Cost of living in B.C., Ontario and Alberta highest among provinces

The cost of living in B.C., Ontario and Alberta tops all other provinces, according to a Statistics Canada study of 2021 purchasing power parity (PPP) data, released Thursday. Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick were the most affordable provinces.

“Specifically, $1 spent in British Columbia purchased the equivalent amount of goods and services as $0.82 spent in New Brunswick,” according to Statistics Canada.

The territories are also pricey. “Nunavut was the most expensive, and both Nunavut and the Northwest Territories were more expensive than any province,” said the agency. “In 2021, a person in Nunavut would have needed to spend $1.10 to purchase the equivalent amount of goods and services as $1 could purchase in British Columbia, the most expensive province.”

The study also compared provincial and territorial PPPs, based on average prices, using Ontario as a $1 baseline.

The provincial averages ranged from 87 cents in New Brunswick, to $1.07 in B.C. The territories ranged from $1.04 in Yukon to $1.18 in Nunavut.

Goods ranged from 99 cents in P.E.I. to $1.15 in B.C., and from $1.01 in the Northwest Territories to $1.26 in Nunavut.

Services were calculated from 72 cents in New Brunswick to $1.11 in B.C., and from 89 cents in Yukon to 96 cents in the Northwest Territories.

Shelter was cheapest in Atlantic Canada. What cost $1 in Ontario cost 53 cents in New Brunswick, 54 cents in Newfoundland and Labrador and 61 cents on P.E.I. It jumped to $1.23 in B.C., the most expensive housing market.

Disposable income

Statistics Canada also measured price-adjusted disposable income. While prices in Alberta are the third-highest among the provinces — just behind Ontario and well behind B.C. — higher household disposable income per capita compensated for high price levels.

On the other hand, the rankings of Ontario and B.C. dropped from fourth and fifth, respectively in nominal terms, to eighth and ninth in terms of PPP-adjusted disposable income.

Another measure, which adds public services like health care, showed Ontario (second lowest) and B.C. (lowest) faring worst among all provinces and territories.

Nunavut did better, with a price-adjusted income above most provinces and the other two territories.

“The results suggest that price adjustment and the value of publicly provided services both play an important role in understanding differences in economic well-being,” the study said.