Cost of living in Canada

Summary of cost of living in Canada

  • Family of four estimated monthly costs: C$6,938
  • Single person estimated monthly costs: C$3,750
  • Cost of living in Canada is more expensive than in 85% of countries in the World (10 out of 60)
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Food
Basic lunchtime menu (including a drink) in the business district C$26
Combo meal in fast food restaurant (big mac meal or similar) C$15
500 gr (1 lb.) of boneless chicken breast C$11
1 liter (1 qt.) of whole fat milk C$3.03
12 eggs, large C$5.61
1 kg (2 lb.) of tomatoes C$5.74
500 gr (16 oz.) of local cheese C$13
1 kg (2 lb.) of apples C$5.43
1 kg (2 lb.) of potatoes C$4.19
0.5 l (16 oz) domestic beer in the supermarket C$4.04
1 bottle of red table wine, good quality C$23
2 liters of coca-cola C$3.30
Bread for 2 people for 1 day C$2.69
Housing
Monthly rent for 85 m2 (900 sqft) furnished accommodation in expensive area C$2,886
Monthly rent for 85 m2 (900 sqft) furnished accommodation in normal area C$2,380
Utilities 1 month (heating, electricity, gas ...) for 2 people in 85m2 flat C$257
Monthly rent for a 45 m2 (480 sqft) furnished studio in expensive area C$2,167
Monthly rent for a 45 m2 (480 sqft) furnished studio in normal area C$1,701
Utilities 1 month (heating, electricity, gas ...) for 1 person in 45 m2 (480 sqft) studio C$119
Internet 8 mbps (1 month) C$71
40” flat screen tv C$361
Microwave 800/900 watt (bosch, panasonic, lg, sharp, or equivalent brands) C$205
Laundry detergent (3 l. ~ 100 oz.) C$17
Hourly rate for cleaning help C$33
Clothes
1 pair of jeans (levis 501 or similar) C$87
1 summer dress in a high street store (zara, h&m or similar retailers) C$69
1 pair of sport shoes (nike, adidas, or equivalent brands) C$132
1 pair of men’s leather business shoes C$175
Transportation
Volkswagen golf 1.4 tsi 150 cv (or equivalent), with no extras, new C$35,675
1 liter (1/4 gallon) of gas C$1.64
Monthly ticket public transport C$112
Personal Care
Cold medicine for 6 days (tylenol, frenadol, coldrex, or equivalent brands) C$12
1 box of antibiotics (12 doses) C$29
Short visit to private doctor (15 minutes) C$174
1 box of 32 tampons (tampax, ob, ...) C$10
Deodorant, roll-on (50ml ~ 1.5 oz.) C$8
Hair shampoo 2-in-1 (400 ml ~ 12 oz.) C$8
4 rolls of toilet paper C$4.50
Tube of toothpaste C$4.05
Standard men's haircut in expat area of the city C$32
Entertainment
Basic dinner out for two in neighborhood pub C$75
2 tickets to the movies C$36
2 tickets to the theater (best available seats) C$186
Dinner for two at an italian restaurant in the expat area including appetisers, main course, wine and dessert C$141
1 cocktail drink in downtown club C$15
Cappuccino in expat area of the city C$5.70
1 beer in neighbourhood pub (500ml or 1pt.) C$8
Ipad wi-fi 128gb C$660
1 min. of prepaid mobile tariff (no discounts or plans) C$0.43
1 month of gym membership in business district C$58
1 package of marlboro cigarettes C$19

Moving to Canada with your children?

International Schools in Canada

Map of Cost of Living in Canada

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This map shows only the top cities in Canada. We also have on this page a list of all the cities available in Expatistan:
List of all the cities available in Expatistan

The color of each marker corresponds with the cost of living in the city red markers show more expensive cities green ones show cheaper cities
Moving the mouse on top of a city will show its name and the Cost of Living Index of that city.

What is the Cost of Living Index? To calculate each city's Price Index value, we start by assigning a value of 100 to a central reference city (that happens to be Prague). Once the reference point has been established, the Price Index value of every other city in the database is calculated by comparing their cost of living to the cost of living in Prague.
Therefore, if a city has a Price Index of 134, that means that living there is 34% more expensive than living in Prague.

Cost of Living Ranking in Canada

(top cities by data quality)

Ranking City Price Index *
1st Vancouver 179
2nd Toronto 173
3rd Victoria 151
4th Ottawa 150
5th Calgary 149
6th Montreal 145
7th London, Ontario 134
8th Kelowna 133
9th Edmonton 132
10th Whitehorse 131
11th Barrie 126
12th Oshawa 123
13th Guelph 119
14th Nanaimo, British Columbia 117
15th Kingston, Canada 114
16th Windsor 108
17th Kamloops 107
18th Abbotsford 107
19th Greater Sudbury 100
20th Sherbrooke 97

Price Index:

To calculate each city's Price Index value, we start by assigning a value of 100 to a central reference city (that happens to be Prague). Once the reference point has been established, the Price Index value of every other city in the database is calculated by comparing their cost of living to the cost of living in Prague.
Therefore, if a city has a Price Index of 134, that means that living there is 34% more expensive than living in Prague.

Are you moving to Canada? Do you know how much money you will need there to maintain your current standard of living?

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Prices recently added

  • Nice dinner at an italian restaurant, dinner for two in Windsor costs C$100 (1 day ago)
  • 1 ticket to the movies in Windsor costs C$36 (1 day ago)
  • Hourly rate for babysitter services in Windsor costs C$15 (1 day ago)
  • Standard men's haircut in expat area of the city in Windsor costs C$20 (1 day ago)
  • 40ml deodorant, roll-on in Windsor costs C$6 (1 day ago)
  • 24 tablets box of cold medicine (tylenol, frenadol, coldrex, or equivalent brands) in Windsor costs C$6.00 (1 day ago)
  • 1 liter of gasoline in Windsor costs C$1.50 (1 day ago)
  • Sport shoes (nike, adidas, or equivalent brands) in Windsor costs C$130 (1 day ago)
  • Summer dress in a high street store (zara, h&m or similar retailers) in Windsor costs C$55 (1 day ago)
  • Jeans (levis 501 or similar) in Windsor costs C$75 (1 day ago)

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