GUYSBOROUGH — In a province where the gap between the minimum wage paid and the minimum wage actually needed to survive independently is growing, many people can still get the best bang for their hard-earned bucks by living in rural enclaves like Guysborough County.
That, at least, appears to be one of the key messages from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) Nova Scotia’s latest report on living wages – defined as the hourly wages two adults, working full-time, need to support two children – in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and PEI.
“Following recent years of inflation and sustained cost of living increases on household necessities, the living wage has continued to rise in Atlantic Canada,” says the report, released Aug. 28. “There is growing evidence that cost-of-living challenges are more severe in urban areas; Halifax has uniquely high costs of living within the region.”
According to the CCPA’s research, the living wage in Halifax at the beginning of 2024 was $28.30, seven per cent more than it was last year. Meanwhile, the living wage in what’s called the northern zone — which includes all of Guysborough County – was $24.90, only two per cent higher this year.
Given that the minimum wage in both parts of the province was $15.20, Guysborough residents effectively benefitted from a ‘premium’ of $3.40 an hour.
Still, the report’s co-author, CCPA-NS Director Christine Saulnier, strongly cautions against reading much good news into the rural findings.
“There are so many more challenges that come from providing public services and infrastructure in rural areas,” she told The Journal. “The more rural you are, the more remote you are, the higher [many] of the costs are that you’re facing. Food is one example, it costs more to get food to you. So, the further away you are from an urban center, the more expensive the food is likely to be. [That’s why] Halifax tends to have lower food [prices].”
According to the report, in 2024, monthly food costs for Halifax residents averaged $1,340, or 18 per cent of their budget, compared with northern zone costs of $1,399 (20 per cent). Monthly transportation in Halifax was $467 (six per cent), compared with $755 (11 per cent) in northern zone communities. Household expenses in the provincial capital were $722 (nine per cent), versus $745 (11 per cent).
The takeaway, she said, is that wherever people live, “We’re approaching half of the workforce earning less than a living wage at this point.”
The report’s key recommendations include: employers committing to paying the living wage; provincial governments increasing the minimum wage; provincial and federal governments carefully assessing threshold and claw back levels for existing household supports; and federal and provincial governments increasing funding for access to universal public services like childcare, healthcare and non-market affordable housing.