Minimum Wages Far Short Of Income Needed To Afford Rent

A new report published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) this week shows there is a massive gap between the minimum wage and the wage needed to afford rent in almost every major province.

In Vancouver and Toronto, the report explains, even two full-time minimum-wage workers would need to spend more than 30 per cent of their combined income to pay for a one-bedroom unit.

In Vancouver, Toronto, Kelowna, Victoria, Ottawa and Halifax, the rental wage for a two-bedroom unit is more than twice the provincial minimum wage in each city.