Quote:
Originally Posted by Fuzz
This keeps getting repeated, but is it true? Are we one of the highest cost places to live? We have lower income taxes than most provinces and no PST. Outside of maybe Calgary and Edmonton, are housing costs that high? Are we really more expensive than BC, or Ontario? What makes us more expensive? Is it just housing, or food, transport etc? Just wondering if there are facts for this.
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The reason it's more expensive to operate in Alberta can be almost entirely attributed to the cost of labour. Thanks largely to the (until recently) prosperous O&G sector paying very generous salaries and benefits -- which forces other sectors in the local market to offer competitive packages if they want to attract and retain talented employees -- labour is more expensive in Alberta than it is in other provinces. Per StatsCan, the median household income in Alberta ($97k) is 28% higher than the national average ($76k).
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tabl...il108a-eng.htm