A family of four — two parents, two children — living in Calgary on a combined $100,000 per year once sounded comfortable.

That’s no longer the case in 2023, according to a new report on living wages in Alberta.

“These household incomes that used to look fantastic just aren’t making it anymore,” said Meaghon Reid, executive director of Vibrant Communities Calgary.

The hourly wage needed to cover basic expenses in Calgary for 2023 is $23.70, according to the report by VCC and the Alberta Living Wage Network.

It’s a $1.30 rise from last year’s mark and nearly $9 above the $15 hourly minimum wage in Alberta, which hasn’t changed since 2015. last year’s mark

(Alberta’s minimum wage, which was the highest in Canada in 2018, is now the third-lowest in Canada.)

About 300 families in Calgary at risk of ‘absolute homelessness’

Reid, who’s worked in the non-profit sector for two decades, said the affordability crisis hitting Calgary is a new phenomenon to her.

“Also unprecedented in my career is the number of people who are seemingly new to poverty — it’s these middle-income earners who never really had a problem, never thought they would have to rely on food banks.”

The report joins a consistent wave of evidence showing an increasing number of Calgarians are suffering at the hands of the affordability crisis. A quarter of Calgary residents can’t meet their basic needs, a new report found, while the Calgary Food Bank is currently distributing around 700 hampers a day — a third of which are going to children.

Calgary has one of the highest living wage calculations in the province, the report says. Only Fort McMurray ($24.50), Jasper ($24.90), St. Albert ($23.80) and Canmore ($38.80) posted higher numbers. The lowest living wage in Alberta for the year is Medicine Hat at $17.35.

Reid said 85 per cent of people earning $20 per hour are adults, and 36 per cent of those people have children.

Calgary and Alberta are also losing their long-standing advantage over other provinces on the cost of housing, according to a recent report by the Conference Board of Canada. Between increasingly poor housing stock driving up prices, rents reaching new heights and high interest rates, basic expenses have drastically risen for people who were once capable of paying their bills, Reid said.

About 300 Calgary families are currently at risk of “absolute homelessness” — meaning they can’t even access a shelter as winter nears, she said.

Wages have grown faster than inflation in 2023

However, the province maintains a strong economy heading into 2023, experts say.

Wage growth is heating up in Alberta, according to the Business Council of Alberta’s fall report, which shows year-over-year wage growth at 5.7 per cent — outpacing the province’s inflation rate (3.7 per cent) and greater than national wage growth (five per cent).

At this time last year, the council warned Alberta wages were struggling to keep up with inflation.

“We’re seeing wage growth, we’re seeing per-capita GDP growth and we’re seeing lots of new folks attracted here . . . and that’s going to be quite positive for the earnings of Albertans,” said Scott Crockatt, vice-president of communications for the Business Council of Alberta.

Wage growth for women has also caught up to men, the council’s report shows.

But the cost of housing is causing particular concern for residents — a trend he said will likely continue.

Reid said federal investments in housing will be critical.

“If we do not urgently build more housing and make housing accessible for people, I think we’re gonna be in a pretty critical situation by this time next year,” she said, adding additions to the city’s Basic Needs Fund and provincial affordability programs will be needed if the current trajectory continues.

mscace@postmedia.com

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