Cost of living in Canada

What a realistic monthly budget looks like, by city tier — and how Canada stacks up against the US and UK.

Monthly budgets, roughly

Those figures include rent. Outside of housing, day-to-day life is fairly consistent city to city: a mid-range restaurant dinner for two runs $100–120, a monthly transit pass $80–$156 depending on the city, and basic utilities for a one-bedroom apartment $110–175.

Healthcare’s real gaps

Public coverage handles doctor visits, hospital stays, and medically necessary surgery — but not prescription drugs outside a hospital, dental care, vision care, or therapy with a psychologist. Most employed people fill that gap with a workplace benefits plan; without one, budget roughly $50–150 a month per adult for basic private coverage.

Getting around

Gas averages $1.82/litre nationally, with Manitoba and Alberta cheapest and the Atlantic provinces most expensive. Car insurance varies enormously by province — Quebec’s hybrid public/private system keeps it around $750/year, while Ontario’s fully private market runs closer to $2,000/year for the same driver profile.

How it compares

Canada runs meaningfully cheaper than the US day-to-day (a cost index of 63.0 versus 68.8), but American salaries are high enough — roughly 45% more after tax, on average — to offset that for a lot of households. Against the UK, it’s close to a wash: the UK is slightly cheaper on rent and groceries, Canada slightly ahead on income, and both countries share the biggest structural difference from the US — healthcare that isn’t tied to your employer or your bank balance.