Late last month, Statistics Canada released updated data on employment and average weekly earnings for each of the provinces. The new seasonally adjusted data was as of May 2023.
This data includes earnings for full-time employees, part-time employees, as well as permanent, casual, temporary, and seasonal employees. It also includes working owners, directors, partners, and other officers of incorporated businesses, as well as employees who work at home or on the road but report to the location.
It doesn’t include earnings for owners or partners of unincorporated businesses and professional practices, the self-employed, subcontractors, external consultants, unpaid family workers, persons working outside Canada, and military personnel, as well as employees on unpaid leave, such as those on extended sick leave who are receiving insurance benefits.
I figured I’d take a look to see how the wage situation looks in Alberta.
| AB | $1,289.46 |
| ON | $1,232.03 |
| BC | $1,211.65 |
| NL | $1,179.79 |
| SK | $1,158.51 |
| QC | $1,150.74 |
| NB | $1,097.03 |
| MB | $1,093.91 |
| NS | $1,064.63 |
| PEI | $997.86 |
Unsurprisingly, Alberta had the highest average weekly wages in Canada. This is something Alberta politicians have been extolling for years.
But take a look at the increase in weekly wages.
In May 2023, the average weekly wages were $1,289.46 in Alberta. The month before, that number was $1,288.77. That’s a 69¢ increase, the smallest increase in the country.
| Apr 2023 | May 2023 | Change | % change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QC | $1,136.85 | $1,150.74 | $13.89 | 1.22% |
| BC | $1,203.43 | $1,211.65 | $8.22 | 0.68% |
| NS | $1,061.66 | $1,064.63 | $2.97 | 0.28% |
| ON | $1,230.47 | $1,232.03 | $1.56 | 0.13% |
| NL | $1,178.43 | $1,179.79 | $1.36 | 0.12% |
| NB | $1,096.01 | $1,097.03 | $1.02 | 0.09% |
| AB | $1,288.77 | $1,289.46 | $0.69 | 0.05% |
| MB | $1,096.75 | $1,093.91 | -$2.84 | -0.26% |
| PEI | $1,001.76 | $997.86 | -$3.90 | -0.39% |
| SK | $1,162.71 | $1,158.51 | -$4.20 | -0.36% |
Now, they weren’t in last place, given that workers in Manitoba, Prince Edward Island, and Saskatchewan all saw their average weekly earnings decrease between April and May. Of the 7 provinces that did see an increase, however, Alberta saw the smallest one.
When we look at the increase as a percentage of April’s job numbers, we see that Alberta still had the smallest increase.
Next, let’s look at the last year.
| May 2022 | May 2023 | Change | % change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NS | $1,009.54 | $1,064.63 | $55.09 | 5.46% |
| BC | $1,159.89 | $1,211.65 | $51.76 | 4.46% |
| MB | $1,044.85 | $1,093.91 | $49.06 | 4.70% |
| QC | $1,109.14 | $1,150.74 | $41.60 | 3.75% |
| PEI | $959.01 | $997.86 | $38.85 | 4.05% |
| ON | $1,193.79 | $1,232.03 | $38.24 | 3.20% |
| AB | $1,251.66 | $1,289.46 | $37.80 | 3.02% |
| NB | $1,068.19 | $1,097.03 | $28.84 | 2.70% |
| NL | $1,152.05 | $1,179.79 | $27.74 | 2.41% |
| SK | $1,136.66 | $1,158.51 | $21.85 | 1.92% |
Alberta no longer had the smallest increase in average weekly earnings when we compare to May 2022. However, they still are in 7th place among all 10 provinces, both in terms of actual dollars and as a percentage of May 2022’s wages.
The national average increase was $39.08, which was slightly more than what workers in Alberta got.
Here’s what job numbers look like when we compare May 2023 to May 2021.
| May 2021 | May 2023 | Change | % change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NB | $998.42 | $1,097.03 | $98.61 | 9.88% |
| NL | $1,082.59 | $1,179.79 | $97.20 | 8.98% |
| BC | $1,119.23 | $1,211.65 | $92.42 | 8.26% |
| QC | $1,070.36 | $1,150.74 | $80.38 | 7.51% |
| NS | $989.89 | $1,064.63 | $74.74 | 7.55% |
| MB | $1,029.69 | $1,093.91 | $64.22 | 6.24% |
| AB | $1,227.60 | $1,289.46 | $61.86 | 5.04% |
| ON | $1,177.27 | $1,232.03 | $54.76 | 4.65% |
| SK | $1,104.21 | $1,158.51 | $54.30 | 4.92% |
| PEI | $948.90 | $997.86 | $48.96 | 5.16% |
Once again, Alberta is in fourth from the bottom in terms of absolute dollars, with the average worker seeing their weekly earning increase by $61.86, which is more than $10 less than the national average of $72.75.
Relative to 2021 wages, however, Alberta actually drops down to third from the bottom, displaced by PEI, which saw an increase of 5.16%, compared to Alberta’s increase of only 5.04%.
It’s a similar story if we go 3 years out, to May 2020, 10 months after the UCP cut the corporate profit tax, what they called a “Job Creation Tax Cut”, and two months into the COVID-19 pandemic.
| May 2020 | May 2023 | Change | % change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BC | $1,123.76 | $1,211.65 | $87.89 | 7.82% |
| NB | $1,011.92 | $1,097.03 | $85.11 | 8.41% |
| QC | $1,074.69 | $1,150.74 | $76.05 | 7.08% |
| ON | $1,168.03 | $1,232.03 | $64.00 | 5.48% |
| MB | $1,034.89 | $1,093.91 | $59.02 | 5.70% |
| NS | $1,013.08 | $1,064.63 | $51.55 | 5.09% |
| AB | $1,246.81 | $1,289.46 | $42.65 | 3.42% |
| NL | $1,140.92 | $1,179.79 | $38.87 | 3.41% |
| SK | $1,142.51 | $1,158.51 | $16.00 | 1.40% |
| PEI | $987.90 | $997.86 | $9.96 | 1.01% |
Alberta’s growth in average weekly wages over the last 3 years was still the fourth lowest of all the provinces in Canada. We also had the fourth lowest percentage-based increase.
Finally, here’s how wages changed since May 2019, the month after the UCP won their first provincial election.
| May 2019 | May 2023 | Change | % change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BC | $1,000.88 | $1,211.65 | $210.77 | 21.06% |
| QC | $957.29 | $1,150.74 | $193.45 | 20.21% |
| ON | $1,053.12 | $1,232.03 | $178.91 | 16.99% |
| NS | $903.14 | $1,064.63 | $161.49 | 17.88% |
| NB | $945.87 | $1,097.03 | $151.16 | 15.98% |
| PEI | $856.89 | $997.86 | $140.97 | 16.45% |
| MB | $954.87 | $1,093.91 | $139.04 | 14.56% |
| NL | $1,050.60 | $1,179.79 | $129.19 | 12.30% |
| AB | $1,179.38 | $1,289.46 | $110.08 | 9.33% |
| SK | $1,062.17 | $1,158.51 | $96.34 | 9.07% |
Compared to four years ago, Alberta’s workers saw an average increase to weekly wages of $110.08, the second smallest increase in the country.
Relative to May 2019’s wages, however, that increase was only 9.33%, making it one of only two provinces where the average worker saw their wages increase by less than 10%.
Compare that to our next-door neighbour, BC, where workers saw an average increase of over $200 a week, nearly twice as much as workers in Alberta. That’s a jump of over 21%, more than double that of Alberta’s 9.33%.
If these sort of increases keep happening, Alberta workers may no longer have the highest wages in the country. Here, take a look at this chart, which compares BC, with the largest increase in weekly wages, to Alberta.
See that? BC has been catching up to Alberta over the last four years. I mean, they’re not there yet, but they’ve gone from being $178.50 a week behind Alberta to $77.81 a week behind them. If this keeps up, workers in BC could be making more than Alberta workers within the next 4 years.
