Workers in the Greater Toronto Area need to earn at least $27.60 an hour to cover basic living expenses, according to the Ontario Living Wage Network’s 2026 calculations reported by CBC Toronto.

The GTA’s rate is the highest among Ontario’s 10 regions and stands $9.65 above the provincial minimum wage. Ontario’s minimum wage rose by 35 cents to $17.95 an hour on Oct. 1.

The non-profit network says minimum-wage earnings fall short of the cost of living in every region of the province. Even the lowest regional living-wage estimate, for London-Elgin-Oxford, is $21.15 an hour.

The GTA figure increased by 40 cents this year. Across Ontario, living-wage rates rose an average of 1.6 per cent from 2025, an increase the network described as more modest than the previous year’s. All 10 regions recorded increases. Ottawa had the largest percentage jump, at three per cent, with its rate rising by 70 cents.

Anne Coleman, the network’s executive director, told CBC Toronto that workers earning below a living wage face difficult choices about food, bills and getting to work.

“Which bills do you pay? Are you able to provide healthy food for yourself and your family?” she said.

The network calculates its rates using the before-tax earnings needed for people working 35 hours a week. Its basket of expenses includes food, shelter, clothing, footwear and transportation, along with a four per cent contingency for emergencies.

The calculation combines three household types: a single adult, a single parent with a seven-year-old child, and two parents aged 35 with children aged seven and three. The network weights those households using 2021 census data.

About 150 GTA employers are certified as living-wage employers, Coleman told CBC. She argued that paying more can improve workplace culture and employee retention while supporting local spending.

Jeff McLeod, owner of certified employer JDavis Painting, told CBC that losing two strong painters within months helped demonstrate the business case. Finding and training replacements left the company facing a recovery period of six to 12 months, he said. McLeod also described living-wage pay as a way to attract skilled workers.

Source: CBC Toronto reporting by Eleanor Yuneun Park, with files from Dale Manucdoc and Justin Chandler.

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