Torontonians need to make $26 an hour to cover living costs: report

Though minimum wage just increased, it is still not enough to be considered a living wage, according to a new report.

At the start of October, the minimum wage in Ontario rose to $17.20 per hour, marking a 3.9 per cent increase from the previous rate of $16.55 per hour.

But, the Ontario Living Wage Network (OLWN) says that it still falls short in order to live comfortably in the Greater Toronto Area. Per their report, published Monday, the living wage for the GTA is $26 per hour — $8.80 more than the current minimum wage. Compared to last year, the GTA's living wage was $25.05 an hour.

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A "living wage" is the before-tax income an adult needs to make to cover basic necessities, like the costs of food and shelter, the network said. OLWN says the data is collected for three different households — two 35-year-old parents with two kids ages seven and three, a single parent with a seven-year-old child and a single adult.

"These costs increased by over 18 per cent compared to general inflation of 13.4 per cent between 2018 and 2022," the report reads. "Living wage rate increases could be accounted for by increases to rental costs and a large increase in the cost of food and to some extent transportation with higher fuel prices."

While inflation levelled out this year, the network said living wage rates for 2024 rose by 3.4 per cent on average.

Compared to the rest of the province, the GTA has the highest living wage. The lowest living wage rate is in London-Elgin-Oxford, where it's $19.50 per hour, up from $18.85 in 2023. Still, it is $2.30 more than the upgraded provincial minimum wage.

These are the living wage rates across the province for 2024:

• Greater Toronto Area, $26 per hour
• Grey Bruce Perth Huron Simcoe region, $23.05 per hour
• Ottawa, $22.80 per hour
• East region, $21.65 per hour
• Dufferin Guelph Wellington Waterloo region, $21.30 per hour
• Hamilton, $21.30 per hour
• Brant Haldimand Norfolk Niagara region, $20.90 per hour
• North region, $20.30 per hour
• Southwest region, $19.85 per hour
• London Elgin Oxford region, $19.50 per hour

Currently, there are over 640 certified living wage employers in Ontario, OLWN noted, with employers required to meet the local living wage rates within six months.

The OLWN isn't the only organization shining a light on the cost of living crisis playing out in Toronto and the province.

Last year, in July, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives said the "rental wage" – the hourly wage needed to make rent while working 40 hours a week and spending less than 30 per cent gross income on housing – was $33.62 per hour for a one-bedroom apartment in Toronto. For a two-bedroom apartment, it said $40.03 per hour.

With files from CTV News Toronto's Phil Tsekouras