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Cost Of Living In Canada

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Most Canadians enjoy a high standard of living, and the cost of living varies from province to province. Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal are the most expensive areas; Charlottetown, Winnipeg and Edmonton are much cheaper. Food and housing prices tend to mimic those in the United States. A liter of homogenized milk, a loaf of bread, and a dozen eggs will cost you about $3.50 C ($3.00 USD).

Your choice of accommodation is a major factor in establishing the cost of living as a student in Toronto. The following is an estimate of the minimum amount of money a single student will need to cover living expenses for the first 12 months in Toronto (2003-2004).

Accommodation $7,200.00
Food $3,895.00
Clothing $600.00
Books & Instruments $917.00
Health Insurance $612.47
Local Transportation $1122
  • Housing This runs very reasonable in places like Manitoba but is horrendous if you want to live in downtown Vancouver. But this stands to reason and is the same the world over. If you want a view of the sea(ocean) in a thriving city then you're going to pay. In general though the cost does not really reflect the whole picture. The most important thing to remember about Canada - espcially if you are moving from more populated areas - is the sheer space. Homes are huge when compared with the UK. What they call a closet or cupboard, we would have put a bed into and called it a third bedroom.

  • Appliances

    All readily available and no real difference in prices though remember the joys of GST and PST - that can be a killer. For people coming from the UK washing machines are different. We are used to front-loaders whereas here (as in the US) the top loading washing machine is the norm. In fact oddly enough the latest 'new' washers (as they call them here) are front loaders but they are incredibly expensive. They don't sell spin dryers as such here. Dryers are not called tumble dryers. Fridges.... well compared with the UK they are huge, you cold have a party in there. Everything tends to go in the fridge in North america - regardless of whether it needs to or not. Unfortunately in many cases people also think this also applies to red wine .... sigh .. but I digress again.

  • Food Incredibly cheap and plentiful. Well ok once again, not compared with the US but certainly compared with the UK and Europe. Interestingly you can get many more 'international' foods here than in our experience in an equivelent area in the USA - the midwest. The fact that food is cheap explains why they need the great big fridges! The most amazing thing is the fish. Salmon is available and though not dirt cheap it is way cheaper than in the UK. And if you actually go fishing, what they call bait... we used to call dinner.

  • Booze and Cigarettes These are expensive when compared with the US and Europe but not when compared with the UK. Everything is available, unlike some parts of the midwest USA, but not cheap. In Manitoba you have to buy liquor from government stores. They are nice and offer a great service. Have a look at the Manitoba Liquor Commission Web site for an idea of what I mean.

  • Vehicles and so on Once again much cheaper than the UK and much more than the US. Insurance varies from province to province. Here in Manitoba it is government run, with a no-fault policy in place though they are looking at changing it. You have to be insured in order to get number plates which cuts down on the dodgers a bit.

  • TV and Enterainment Generally much cheaper than the UK with no TV license fee. Same price as the US. All US stations are available plus all the Canadian ones if you have cable. I explain more about Canadian tv in Canadian Humour. But in general you get the best of British, foreign and US stuff plus the usual smattering of crap. Be warned both here and in the US they think Benny Hill was a comic genious - ? - though I have to admit that once you've been away from the UK for a while you find youself watching, and enjoying, reruns of Are You Being Served etc. God knows how they understand the jokes, innuendoes or accents but the shows are popular. And even more amazing and I am ashamed to admit I even know about it - you can get EastEnders and Coronation Street here - about 3 weeks behind. I never watched CS in all the years I lived in Britain except for flicking by as I changed channels and as a child when we went home to the UK every summer - Elsie Tanner was always just about to get married as I remember - but now I am glued to it on Sunday mornings! I never realised it was meant to be a comedy you see. But I digress..... yet again.
        




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