The Cost of Living In Canada

Most people from the UK and Europe find the cost of living in Canada is significantly lower than their home country.

Canadian housing is particularly cheap - the average house price in most Canadian cities is around three times the average annual income. Prices are higher in Toronto and Calgary (four to five times average income) and Vancouver (seven or eight times average income).

People moving to Canada with the proceeds of house sales from countries with more expensive housing can often buy a house in Canada with only a small mortgage. This leaves more of their income for other uses and lowers their cost of living in Canada significantly. Compared with many other western countries:

• Food is cheaper in Canada.
• Dining out and most forms of recreation are cheaper in Canada.
• Petrol / Gasoline and cars are cheaper in Canada.
• Power is cheaper, but you use more power to heat your house in a typical Canadian winter.
• Car insurance is very expensive in Canada.

An extensive cost of living survey for overseas workers was carried out by Mercer in 2006.

The survey revealed that Toronto has the highest cost of living in Canada, followed by Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, and Ottawa.

The survey found that Canadian cities have lower living costs than many other locations in the developed world. Canadian cities, however, are more expensive than last year previous year.

The cost of living in Toronto is 25% lower than the cost of living in London. The cost of living in Canada's capital, Ottawa, is 6% lower than in Glasgow and 9% lower than in Amsterdam. The survey is reproduced below.

Look out for the Canadian cities. Their cost of living relatively low so you will need to scroll to find them - Toronto is in 47th place.

Cost of Living in Selected Cities
(Most Expensive = Moscow)