Amid the rising cost of living, Calgarians are looking out for each other, says new report

Despite having a good accounting job in Calgary, 27-year-old Juan Rivera is struggling to keep up with the cost of living.

He already pays more for rent than he ever has in the past. 

So to afford other basic needs like food, Rivera has to make sacrifices. Like cutting down on hobbies. Cancelling his gym membership. Eating through his savings. Rethinking whether he'll ever be able to afford children.

"I'm earning more money, but at the end of every single day, I have less money and I am doing less," said Rivera, who moved to Calgary because of its affordability.

He isn't alone.

A new community well-being report released Tuesday by anti-poverty group Vibrant Communities Calgary shows that many Calgarians are struggling. However, it also reveals they're stepping up to help each other survive.

Lead author Lee Stevens says it was one of the key takeaways from her conversations with 25 Calgarians closest to poverty over the past year.

"It's quite heartwarming to hear that even though people are struggling, they're still looking out for their neighbours," said Stevens, who cited people looking after each other's children and dropping off boxes of food for those who need it.

Nearly 42,000 Calgarians deemed 'working poor'

The report aims to delve deeper into the different layers of poverty in Calgary to provide policymakers with a different picture — on top of typical income-based data and poverty metrics — to help create solutions for Calgarians.

Stevens describes the report as a checkup on the state of Calgary.

So how is the city doing?

"I think that we can do better," she said.

The report found that while the employment rate is up — it rose by 25,000 across Alberta in December — wages aren't.

That has to do with the types of jobs people are getting. Stevens says the majority of Calgarians have lower-income jobs, like in the service and retail sector.

It means more people in Calgary are unable to afford homeownership or rental options that are available, says the report, and one in five Calgarians can't afford healthy food.

Additionally, the report found that 41,890 Calgarians are considered "working poor."

That means they work but make less than the low-income measure — 50 per cent of the median adjusted household income. In 2020, the median total income in Calgary was $44,800 annually.

"It's an interesting indicator because we talk about the working poor but we don't actually know how many people that is, and now we have an actual number," said Stevens.

Calgary also remains the second most unequal city in Canada when it comes to income distribution, second only to Toronto, says the report.

The positive side

It isn't all bad though, says Stevens.

Since the start of the pandemic, a record-high percentage of Calgarians — 85 per cent — believe all Calgarians deserve a living wage, which has risen to $22.40 an hour. Minimum wage in Alberta has remained at $15 an hour since 2018.

"I think that connects with our affordability challenges and the fact that we are in an affordability crisis with inflation rapidly rising," said Stevens.

Calgary also has the most affordable low-income transit pass in the country, says Stevens, and the majority of people who qualify are actually buying that pass.

Solving the challenge of poverty

The goal is to create a city where poverty can't exist, and it's a solvable challenge, says Stevens.

"We have to make sure that everyone who is working earns a living wage. And if you can't work, our income support programs meet your basic needs."

She says decision makers also need to make sure that everyone who needs a house has one, and everyone has access to the mental health and addiction supports they need.

While Calgarians are supporting each other with food, child care and other basic needs, Stevens says it doesn't negate the responsibility of all levels of government to help those in poverty.