Halifax Ranks Last In Canada For Youth Affordability
HALIFAX-If you are younger than 30, there’s a good chance you can’t afford to live in Halifax.
A new survey from RBC Future Launch and Youthful Cities shows Halifax is one of the worst Canadian cities when it comes to young workers making enough to cover their basic costs of living.
Even when working full time, Haligonians aged 15-29 make, on average, $758.09 less each month than they need to cover their costs of living. The best city for being able to make more money than needed is Lethbridge, where young people make an average of $647.50 more than the cost of living.
As you can imagine, if the cost of living is $750 higher per month than what you’re earning, you will have to take on debt or rely on family for support.
“Some of them will have to move back home, some will have to stay at home, some will have to take out loans or increase the amount they work to make up that deficit,” says Robert Barnard, the co-founder of Youthful Cities.
“We want young people to have surpluses as much as possible so they can build the necessary savings to move to the next stage of their life. When you’re starting in a deficit position, that’s a tough way to start your life.”
Young, full-time workers in Halifax also make the lowest monthly income out of the 27 cities surveyed, at just $2,136. The highest is Yellowknife, where the average income is nearly $2,900 per month.
Out of the 27 cities, all have a gap between a minimum wage and livable wage, but Halifax has one of the worst. If you make minimum wage in the city, as many young people do, you still need to find another $8.06 an hour to make ends meet.
The city with the lowest gap is, once again, Lethbridge, where the gap is just $1.99 per hour. The worst is Yellowknife with a gap of $9.57.
If there are shades of good news for Halifax, the city has one of the smallest gaps in income between young men and young women. When looking at the average deficit of full-time and part-time workers (combined), women are in the red by $1,304. Men are faring only $40 better.
“From a gender standpoint, in a sense, women are doing as poorly as men,” said Barnard. “But there’s more equality there than there are in other cities.”
Another silver lining is that wages tend to increase as you get older and more experienced in Halifax. People aged 30-44 make an average income of $3,800 per month, and people 45-59 years old make $4,000.
“What we’re not seeing is a fast enough progression, especially in Halifax and in all the other Atlantic cities,” Bernard said.
The other Atlantic Canadian cities surveyed are also failing to make life affordable for their youngest citizens.
Fredericton’s young, full-time workers face a monthly deficit of $426. Moncton, where youth are losing $606 per month, would have come last if it weren’t for Halifax. St. John’s is faring slightly better, at a deficit of $241, while Charlottetown is $380 in the red.
Barnard says Atlantic Canada’s low minimum wages and high student loans are big parts of why none of its cities are affordable for people younger than 30.
“The minimum wage is lower in the Maritimes than it is in other places. The prairies and the Maritimes have the lowest minimum wage,” he said.
“Generationally, education just costs way more than it ever did. And university is very expensive for young people in Nova Scotia.”
Barnard says another problem in Atlantic Canada is the idea of an “East Coast discount.” Employers believe they can pay relatively low wages because the cost of living is lower compared to places like Toronto.
The new Youthful Cities survey busted this myth.
“What we’re seeing in our data is the costs aren’t actually lower there,” says Barnard. “It’s cheaper to buy a house in Halifax than it is in Toronto. But that’s just a real estate statistic. Utilities are more expensive in Halifax than Toronto, for example.”
“And young people who are renting often have to pay the utilities.”
If there is any solace for youth in Halifax and Atlantic Canada it’s that they’re not alone in their financial struggles. Out of the 27 cities, only nine are providing a break-even or surplus for their young, full-time workers. In other words, not making ends meet is normal for Canada’s urban youth.
Minimum wage being too low is a common factor across the country.
“We are way off on our living wage versus minimum wage calculations, in all cities,” says Barnard.
So what can be done to help our youth? The survey concludes with some major recommendations, including raising the minimum wage by $5 in every province and territory.
On top of that, we need to find ways to reduce the costs of three major areas that are burdening our young workforce: education (by 15 percent), public transit (by 25 percent), and rental housing (by 20 percent).
Barnard, himself, even suggests it’s time for governments to look at youth housing strategies, much like they do for seniors housing.
“According to these numbers, it’s needed,” he said.
Derek Montague is a Huddle reporter in Halifax. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].
