Whitehorse - The Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition is pleased to release “Living Wage in Whitehorse, Yukon: 2024.”
Each year, the Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition calculates the living wage for Whitehorse, Yukon to maintain a current and accurate measurement of the cost of living in the community. The living wage is equal to the hourly rate of pay that a household must earn while working full-time to ensure that its basic needs, including housing, food, and clothing are met. This report presents the findings from the ninth annual calculation for Whitehorse.
The living wage for Whitehorse equaled $22.72 per hour in 2024, the highest amount on record. The living wage increased by $1.68 per hour from 2023 and the significant increase in the living wage over the past two years emphasizes the rapidly worsening affordability crisis, especially around housing
Kendal Hammond, author of the report says; “The findings of this year's living wage calculation highlight the urgent need for action to improve affordability in Whitehorse and throughout the territory. Recent investments in universal child care have significantly helped families with children and demonstrated how good public policy can help improve affordability. Now, significant investments are needed to address the housing crisis, the single most important affordability challenge facing Yukoners."
The reference family incurred a record high shelter expense of $29,399.74 in 2024, up from $27,022.82 in 2023. The shelter expense accounted for 35.6% of the reference family’s pretax income. This is significantly higher than 30% affordability metric used by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
The rising cost of food also continued to present a major affordability challenge for many Yukoners in 2024. The annual cost of food for the reference family increased by 4.7% in 2024 to $15,205.84. This followed the 13.9% increase that occurred in 2023.
The Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition is also currently finalizing the living wage calculation for a single person, which will reflect the significantly higher wage needed for someone living on their own.
Living wage calculations are an effective way to measure the cost of living in a community in a way that directly integrates the role of public policy, including the provision of social services and the tax-and-transfer system. The living wage goes up when government does not adequately address the housing crisis or provide sufficient supports to low- and modest-income Yukoners. The living wage goes down when government introduces good public policy such as universal low-fee child care, the Canada Child Benefit and the Yukon Dental Benefit.
YAPC will be holding a public BBQ on Thursday July 18 to get community recommendations on ways to take meaningful action to address the affordability challenges facing Yukoners. Everyone is welcome. BBQ will take place at the Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition ( 509 Hanson Street) from 11a.m. to 1p.m.