Charlottetown 
Picodi.com, a website that provides discount coupons for online stores, compared the food costs and the viability of living on the minimum wage globally, and Canada does not fare badly, as it ignores the rent or shelter costs.
Credit: Ella Olsson/ Unsplash
The analysis conducted by Picodi.com, while offering valuable insights into global comparisons of minimum wage against food prices, might hold limited practical significance for Canadians. This is primarily because the study focuses exclusively on food costs, thereby overlooking other essential living expenses like shelter costs that are integral to the budget of minimum wage earners in Canada. Nonetheless, the study presents an intriguing perspective on how minimum wage levels correlate with food prices across different countries.
Per the study, Canada ranks 41st with a minimum net wage of C$2,223 per month, a 6% increase from the previous year. This increase, however, has not kept pace with the rising cost of basic food items.
‘A survival basket’ of essential groceries in Canada, comprising bread, milk, eggs, rice, cheese, meat, fruits, and vegetables, now costs C$258.84. This price, 11.2% higher than last year, represents 11.6% of the minimum wage, compared to 11.1% the previous year.
Costs as Per Picodi (with costs from numbeo.com):
Milk (10 litres) – C$28.80 (Statistics Canada Cost Assessment: $3 per litre)
Bread (10 loaves, 500 g each) – $35.10
Rice (1.5 kg) – C$7.62
Eggs (20 pcs.) – C$7.72
Cheese (1 kg) – C$15.29
Poultry and beef (6 kg) – C$106.92
Fruits (6 kg) – C$25.32
Vegetables (8 kg) – C$32.07
Globally, the study revealed significant disparities in the affordability of food on minimum wage. Canada ranks 9th when comparing food price to minimum wage at 11.6%.
The United Kingdom leads with the most favourable ratio at 7.2%, while Nigeria’s minimum wage fails to cover even a basic food basket, costing 116.5% of the wage. Canada’s position, though better than countries like the US (13.0%), France (13.2%), and South Korea (18.4%), lags behind the most comfortable ratios found in the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and New Zealand, where less than a tenth of the minimum wage is spent on groceries.
Picodi.com says the research methodology involved comparing full-time monthly minimum wages as of January 2024 with those from the previous year, using data from official sources and average regional wages for countries with variable minimum wages. Picodi.com says the grocery basket was designed based on minimum nutritional standards suggested by health ministries, with prices sourced from numbeo.com.
