Courtesy Alberta Living Wage Network

By Gates Guarin

Medicine Hat has lowest affordable living wage, report finds

Nov 15, 2022 | 4:52 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – A new report shows the living wage to afford basic needs while being able to participate in the community is higher than the provincial minimum wage.

According to the report, Medicine Hat has the lowest affordable living wage among cities in Alberta. This means if you are paid $17.50 an hour, you will not encounter deficits in affordability when meeting basic needs.

The report conducted by the Alberta Living Wage Network (ALWN) calculates living wage using the income and expenses of three kinds of households: a family of four (two working adults and two young children), a single parent with one young child, and a single individual. Government supports were added in, such as the federal child care benefit, climate action incentive and GST credits, and subtracted taxes from every level of government.

The living wages for a few municipalities were as follows:

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• Calgary – $22.40
• Edmonton – $21.40
• Drumheller – $21.20
• Lethbridge – $20.30
• Medicine Hat – $17.50

Ryan Lacanilao, coordinator for the ALWN, says the housing and rental markets played the biggest factor in bringing the overall living wage for the city down.

“When I take a look at expenses in Medicine Hat versus some of the other communities, I do notice that shelter is on the affordable side,” Lacanilao says.

Food costs and child care were also on the affordable end when compared to other municipalities across the province.

This was the first year the report included Medicine Hat, and also the first time the report expanded its scope to include single-parent and single-individual households.

“This year, we actually followed the world leaders, the Living Wage Foundation U.K., and the leaders of the movement in Canada, the Ontario Living Wage Network, in actually using multiple household types,” Lacanilao says. This new weighted average, coupled with rising inflation, increased the calculated living wage this year from 2021.

Lacanilao adds that in some municipalities, some families of four actually have a lower living wage than a single individual, due to the number of subsidies and grants afforded to families ie. Alberta child care subsidy.

Lacanilao says paying at a living wage means governments would benefit through taxation, and individuals would benefit due to a higher standard of living.

“If you want to help the local economy to be more vibrant and sustainable, to help all businesses and to make it a better community to live, that means paying a living wage. That means people being able to make ends meet.”

Even though Medicine Hat has the most affordable living wage according to the study, it is still above the provincial minimum wage of $15 an hour.