A report on minimum wage and rental costs has found that there isn’t a major city in Canada where a minimum-wage earner working 40 hours a week can afford rent.

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says St. John’s falls somewhere in the middle across Canada when it comes to the cost of rent, but a person would have to earn about $18 per hour to afford a one-bedroom apartment, or $23 per hour for the average two-bedroom. The minimum wage is currently $15.60.

The centre acknowledges that St. John’s is not downtown Toronto but, but a person toiling at minimum wage still doesn’t make enough to afford a one-bedroom.

David McDonald, senior economist with the center and co-author of the report on “Out of Control rents,” says Newfoundland and Labrador has been increasing the lowest wage for the past year or two, but the problem rests with the supply side.

He says you don’t want a company to come in and build housing, then jack up rents 10 per cent a year.

“What we’re not talking about is the need for rent control,” he says.

“Putting reasonable caps on rent increases is one of the fastest ways to stabilize rents.”