Living Wage
Living Wage is the amount of income an individual or family needs to:
- Meet basic needs
- Maintain a safe, decent standard of living in their community; and
- Save for future needs and goals.
In Calgary, a living wage is $12.25 per hour, with benefits.
Alberta’s minimum wage is currently only $8.80 per hour. Working a standard workweek, an individual without dependents would have a net annual income of only $15,072. This is only 82% of Statistics Canada’s 2008 Low Income Cut-Off.
This means that Alberta’s minimum wage is a poverty wage.
Everyone benefits from a living wage.
Employers benefit from:
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Employees benefit from:
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The community benefits from:
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Momentum supports Vibrant Communities Calgary , an organization dedicated to addressing the root causes of poverty. Vibrant Communities Calgary leads the Living Wage movement in Calgary.
50,000 Calgarians over age 20 are trying to support themselves on less than $12.25 per hour.