STANDARD OF LIVING
Individuals, families, and children living below the poverty line may face many obstacles, which can limit their ability to enjoy quality of life.
EȽENISTW̱ TŦE ŚW̱ELO₭E ȽTE (To feed our families)
Standard of Living
EȽENISTW̱ TŦE ŚW̱ELO₭E ȽTE (To feed our families)
Since 2024, Tsartlip Nation has been running a community-led, healthy meal program that breaks down barriers for vulnerable people, especially Elders, new mothers, and people with mobility issues. Chief Don Tom says the EȽENISTW̱ TŦE ŚW̱ELO₭E ȽTE program aims to address the cost of food and rates of food insecurity that continue to rise. In 2024, the Victoria Foundation provided a grant to help operate the program.
“We’ve always relied on outside agencies in the past to provide meals,” says Chief Tom. “Now, we’re excited to be able to help our membership by providing meals made in the community.”
“We’re also trying to find ways to incorporate traditional practices of preserving and preparing food,” he explains, adding that the Nation intends to make this program a long-term initiative. Chief Tom shares that the Tsartlip Food Security program is working towards encouraging young people in the community to go out and hunt, harvest, process, and cook.
ODLUM BROWN
Photo by: Jo-Ann Richards, Works Photography
Vital signs citizen survey grade
C+Last year's grade was C+
Belonging and Engagement
Vital signs citizen survey grade
C+Sustainable Development Goals
Sustainable Development Goals
MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME
Median family income after-tax in 2023 for all census family units
$71500VICTORIA CMAup from $66,620 in 2022
$65020BRITISH COLUMBIA
$62920CANADA
The median family income rose from $59,180 in 2019 to $71,500 in 2023.
SOURCE: STATISTICS CANADA
MEDIAN INDIVIDUAL INCOME
Median individual total income in 2023
$53420 VICTORIA CMA up from $49,750 in 2022
$45730BRITISH COLUMBIA
$45000 CANADA
Median income for women and men in the region in 2023
$48050 WOMEN
$62920 MEN
SOURCE: STATISTICS CANADA
BC MINIMUM WAGE
General minimum hourly wage in BC
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $15.20 | $15.65 | $16.75 | $17.40 | $17.85 |
SOURCE: PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
In 2025, a full-time minimum wage worker in BC earns
$32487a year pre-tax
$2,722 above national 2023 poverty line for a single person
$9,607 below national 2023 poverty line for a two-person household if that worker is a single parent living with one child
Full-time, full-year work is 35 hours of paid work for 52 weeks. The poverty line is based on Statistics Canada’s 2023 Low Income Measure (LIM) threshold for market income in 2023 constant dollars for a one-person household ($29,765) and a two-person household ($42,094) in Canada.
SOURCE: STATISTICS CANADA
LIVING WAGE
The hourly wage required to maintain an adequate quality of life in the capital region in 2024.
$26.78up 5.4% from $25.40 in 2023
$9 higher than the current minimum wage ($17.85).
A sharp spike in the region’s cost of living pushed up the living wage. Financial relief from government benefit increases and improvements to child care affordability was outpaced by the rising costs of rent and essentials.
In 2024, shelter (39%) and food (18%) comprised the largest share of family monthly expenses in Greater Victoria, with the largest dollar increase from 2023 in shelter and child care.
The living wage is the hourly rate that each of two parents working full-time must earn to support a family of four based on the actual cost of living in a particular community. It factors in government benefits, taxes, and deductions and excludes debt payments, savings, and non-essential costs.
SOURCE: COMMUNITY SOCIAL PLANNING COUNCIL OF GREATER VICTORIA
POVERTY RATES
Poverty rates in 2023 as measured by Statistics Canada’s Census Family Low Income Measure after tax
SOURCE: STATISTICS CANADA
THEN & NOW
Income Inequality
In our first Vital Signs report (2006): In 2000, the top 10% of the region’s income earners had an average employment income of $69,000, compared to $14,600 for the bottom 10%. The income of the top 10% was nearly five times that of the bottom 10%.
By 2020, the average employment income of the top 10% of earners in Greater Victoria was $100,100, nearly 11 times the $9,270 income of the bottom 10%. Over this 20-year period, the average employment income for the region’s top 10% increased 45%, while it decreased 37% for the bottom 10%.
SOURCE: STATISTICS CANADA
COMMUNITY IN FOCUS
Sharing Food and Growing Community
The Salt Spring Food Share program brings the community together to celebrate and share local food. Run by the Salt Spring Island Farmland Trust, the program aims to increase access to locally grown food, reduce food insecurity and waste, and help food producers share the abundance of their harvests.
The program hosts monthly food exchanges from July to December where islanders can share and exchange homegrown and homemade food, all while building community and fostering connections. The Food Share program also coordinates fruit tree owners, harvest volunteers, and community partners to pick and distribute excess produce to individuals and community organizations. People can drop off and donate their extra produce.
In 2024, the Salt Spring Food Share program harvested and shared over 15,000 lbs of fruit and produce!
SOURCE: SALT SPRING ISLAND FARMLAND TRUST
Sports & Recreation