A new report blames higher housing costs for the growing gap between B.C.'s minimum wage — currently $17.40 — and what experts call the living wage.
The living wage is the hourly rate that each of two parents working full-time must earn to support a family of four in their respective community. Compared to 2023, it rose in 22 out of 25 communities tracked by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, and Living Wage B.C. with no percentage increase available for Port Hardy, Saltspring Island and Whistler.
These increases varied from a low of 1.19 per cent in the Columbia Valley to a high of 13.3 per cent in Kamloops with researchers noting that increases reflected changes in the calculation of transportation costs.
Looking at specific communities, Whistler recorded the highest living wage with $28.09 while Grand Forks recorded the lowest with $20.81. The 2024 living wage for Metro Vancouver — among the most expensive housing markets in all of Canada — is $27.05 while Victoria's living wage is $26.78.
The respective living wages for Kelowna and Nanaimo, among the fastest-growing communities in Canada, are $25.77 and $23.79. But smaller, more rural communities have also seen their living wages rise. Golden, for example, saw its living wage rise by 4.58 per cent to $26.96.
Iglika Ivanova, senior economist with CCPA, BC Office and lead author, said the rising cost of housing has pushed up living wages.
"Our report makes the case for closing the gap between the low wages that hundreds of thousands of British Columbians earn and the actual cost of living," she said. "Higher wages are an important piece of the puzzle, but they are only part of the solution. Governments also need to tackle the root causes of the deepening affordability crisis, chief among them, the ongoing housing crisis."
She added that "significant progress" on the housing front will require "bold actions on multiple fronts," including large-scale investments in non-market rental housing, major increases in the overall supply of rental homes, zoning reform and stronger rent controls such as rent vacancy controls.
Premier David Eby has identified affordability as a priority of his government, something Ivanova acknowledged.
"However, it is clear that the current approach of tying the minimum wage to (Consumer Price Index) increases is insufficient," she said. "Essentials like rent and groceries continue to rise much faster than CPI. Over the past three years (Oct. 2021-2024), rent in B.C. has increased by 23.4 per cent, grocery prices by 20.2 per cent...while general inflation has risen by 13.3 per cent."
The report includes an appeal for additional public investments in income-support for low-to-middle-income earners, as well as expanded public programs and social infrastructure to make life more affordable for all families.
"These include larger scale investments in affordable housing, universal access to $10-a-day child care, improved public transit (including free transit for youth 18 and under) and an expansion of publicly funded Pharmacare and mental health services," Ivanova said.
The demands come against the backdrop of B.C. facing a record-setting deficit of almost $9 billion as some economists and business voices continue to sound the alarm about B.C.'s deficit.
"While B.C.’s budget deficit is a consideration, it is important to also consider that the economic and social costs of inaction — widening inequality and declining economic resilience — are far more costly in the long run," Ivanova said.
"When wages don't keep up with the cost of living, families are pushed into deeper hardship, with increased reliance on food banks, housing assistance, and healthcare systems," she added. "And the economy as a whole suffers from reduced consumer spending."
But the report's appeal for higher wages also raises questions about inflation as businesses might simply pass the costs of higher wages to consumers.
"The concern that some businesses might pass increased wage costs to consumers is common, but overstated," she said. "Research consistently shows that the impact of wage increases on prices tends to be smaller than anticipated."
Ivanova added wages are just a part of the costs that businesses face.
"(Many) businesses already face rising costs due to inflation, regardless of wage policies, and have to adjust to those," she said. "Asking the lowest-paid workers to 'take one of the team' in the fight against inflation is neither fair nor sustainable."
B.C.'s Labour Minister Jennifer Whiteside acknowledged the rising costs described in the report in a statement to Black Press Media.
She pointed to government several actions in response. They include tying the minimum wage to inflation; boosting the B.C. Family Benefit and lowering auto insurance rates; lowering child care costs; and tying annual allowable rent increase in 2025 to inflation at three per cent, down from this year’s allowable increase of 3.5 per cent.
“All of these measures help make life more affordable for British Columbians," she said. "However, we know that people across the province are finding it difficult to make ends meet and there is more work for government to do.”
