An economic thinktank has issued its 2025 Living Wages Report for Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as the Maritimes. It shows that the gap between the lowest wage and a living wage is widening in this province.

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives is highlighting the rising cost of housing, food, and other household essentials, and a lack of child care spaces.

Russell Williams, co-author of the report and an associate professor of political science at Memorial University, says the number of people who earn less than the minimum wage isn’t confined to those working their first job in a fast food restaurant – a sizeable portion of the workforce is having trouble making ends meet because of low pay.

“We’re talking about a third of the labour force in Atlantic Canada – people who have a family. Almost half of all female workers in this make province make less than the living wage,” says Williams.

The gap amounts to about ten dollars an hour in some parts of the province.

“A living wage in Labrador and on the Northern Peninsula is $28 – that’s what people need in those areas just to keep the lights on.”