(Photo Credit: City of Grande Prairie)

By Abby Zieverink

$19.45 an hour

Report suggests living wage in Grande Prairie over $19 an hour for 2021

Mar 15, 2022 | 5:33 PM

According to the Alberta Living Wage Network (ALWN), the 2021 living wage for those living in Grande Prairie is quite a bit higher than several other communities in the province.

The ALWN works with 13 communities across the province to outline the hourly wage that people need to earn to cover the actual costs of living in a specific community. The living wage is calculated by outlining several different comparables including food, clothing, shelter, transportation, childcare and healthcare.

“(The living wage is) the hourly amount that each of two working parents with two young children must bring home to meet their basic expenses once government benefits have been added and government deductions and wages and taxes have been subtracted,” said Tammy Wentzell, the Community Development Supervisor for the City of Grande Prairie

She adds the living wage is not the same as the minimum wage, which reflects the legal minimum all employers must pay Albertans.

“The living wage reflects a higher test, it reflects what earners in a family need to bring home to be able to live in dignity and participate in their specific community,” she explained.

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In the Swan City last year, the living wage sat at $19.45, reflecting a weighted average of the living wage for a family of four with both income earners at $15/hour and the living wage of a single individual at $21.90/hour.

Minimum wage in Alberta is $15 per hour.

In municipalities where the living wage is equal to the minimum wage for a family of four, a second calculation for a single person is done and the weighted average of the two is used to calculate the living wage.

“Grande Prairie, Rocky Mountain House and Lethbridge, those were the three municipalities where the second calculation had to occur due to the family of four coming in at $15.00 an hour,'” added Wentzell.

The full list of 2021 living wages are as follows:

• Fort McMurray: $27.35
• Grande Prairie: $19.45
• Lethbridge: $19.00
• Calgary: $18.60
• Edmonton: $18.10
• Red Deer: $17.15
• Strathcona County: $16.80
• Canmore: $37.40
• Chestermere: $18.60
• Cochrane: $22.60
• Drumheller: $19.70
• Rocky Mountain House: $18.05
• Stony Plain: $17.20

Wentzell adds the 2021 living wage does not take into consideration the increased rate of inflation due to the pandemic of the rising heating costs. The 2022 living wage will reflect the current rates of inflation the province is currently seeing in the community.