Minimum-wage workers would need to earn double current amount to afford Toronto rents, report finds

Across Canada, the gap between what workers earn and what it costs to rent a place to live is growing. In most Canadian cities today, a minimum wage earner holding down two full-time jobs would still not have enough to afford a one-bedroom apartment.

Toronto Star Business Reporter Clairre Feinstein highlights a new Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) report documenting the growing gap between wages and rents across Canada. In Ontario, from October 2022 to October 2023, the minimum wage increased by 6.8 per cent while the cost of a two-bedroom rental increased by 10.3 per cent.

The CCPA authors argue that “rents are out of control and have been for some time.” In their Conclusion, they outline the evidence for a number of tools governments can use to improve housing for renters while addressing inflation and growing the housing stock. They also point to successful interventions in the past. At this critical juncture in our housing crisis, policymakers must use these tools to make housing affordable for working Canadians.