox on how poverty is changing in Calgary.
- Jun 8, 2023
Alberta's economic growth expected to slow, but outperform other provinces
As Alberta's economic growth is expected to slow but outperform other provinces, Vibrant Communities Calgary draws attention to the growing number of individuals facing economic hardships
- Apr 14, 2023
The federal budget offers some affordability measures, but more action is needed
New funding and measures are a step in the right direction for Calgarians living on low incomes
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