Single in the city? The living wage for Metro Vancouver’s unmarried
Soaring housing costs and the region’s affordability crisis have led to a sharp increase in Metro Vancouver’s cost of living, and, unfortunately, the minimum wage in BC is lagging behind. Despite this year’s increase in minimum wage, there is still a significant disparity between BC’s minimum wage and the living wage in 2024. On June 1, 2024, the minimum wage in BC increased by $0.65 to $17.40 per hour. According to a report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and Living Wage BC, Metro Vancouver’s living wage rose 5.3% this year, climbing from $25.68 per hour to $27.05 per hour. However, the increased rate mentioned in the report is what two full-time parents must earn to support a family of four in Metro Vancouver. On the other hand, Anastasia French, the provincial manager of Living Wage BC, said the group that needs to be focused on the most is single people, both those without kids and those with kids. Living alone should not be a “luxury”: Expert While it may be normalized to live with roommates and family members to afford rent in Metro Vancouver, French said living alone for single people should not be considered a “luxury.” “That’s why we need government to take action on affordability … I don’t think wanting to live on your own is a luxury. I think it’s just that unfortunately, because housing costs are as high as they are, and as ridiculous as they are, it’s seen as a luxury.” The living wage for a single parent is $30.63. This is $3.58 more than a family of four with two parents and two children. This difference in living wage was not as prominent years ago. According to the report, “when the methodology was originally developed in 2008, the Metro Vancouver living wage for a two-parent family was sufficient to support a single-parent family with one young child.” “However, this is no longer the case due to sharp increases in the cost of living, particularly for housing, that have not been offset by correspondingly large increases in government support for single parents.” Single people left behind Meanwhile, single working-aged adults without children have become the largest group of people who live in poverty in Canada and BC. “Statistics Canada’s latest poverty data suggest that one in three working-aged adults in BC who live alone or with non-relatives (i.e., roommates) live in poverty (32.1%),” the report reads. “This is nearly three times higher than the provincial poverty rate (11.6%) and higher than the poverty rate among children living in single-parent households headed by women (28.2%).” The living wage for a single person without children is $27.36, which is about 30 cents higher than for a family of four. “The reason that our initial estimates are finding that the living wage for a single person is higher than the living wage for a family of four is because, although kids are really expensive… Families with kids get a lot more in government benefits than people without children,” French said. While she admits some people are being left behind, French said it is encouraging to see that investments to help lower costs for families, like the Canada Child Benefit and BC Family Benefit, are “lifting families out of poverty.” French admits the calculations provided in the living wage report are a “modest figure” compared to the actual Vancouver rental market. “We’re aware that a $27 living wage [is a] real challenge for everyone. It represents a real challenge for workers and a challenge for employers that want to step up and do the right thing and pay their workers… but it’s not easy,” she said. Metro Vancouver’s living wage is the third highest in the province, behind Whistler (at $28.89 per hour) and Clayoquot Sound (at 27.42 per hour).
