Here's how B.C.'s average wage stacks up against the rest of Canada

British Columbians are earning an average of about $1,348.36 a week as of March 2026, according to recent Statistics Canada data.

This is just $15 more than the national average, which was $1,333.23.

Meanwhile, Statistics Canada reported that inflation was 2.4 per cent year-over-year in March. Food inflation was 4.4 per cent and gas was 5.9 per cent.

According to Statistics Canada, both the national and B.C. averages climbed up by 3.5 per cent year-over-year, which can reflect things like wage changes, composition of employment, hours worked, and base-year effects.

Statistics Canada collected this information through its Survey of Employment, Payrolls, and Hours (SEPH), which provides a monthly snapshot of the people’s earnings, employment, and hours worked.

It excludes self-employed people, owners and partners of unincorporated businesses and professional practices, and employees in the agricultural sector.

If we multiply $1,348.36 by 52, then B.C.’s average annual salary comes to $70,114.72 per year. This is close to what ZipRecruiter reports as Vancouver’s median annual wage, at $68,300 per year.

Here’s the average weekly earnings for the rest of the country, according to Statistics Canada:

• Newfoundland and Labrador: $1,290.53
• PEI: $1,177.97
• Nova Scotia: $1,210.83
• New Brunswick: $1,231.77
• Quebec: $1,283.60
• Ontario: $1,368.71
• Manitoba: $1,214.49
• Saskatchewan: $1,288.82
• Alberta: $1,371.07
• Yukon: $1,520.39
• NWT: $1,741.07
• Nunavut: $1,874.95

But what about the cost of living?

However, B.C. is also one of Canada’s most expensive provinces to live in, according to a report from Statistics Canada last summer.

And while minimum wage recently ticked up from $17.85 per hour to $18.25 per hour at the beginning of the month, a recent report shows that a third of B.C. workers are earning less than a living wage in their communities.

The living wage is the hourly income that is needed for a worker to cover essential expenses, which include food, housing, child care, and transportation, without relying on government subsidies.

According to BC Policy Solutions and Living Wage BC, Metro Vancouver’s living wage is $27.85 an hour, nearly $10 more than minimum wage.

We also recently looked at how B.C.’s minimum wage compares to other cities in North America.

With files from Daniel Chai