“The disconnect between low wages and high rents is not simply a market imbalance. The large and growing gap illustrates how Canada’s employers and landlords double-dip on low-wage workers, paying them inadequate wages and then taking a large portion of their wage increases back in the form of rent increases,” – Ontario Senior Political Economist Ricardo Tranjan and Senior Economist David Macdonald for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
A New Report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
Posted September 26th, 2024 on Niagara At Large
Rent is out of control across Canada—we’re fighting to stop it
Affordable housing is a hot topic across the country. And with good reason—there isn’t a province or major city in Canada where minimum wage workers can afford rent.
Throughout Canada, the gap between rent and wages far exceeds 30 per cent of minimum wage workers’ monthly pre-tax income, the standard measure of housing affordability. Those workers putting in an average 40 hour work week simply cannot afford to pay rent.
In a new report, Out of Control Rents: Rental wages in Canada 2023, CCPA Senior Economist David Macdonald and CCPA Ontario Senior Political Economist Ricardo Tranjan track the gap between minimum and rental wages in major cities and in all 10 provinces.
The rental wage is defined as the amount renters need to earn in order to pay rent without spending too much of their income on housing.
Rental wage hikes were above minimum wage increases in every province except Manitoba.
Read Out of Control Rents (https://policyalternatives.ca/publications/reports/out-control-rents?utm_source=CCPA+Master+List&utm_campaign=0ca2a7395a-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2022_01_07_02_51_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_243d98559a-0ca2a7395a-51929133&mc_cid=0ca2a7395a&mc_eid=UNIQID)
The situation is becoming dire: For instance, Vancouver pays minimum wage workers $16.75, yet a one-bedroom apartment has a rental wage of $34.98 and a two-bedroom’s rental wage is $45.29.
Of the 787 reviewed neighbourhoods across Canada, only 22 are affordable for minimum-wage workers who need a two-bedroom unit—this is completely unacceptable in a country as wealthy as ours.
“The disconnect between low wages and high rents is not simply a market imbalance. The large and growing gap illustrates how Canada’s employers and landlords double-dip on low-wage workers, paying them inadequate wages and then taking a large portion of their wage increases back in the form of rent increases,” stated Macdonald and Tranjan.
You can count on the CCPA to keep shining a light on this long-neglected policy file and to push for higher wages and strong rent controls across Canada.
If you haven’t done so already, please donate to support our research and policy change efforts.
About the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives – The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) is an independent, non-partisan research institute concerned with issues of social, economic and environmental justice. Founded in 1980, the CCPA is one of Canada’s leading progressive voices in public policy debates.
The CCPA produces the research and analysis necessary for policymakers, activists, and everyday Canadians to make informed decisions and press for social change.
For more on the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, click on – https://policyalternatives.ca/
We have a National Office in Ottawa, and provincial offices in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Nova Scotia.
Please note: The CCPA National Office has moved to a new location. The new address is: 501-141 Laurier Avenue West, Ottawa, ON K1P 5J3.
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