Calgary workers now need to earn $26.90 an hour to cover basic living costs, according to new figures released Monday.
Vibrant Communities Calgary (VCC), working with the Alberta Living Wage Network, said the city’s 2026 living wage is up 40 cents from $26.50 last year. That’s the smallest year-over-year increase in five years. Between 2024 and 2025, the figure jumped just over $2.
The living wage is the hourly rate a worker must earn to live modestly and afford basics like food, clothing, housing and child care.
Calgary’s figure is now nearly 80 per cent higher than Alberta’s $15 minimum wage. That rate hasn’t changed since 2018 and is the lowest in Canada. Earlier this year, most provinces and territories bumped up their minimum wage amount.
Calgary is also nipping at Toronto’s living wage of $27.60 while pulling further ahead of Edmonton’s $22.65. The gap between Alberta’s two largest cities has grown from $1.45 in 2023 to $4.25 this year.
“At $26.90 an hour, the gap between Calgary’s living wage and Alberta’s $15 minimum wage remains substantial,” said Michelle James, VCC’s spokesperson for the living wage initiative.
“Many Calgarians rely on minimum wage jobs to support their families, and having a job should mean being able to afford the basics and meet your family’s needs.”
Transportation was the fastest-rising cost for all household types, jumping more than 10 per cent.
There was some good news. The calculated living wage fell for single-person and single-parent households, mostly because of lower costs for one- and two-bedroom units. VCC credited the City of Calgary’s Home is Here housing strategy, along with provincial and federal spending on affordable housing.
“We’re just starting to see progress. We need to keep investing in the homes Calgarians need,” said Chris Bell, CEO of Norfolk Housing Association, a living wage employer.
Melanie Grylls, CEO of Calgary family and mental health nonprofit Kindred, said the wage isn’t a cure-all.
“A living wage is a baseline. While it is not a guarantee of financial security, it provides a more stable foundation for families,” she said.
Twenty Alberta municipalities released their living wages on Monday.
The highest living wage across Alberta is in Banff, at $27.45. The lowest in the province is $18.05 in Medicine Hat, according to the Alberta Living Wage Network.
