Gas prices are going up again in BC and it has many drivers feeling the pain.
Taking public transportation isn’t suitable for all individuals in the province. There are many who rely on driving to where they need to go and with inflation pushing prices higher in other areas already, it doesn’t take much to feel a move in gas prices either.
Experts have recently suggested that special circumstances might be contributing to the problem.
Advertisements
Due to an alleged refinery issue in Canada that has been going on in Alberta the price has recently shot up again.
Some refineries are said to be facing operational issues or they’ve gone offline, this is what experts credit with throwing a wrench into the usual swing of things for the supply chain.
Gas Supply Chain Problems
This is an unusual situation they’ve suggested and experts admit that this recent increase in gas costs for BC isn’t due to the war in Ukraine and Russia specifically.
The increase even a little bit in the cost that British Columbians are paying could end up turning into hundreds more over the year in their gas costs to get to work, school, or fulfill their daily duties etc.
The increase in gas prices especially harms low income Canadians and working class Canadians, when they have to pay more just to earn a paycheck and get to work.
The cost of living is on the minds of many Canadians today and is one of the top voting issues around the country.
Many of those who live in BC might not be unfamiliar with seeing high gas prices, but it certainly couldn’t come at a worse time when many are already struggling with inflation and the cost of living.
Rent prices have jumped on average over 20 per cent since last year and that is causing a lot of pressure for individuals and families around the Metro Vancouver region. Cities all over the Lower Mainland are seeing housing prices grow too, this is one of the least affordable regions in Canada.
The prices are growing for rent and that causes some to worry about what protections the government might come up with to help. Some are already calling for rent caps in other parts of Canada, among other possible suggestions. Vancouver isn’t the only region facing rental and housing problems.
Through the pandemic we already saw the government move to cap rent increases while people were going through that strenuous time.
Advertisements
With inflation pushing prices higher we have also recently seen BC move to tie minimum wage increases to inflation and the upcoming min wage increase is expected to bring it to $15.65 per hour.
The growing cost of living for Canadians is placing the struggle on many individuals and families, especially for those already living in one of the most expensive places in the world. From gas to groceries, rent costs or housing prices, we are seeing prices go up to push more out of the affordability of those goods.
Millions of Canadians have already given up on the dream of eventually owning a home one day.
The average rent for a 2 bedroom in Vancouver is close to $3k and there aren’t many incomes that can afford this standard of living as the average incomes earn far less than what is required to comfortably afford something in that range.
Turning to Community Resources in Times of Need
To help get by more Canadians are turning to community resources like food banks to supplement what they need. This too places more pressure on those community resources and the more we see the cost of living rise then the more we can expect pressure to be placed on those resources.
We just saw this take place during the pandemic when a record number of individuals and families around the world started turning to their local community resources for help.
Majority of Canadians feeling financial strain of rent increase
One previous poll on the financial strain connected with rent increases and the cost of living has found that many Canadians are already feeling the stress of it all. Renters living in BC have been found to have the most concern about the impact that rising costs might have on their budget. It is already a struggle for many and there isn’t much room for those individuals if any unexpected emergency were to take place.
Various political parties in BC and around Canada have promised to address this issue of housing affordability. It is a major concern for many Canadians today. To address those concerns there are hundreds of new homes expected to be built to address that supply and demand imbalance that we’ve been experiencing. Who knows when things might level out though and Canadians will start seeing more true affordability in rent and housing prices.
New stats were recently released suggesting that the average rent in Vancouver is close to $3,000 for a two bedroom, and including utilities it would take a yearly income well over $50,000 to be able to afford a 1 or 2 bedroom apartment in Vancouver.
Mind you, this is because the affordability rate has commonly been determined by finance experts to be somewhere around 30% of an individual’s gross income. This is how individuals have been told to assess whether or not they might be able to afford where they are renting, if they are paying more than 30% then that can easily turn into a problem.
Housing Affordability in Canada
Advertisements
Around Canada there are many people who are paying more than 30% of their income on rent alone in places like Vancouver, Toronto, but in other Canadian cities too.
Kelowna has been deemed one of the least affordable places in Canada previously, and throughout the Central Okanagan residents would need an income upwards of $52k to afford something to live comfortably.
A number of people in this area of BC too have been found to be paying more than 30% on their rent as well. It isn’t just Vancouver and the Lower Mainland that are suffering from this problem of rent affordability.
The minimum wage in BC is $15.65 and a full-time job would mean around $30,000+ and according to ZipRecruiter the average salary in BC is around $65,000 per hour.
But there are many who are making less than this and even families where two full time working individuals are struggling to get by, trying to tackle high rent prices. It isn’t only rent either with high costs in other areas too as inflation pushing prices higher at the grocery store and more.
The median household income around Canada was roughly $62,900 back in 2019.
Vancouver has been ranked one of the most expensive cities to live in the world. Millions of Canadians have already given up on the dream of someday owning a home at these prices.
More recently, Toronto also took the title as the most expensive in Canada. For many Canadians who can only dream of owning their own home at some point, this bloated market isn’t something that they are proud of. Affordability is one of the top issues for Canadian voters.
One previous study showed that investors and repeat buyers are making up an increasing portion of the real estate market in Canada.
For young couples in Canada who have been able to get their own homes already despite the high prices, previous reports show they too have had significant help from their families in many cases in order to be able to do it.
The average down payment gift has been over $100k. For a number of Canadians though they’ve had to start looking elsewhere if they want more affordability and that has meant some families already leaving the Vancouver area because of those affordability issues.
We can expect this will only grow as a political issue if things continue to deteriorate and the standard of living gets most costly for Canadians.
According to food experts the food inflation rate in Canada is around 5% and Canadians are finding it more expensive to afford the food that they need. There are a variety of household items that are getting more expensive on the shelves. One of the categories that is seeing the highest increase in price is the meat products.
Advertisements
Bacon, meat, steak, are some of the items that have increased the most on the shelves in Canada. This means that more families and individuals will be opting out of buying that meat and going for something else.
One report from Dalhousie University’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab found that 2 in 5 people have changed their habits already to try and save money because of these food prices that are rising in Canada. It has been especially hard for those who are on low income or fixed incomes. They are increasingly looking for sales and ways to make their dollars reach further for them to tackle the increase in prices.
Meat isn’t the only area though as vegetables are also getting more expensive, as well as fruit, fish and other seafood, bakery items, and more.
Advertisements
Bacon prices are reaching all time highs as more food experts warn about food inflation in Canada and the rising cost of groceries. There are already multiple cities in Canada that are some of the most expensive areas to live in the world, in terms of housing and other costs, and the increase in food prices isn’t helping.
Not only are Canadians seeing the prices go up but they are also experiencing shrinkflation which is getting less of the product but still paying the same amount. This is an option that food makers have gone with to try not to scare away customers and prevent themselves from increasing prices, to opt for the shrinkflation route and decrease the product amount in the package.
Pain from rising food prices in Canada
To save money Canadians have been turning to find deals, coupons, buying house brand items, and looking through flyers to try and find deals and food savings where possible. More are doing this now than they did a year ago and Canadians around the country still use coupons today, although they might not be as easy to come by for some. Every little bit that gets saved matters to those who are feeling the pain already from these rising prices.
The Canada federal election is coming up soon and this means that candidates are busy answering some of the most pressing questions that Canadians have these days about the country. How are leaders going to address affordable housing in Canada? Work through the pandemic and economic recovery? As well as other issues that are important to millions.
Advertisements
One of the biggest concerns for Canadians is affordable housing. Canadians want to know when solutions are coming rather than just seeing housing prices for owning and renting getting significantly worse over time. Where are the real solutions and when will this problem be fixed with things starting to get better for your average Canadian, this is what many who struggle financially around the country are asking.
The cost of living in Canada is a top concern for those who are struggling to pay their bills and get by. Already we have heard from multiple Canadian candidates for the 2021 election that they are going to address affordable housing in Canada in one way or another.
Building More Houses for Canadians
Is it a lack of housing stock? Issue with cheap interest rates? Are there multiple contributions to the problem here? A variety of reasons have been given for the current housing affordability problem around Canada.
As far as how we are going to solve Canadian housing issues, this is something politicians have been asked about for years. We have been hearing their solutions on this issue repeatedly, with some action that has taken place in the past, and yet the problem isn’t getting much better as things get more expensive and suitable options dwindle.
NDP Housing Solutions
For the NDP party, reportedly might be looking to give cash to tenants as a part of their idea for a housing policy. The Canada house price to income ratio is among the highest in the world these days, the housing prices have many Canadians giving up on the dream of home ownership altogether.
The NDP have also released a plan that details building 500k homes around the country, implementing a 20% tax on foreign buyers, and tackling money laundering that increases real estate speculation.
Conservatives on Housing
The Conservatives have also vowed to do what they can to make Canada housing affordable. This means outlining a party that can make that happen with a multi approach that boosts housing supply in Canada, as well as potentially looking into converting unused office space into housing.
Among these actions to try and address affordable housing in Canada we could also see a freeze on foreign investment in some way in that market, although that isn’t likely to be a popular idea with many.
Justin Trudeau has previously announced that more affordable homes would be built around the country. Liberals also have previously suggested that on this matter their solution would involve looking at escalating home prices in high priced markets to find out if speculation is driving costs. Not only that but they would look to invest billions in social infrastructure, and potentially offer tax incentives as well to increase supply of homes around the country.
Green Party
The Green Party have also talked about housing affordability and they’ve acted in calling for action on the issue, showing support for a national moratorium on evictions through the pandemic. Green Party of Ontario Leader Mike Schreiner recently stated that Canada could address both the climate issue and the affordable housing issue at the same time. This might be possible by redesigning our communities in a more optimal fashion to support that solution to come about.
In their own ways they each offer how they are going to address the cost of living and potentially lower the cost of renting and owning around the country. But will we see it happen? Canadians are struggling now and this could take years to see how effective one solution or another might be.
Advertisements
The struggle with the affordable housing crisis can cause a lot of stress and anxiety for individuals and families today, it might potentially prompt some to delay putting off life-changing decisions because the cost of living continues to get worse. With the tightening financial squeeze it leaves Canadians feeling priced out of their own communities.
This is why it is still, years later, a top issue for Canadians today. Ideas about building 500k or 1 million new homes are appealing but that might not touch the surface of what is needed. Who is to say that those homes built will go to the end users who need them? How can that be determined? What if those homes end up being entered into the same bidding war frenzy and result in being out of reach for the average Canadian still. Canadians will have their chance to vote on some of those changes soon when the upcoming Canada 2021 election rolls around and they head to the polls to vote.
This province is already the area with the highest gasoline taxes in the nation. Couple that with also being one of the most expensive places to live, as Vancouver is the most expensive city in the country. The cost of living is a lot to struggle and keep up with.
It is no surprise then that many are making the switch to electric and in B.C. specifically we are seeing some of the highest rates of electric vehicle ownership, along with other provinces like Quebec. As the gas prices jump higher this is only going to push more people into looking for more affordable options.
The average commute time in Vancouver is around 67 minutes.
That’s hundreds of thousands of people who are driving for at least an hour to get to work and home each day. When the gas prices start to go up that is going to impact their standard of living and some won’t have any choice but to look for cheaper transportation.
B.C. consistently has the highest gas prices in the country and this makes it the province with a very costly standard of living if you want to live and commute in the city.
There are a variety of taxes in B.C. that contribute to the price and make it more expensive that it is in other regions, but some say the taxes aren’t the problem and they blame the oil companies alleged price gouging.
Some of the cheapest gas prices that you can find in Vancouver right now have been hovering around 142.9 cents per litre. Some suspect that soon we might be seeing as high as 170.0 or more per litre.
For those who get to work from home right now and who have transitioned to driving less they can be thankful that they aren’t going to feel this hike as much as they would otherwise if they were on the road regularly.
With many B.C. families who are spending between 30-50 percent of their income already on just housing and basics like food, they cannot take much increase in cost for standard of living.
Once those gas prices start to really climb we have seen again and again how quick the public is to get vocal about it. Experts have suggested that the price increase is related to the cold weather that areas like Texas have been experiencing recently. The price of oil increased once the refinery capacity was impacted from that cold weather that came through.
Now drivers are feeling the pain and industry experts suggest that prices are likely to increase still to record prices to fill up. With summer approaching that is estimated to only add to the problem, as the demand for the product is expected likely to spike at that time.
All Around BC 