Can you afford to live in Canada?

 The settlement funds that IRCC recommends will help you survive, but how much do you need to thrive in Canada?

Settlement funds are in place to ensure that recent expats can cover basic living expenses while finding work and a place to live.

The cost of living, on the other hand, is often much higher, with conservative estimates of more than $1,500 per month before renting in many Canadian cities (source: numbeo.com).

The following article will describe the cost of living in Canada and provide a rough guide on how much you can spend on some basic expenses after your arrival.

Comparison of the two cities

To give you a rough idea of what to expect, we have compiled a table of monthly cost-of-living estimates based on crowdsourced data (source: numbeo) for Toronto and Winnipeg*.

Toronto

  Winnipeg

  Rent

Most newcomers to Canada  rent their accommodation . Rent will be the biggest expense in their monthly budget.

Rental prices vary depending on the region and the type of property.

In the first month, you will probably also have to pay a security deposit, which is usually a month's rent.

The table below shows the average monthly rent for some of Canada's major cities.

Source: zumper.com Rental Research Portal

 Food

The table below shows the average monthly minimum amount for grocery allocation, sorted by some major cities until August 2024.

These figures are crowdsourced and based on an omnivorous diet of an adult who eats 2,400 calories per day.

The low estimate eliminates dairy and reduces meat consumption from the baseline Numbeos  estimate.

The above estimate increases the amount of meat and dairy added to the monthly store.

These figures can vary significantly based on where you shop and the specific items you've included in your monthly groceries.

The table below shows estimates for monthly grocery expenditure based on crowdsourcing data.

منبع: numbeo

 In Canada's metropolises, most newcomers rely on public transportation to get around the city.

The table below shows the adult monthly transit passport fee for some major Canadian cities. All prices are collected from the respective transportation boards of the counties.

 Telephone & Internet

Mobile data in Canada can be more expensive than the country you're coming from.

The table below shows the average cost of an unlimited chat and text plan across the country, along with 10 to 19 GB of data, sorted by some of the major provinces.

The table below shows the average monthly cost of an internet package with a speed of 33 to 100 Mbps

Source: Comparison of Wireless, Wireless and Internet Services Prices in Canada and with Foreign Jurisdictions: 2023 Edition

From: Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

We chose Toronto and Winnipeg as examples of cities where the cost of living is higher and lower, respectively.

The categories that are used to request an estimator are as follows.

One person (1 bedroom apartment using public transportation)
The lower estimate
 is the lower estimate  based on a hypothetical single person (1 bedroom apartment using public transportation) with the following spending habits:

• Eat lunch or dinner at restaurants for 5% of your meals, 100% of which are "cheap", such as fast food.
• Do not drink coffee outside the house;
• Going out, for example, to the cinema or nightlife twice a month.
• Consumption of a "moderate" amount of alcohol;
• Doesn't smoke;
• A typical Western diet consumes food.
• He does not have a car;
• It takes a round trip in a month by taxi.
• Have a monthly travel card;
• No membership in a gym or gym;
• He does not take any leave every year.
• He buys a "small" amount of clothes. And
• 1 bedroom apartment for rent in the city center.
• Car Travel Estimation

Car Travel Estimation

For the "Travel by car" row in the table, the driving car parameter was modified from "no car" to "low".

Average estimate

The median estimate  was based on a hypothetical single person (1-bedroom apartment using public transportation) with the following spending habits:

• Eating lunch or dinner at restaurants for 20 percent of your meals, 80 percent of which are "cheap," for example, fast food.
• drinking coffee outside the house "in moderate amount";
• Going out, for example, to the cinema or nightlife once a week.
• Consumption of a "moderate" amount of alcohol;
• Doesn't smoke;
• A typical Western diet consumes food.
• He does not have a car;
• It makes a weekly round trip by taxi.
• Have a monthly travel card;
• Membership in a club or gym
• It goes on a "cheap" vacation a year.
• He buys a "medium" amount of clothes. And
• Rent a 1 bedroom apartment in the city center.

Car Travel Estimation

For the "Travel by car" row in the table, the driving car parameter was modified from "no car" to "average".

Higher Estimate

The higher estimate  was based on a hypothetical single person (1 bedroom apartment using public transit) with the following spending habits:

• Eating lunch or dinner at restaurants for 40 percent of your meals, of which 40 percent are "cheap," for example, fast food.
• Drinking the "amount" of coffee outside;
• Going out, for example, to the cinema or nightlife, 3-4 times a week.
• consumption of "amount" of alcohol;
• Doesn't smoke;
• A "normal" Western diet consumes food.
• He does not have a car;
• It takes a round trip in a month by taxi.
• Have a monthly travel card;
• Membership in a club or gym
• He goes on three "relatively expensive vacations" a year.
• He buys "very" clothes. And
• 1 bedroom apartment for rent in the city center.

Car Travel Estimation

For the "Travel by car" row in the table, the driving car parameter was changed from "no car" to "high".

Single Person (3 bedrooms with roommates using public transportation)

Lower Estimation

The lower estimate  is based on a hypothetical single person (3 bedrooms with roommates who use public transportation) with the following spending habits:

• Eat lunch or dinner at restaurants for 5% of your meals, 100% of which are "cheap", such as fast food.
• Do not drink coffee outside the house;
• Going out, for example, to the cinema or nightlife twice a month.
• Consumption of a "moderate" amount of alcohol;
• Doesn't smoke;
• A "normal" Western diet consumes food.
• He does not have a car;
• It takes a round trip in a month by taxi.
• Have a monthly travel card for each family member;
• No membership in a gym or gym;
• He does not take any leave every year.
• He buys a "small" amount of clothes. And
• 1 bedroom apartment for rent in the city center.

Car Travel Estimation

For the "Travel by car" row in the table, the driving car parameter was modified from "no car" to "low".

Average estimate

The median estimate  was based on a hypothetical single person (3 bedrooms with roommates from public transportation) with the following spending habits:

• Eating lunch or dinner at restaurants for 20 percent of your meals, 80 percent of which are "cheap," for example, fast food.
• drinking coffee outside the house "in moderate amount";
• Going out, for example, to the cinema or nightlife once a week.
• Consumption of a "moderate" amount of alcohol;
• Doesn't smoke;
• A "normal" Western diet consumes food.
• He does not have a car;
• It makes a weekly round trip by taxi.
• Have a monthly travel card;
• Membership in a club or gym
• It goes on a "cheap" vacation a year.
• He buys a "medium" amount of clothes. And
• 3-bedroom apartment sharing in the city center.

Car Travel Estimation

For the "Travel by car" row in the table, the driving car parameter was modified from "no car" to "average".

Higher Estimate

The higher estimate  was based on a hypothetical single person (3 bedrooms with roommates from public transportation) with the following spending habits:

• Eating lunch or dinner at restaurants for 40 percent of your meals, of which 40 percent are "cheap," for example, fast food.
• Drinking the "amount" of coffee outside;
• Going out, for example, to the cinema or nightlife, 3-4 times a week.
• consumption of "amount" of alcohol;
• Doesn't smoke;
• A "normal" Western diet consumes food.
• He does not have a car;
• It takes a round trip in a day by taxi.
• Have a monthly travel card;
• Membership in a club or gym
• He goes on three "relatively expensive vacations" a year.
• He buys "very" clothes. And
• 3-bedroom apartment sharing in the city center.

Car Travel Estimation

For the "Travel by car" row in the table, the driving car parameter was changed from "no car" to "high".

Family of 4 (3 bedrooms using public transport)

Lower Estimation

The lower estimate  is based on a hypothetical family of 4, 2 adults and 2 children (living in a 3-bedroom apartment using public transport) with the following spending habits:

• Eat lunch or dinner at restaurants for 5% of your meals, 100% of which are "cheap", such as fast food.
• Do not drink coffee outside the house;
• Going out, for example, to the cinema or nightlife twice a month.
• 2 times more than adults who consume a "moderate" amount of alcohol.
• No smoking;
• A "normal" Western diet consumes food.
• He does not have a car;
• It takes a round trip in a month by taxi.
• Each family member has a monthly travel card.
• Not being a member of a club or sports club;
• He does not take any leave every year.
• He buys a "small" amount of clothes. And
• Rent a 3-bedroom apartment in the city center.

Car Travel Estimation

For the "Travel by car" row in the table, the driving car parameter was modified from "no car" to "low".

Middle

The median estimate  was based on a hypothetical family of 4, 2 adults and 2 children (living in a 3-bedroom apartment using public transport) with the following spending habits:

• Eating lunch or dinner at restaurants for 20 percent of your meals, 80 percent of which are "cheap," for example, fast food.
• drinking coffee outside the house "in moderate amount";
• Going out, for example, to the cinema or nightlife once a week.
• 2 times more than adults who consume a "moderate" amount of alcohol.
• Doesn't smoke;
• A "normal" Western diet consumes food.
• He does not have a car;
• It makes a weekly round trip by taxi.
• Each family member has a monthly travel card.
• Each family member has a gym or gym membership.
• It goes on a "cheap" vacation a year.
• He buys a "medium" amount of clothes. And
• Rent a 3-bedroom apartment in the city center.

Estimate of Car Travel
for the "Car Travel" row In the table, the parameter of "Car Driving" was revised from "No Car" to "Average".

Higher Estimate

The higher estimate  is based on a hypothetical family of 4, 2 adults and 2 children (living in a 3-bedroom apartment using public transport) with the following spending habits:

• Eating lunch or dinner at restaurants for 40 percent of your meals, of which 40 percent are "cheap," for example, fast food.
• Drinking the "amount" of coffee outside;
• Going out, for example, to the cinema or nightlife, 3-4 times a week.
• 2 times as many adults who drink "a lot" of alcohol.
• Doesn't smoke;
• A "normal" Western diet consumes food.
• He does not have a car;
• He makes a daily round trip by taxi.
• Each family member has a monthly travel card.
• Each family member has a gym or gym membership.
• He goes on three "relatively expensive vacations" a year.
• He buys "very" clothes. And
• Rent a 3-bedroom apartment in the city center.

Car Travel Estimation

For the "Travel by car" row in the table, the driving car parameter was changed from "no car" to "high".