Photo By Claire McCormack
The living wage in Grey Bruce is seeing an increase of 6.7 per cent from last year.
The annual living wage report from the United Way of Bruce Grey on Monday shows people in the region need to make $24.60 an hour in a standard work week to make ends meet. This is up from the $23.05 an hour people needed to make in the region in 2024.
The increase is based on various factors like housing, food, childcare, transportation, clothing, and participation in community life, while also taking into account government taxes, transfers, and benefits. It does not include savings or going on holidays.
The living wage calculates a single adult will need to earn $25.30 an hour, a single parent with two children will need to make $27.75 an hour, and two working parents with two children each need to earn $23.50 an hour.
United Way Executive Director Francesca Dobbyn says the Grey Bruce region falls just behind Toronto for having the highest living wage in the province.
“A 6.7 per cent increase isn’t just a number, it’s a reflection of the daily struggles families face to stay housed, feed their kids, and keep the lights on. We’re seeing more people working full-time who still can’t make ends meet, and that’s unacceptable. A living wage isn’t a luxury, it’s a foundation for dignity and stability,” says Dobbyn.
Dobbyn adds she was surprised at how much the increase jumped from 2024.
“We knew that housing keeps increasing, we knew that food costs were gong up, we really hoped that with the roll out of $10 a day daycare that might actually reduce the living wage, but it hasn’t rolled out enough in our community for it to impact this. There are parts of me that are surprised by this, and parts of me that are just resigned to watch this number climb,” says Dobbyn.
The United Way says according to the Ontario Living Wage Network’s 2025 analysis, housing remains the biggest pressure as people face limited availability and rising rent, which drive up household costs across the region.
Additionally, the analysis points to rural transportation as another challenge.
“It just speaks to the continued increase and basic needs and a cost of living for our region, we have no transit system anymore at all, and the cost of childcare, and the fact that wages are just not keeping pace with the cost of living,” says Dobbyn.
Dobbyn adds she has spoken to employers about the report’s findings and encourages them to join a network of certified living wage employers.
“We are members of the Chambers of Commerce in the region and we let them know a month ago that this is going to be a shocking number this year and they really understood that. The challenge of course is for small businesses. It’s really hard to pay their staff this way which is why we talk about universal basic income because if there was a way of supporting small businesses, enabling them to pay a living wage for their employees, they would have way less turnover, they would have to spend to spend less money on training because they wouldn’t have turnover. It’s a win-win when you pay a living wage to your employees,” says Dobbyn.