Christine Saulnier, director of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, says Nova Scotia, PEI and Newfoundland and Labrador could do more to help lower-wage earners by increasing thresholds for income support programs so that more people qualify for help.Trevor Beckerson/The Canadian Press
Provincial governments in Atlantic Canada can do more to bridge a gap between what people earn and what they need to pay for their basic needs, says a newly released report by the Nova Scotia office of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
The report by the left-leaning research institute defines the “living wage” as the hourly take-home pay – including federal and provincial transfers – that a person needs to pay for things such as rent, clothing, shelter, transportation, health care and basic household expenses.
Co-authored by the centre’s director Christine Saulnier and by Russell Williams, a professor at Memorial University, the report studied Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador. It says a comparable study for 2024 in New Brunswick is to be released soon by the Human Development Council.
The report says Halifax has the highest living wage among the three provinces, at $28.30 per hour, followed by Newfoundland’s Great Northern Peninsula at $27.30. Prince Edward Island has the lowest, at $23.30 for Charlottetown and $22.20 for Summerside.
“A higher living wage is not good news unless actual wages keep pace,” the report states. “For most low-income workers there is a growing gap between their wage and the living wage.” The rise in minimum wages over the years has not kept up with cost-of-living increases, leaving many people with less money than they need to live with dignity, it adds.
Lower-wage earners across the region have been affected by a severe housing crisis, growing food insecurity and an absence of affordable public transportation. The report says for many people in Atlantic Canada the minimum wage in their province is now more than $10 an hour less than what the centre estimates is the living wage in their region or city.
“This is an economic and social problem,” Saulnier said in an interview. “We have to address the costs and the income side and that is not a good place to be.”
Government programs such as the Canada Child Benefit and the Canada Carbon Rebate, along with provincial and federal income tax changes, have helped to “blunt” the impact of cost-of-living increases on low-income households, says the report.
Duncan Robertson, senior policy analyst with the Nova Scotia office of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, said that while governments have a “definite role to play” in making the cost of living more affordable, they have several ways to make an impact.
“A big solution would be to reform the personal income tax system to ensure that low-income earners are able to retain a larger portion of their earnings, rather than government giving with one hand and taking away with another,” Robertson said in an interview.
He also cautioned against the report’s recommendation to increase the minimum wage to $20 per hour as soon as possible, saying that many of the 10,000 small businesses the CFIB represents in Atlantic Canada would have to raise their prices to absorb the cost.
“Around three in 10 (businesses) would have to cut back on staff or hiring,” Robertson said, adding that many would be left on the “edge of profitability” and would have to close.
Saulnier said all three provinces could do more to help lower-wage earners by increasing thresholds for income support programs so that more people qualify for help.
“If we had a broader policy where more people get access to the small income supports that exist, that would all make a difference,” said Saulnier. “At the end of the day this is really about government policy as much as it is about asking employers to pay a living wage.”