The amount of money the average Calgarian would need to live a modest life has increased even further, advocates say. Vibrant Communities Calgary (VCC), a group that pushes for policy and systems-level changes to address poverty, has been monitoring living wages in Canada’s major centres for the past several years. This year, it said Calgary’s living wage – a measure that suggests the hourly salary a worker needs to cover their expenses and live comfortably – increased to $26.90. The figure is much closer to the living wage of Toronto ($27.60 per hour) and far higher than Edmonton’s ($22.65 per hour). It’s also much higher than the provincial minimum wage, VCC says. “At $26.90 an hour, the gap between Calgary’s living wage and Alberta’s $15 minimum wage remains substantial,” said Michelle James, VCC’s spokesperson for its living wage initiative. “Many Calgarians rely on minimum wage jobs to support their families, and having a job should mean being able to afford the basics and meet your family’s needs. Unfortunately, this isn’t the current reality for a lot of Calgarians.” In its analysis, VCC weighed typical expenses for families such as rent, groceries and transportation. The group said vehicle and fuel costs saw the highest increases in 2026. It said those higher costs put added pressure on Calgary families, leaving less money for food or winter clothing and other essentials. However, there is some good news in the latest figures, VCC said. “The calculated living wage declined for single-person and single-parent households, driven largely by lower housing costs across Calgary for one- and two-bedroom units,” it said. “This reflects the work of the City of Calgary’s Home is Here strategy and large investments in affordable housing from provincial and federal governments. “Sustained investment and collaboration in the coming years will be critical to building on this progress.”
