Shoppers browse produce at a green grocer, in Toronto, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021. The Ontario Living Wage Network has updated their living wages across the province in the face of inflation. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
A new report says hourly wages needed to live in Ontario have increased amid decades-high inflation and remain well above the province’s minimum wage.
In the report, the Ontario Living Wage Network says the living wage in Toronto is now $23.15 an hour, up almost five per cent from $22.08 a year earlier.
The report says the largest increase was in Sault Ste. Marie, where the living wage went up by 21.6 per cent since last year.
Minimum wage in Ontario is $15.50 an hour.
The organization’s living wage calculation uses the basic costs of living, such as housing, food, clothing and transportation, as well as factors like government benefits, to determine how much a worker needs to make hourly in order to live in their region.
The annual inflation rate was 6.9 per cent in September. Statistics Canada is expected to release October’s data on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2022.
