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This is the first province-wide effort to calculate a regionally-sensitive living wage in Newfoundland and Labrador. The living wage rates for the four regions are:
- $23.95 for Central,
- $24.20 for Eastern,
- $23.80 for Western and
- $26.80 for Labrador-Northern Peninsula.
This report breaks the province into four regions broadly corresponding
with the province’s now amalgamated health regions. The calculations are based on the standard living wage methodology used in other jurisdictions, the regional living wages for Newfoundland and Labrador in 2023 are in Table 1 of the report.
This is the first province-wide living wage calculation for Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), this year’s living wage cannot be compared to previous years; however, we know from other provinces that inflation and cost of living increases have hit low-income households hard. NL’s living wage is higher than in much of the country because many basic household expenses are higher — a higher cost of living equals a higher living wage.
Labrador and the Northern Peninsula face unique challenges within the province — the required living wage of $26.80 an hour is among the highest in the country — indeed the highest in Atlantic Canada.
About the authors
Christine Saulnier
Christine Saulnier (she/her) is Director of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives-Nova Scotia. She has a doctorate in Political Science from York University. She leads the living wage calculations for communities across Atlantic Canada and serves as a co-author of the annual child and family poverty report cards for Nova Scotia. She has written extensively, and given commentary on a range of other public policy issues including fiscal policy, labour markets, and child care policy. She serves on the Steering Committee of Child Care Now Nova Scotia, and Campaign 2000 (national coalition to end child and family poverty). She served on the Board of the NS Health Coalition and Adsum for 10 years.
Russell Williams
Dr. Russell Williams is an associate professor of political science at Memorial University. His research focuses on the intersection between international political economy and public policy. He is a co-author of Making Governance Work: Policymaking in the Era of Polarized Politics and has numerous publications, including articles in the Journal of Public Policy, Review of Policy Research, the International Journal of Public Sector Management, Canadian Foreign Policy, and Global Social Policy.
