Most people from the UK and Europe find the cost of living in Canada is significantly lower than their home country.
Toronto – Canada’s Financial Capital
Canadian housing can be cheap compared with other developed nations – the average house price in Canada is around nine times the average annual wage. Though in some provinces, such as New Brunswick, it is as low as four times the annual wage. Prices are highest in Ontario (ten times the average wage) and Vancouver (fourteen times the average wage).
People moving to Canada with the proceeds of house sales from countries with more expensive housing can often buy a house in Canada with a considerably reduced mortgage.
This leaves more of their income for other activities and lowers their cost of living in Canada significantly.
Compared with many other western countries, although not the USA:
Mercer carried out an extensive cost of living survey for overseas workers in 2020. The survey covers 209 cities and measures the comparative cost of over 200 items in each location, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment.
The survey revealed that Vancouver (94th) has the highest cost of living in Canada, followed by Toronto (98th), Montreal (139th), Calgary (153th) and Ottawa (161th).
The survey found that Canadian cities have lower living costs than many other locations in the developed world.
Since the last survey Canada as a whole is becoming more expensive relative to other cities. Vancouver (94th), jumped eighteen places.
The rankings for Canadian cities out of the 209 cities surveyed are:
- Vancouver (94th)
- Toronto (98th)
- Montreal (139th)
- Calgary (153th)
- Ottawa (161th)
Top 50 Cities 2020 Ranking
|6||New York, U.S.|
|11||Soeul, South Korea|
|12||Tel Aviv, Israel|
|16||San Francisco, U.S.|
|17||Los Angeles, U.S.|
|19||London, United Kingdom|
|23||Dubai, United Arab Emirates|
|24||Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo|
|31||Riyadh, Saudi Arabia|
|36||Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire|
|39||Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates|
|42||Noumea, New Caledonia|
|48||White Plains, U.S.|
|49||Bangui, Central African Republic|