IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sls/ipmsls/v50y20266.html

Addressing Canada's High Cost of Living: The Role of Productivity and Bargaining Power

Author

Listed:
  • Claude Lavoie

Abstract

This commentary examines persistent concerns about the cost of living among Canadians, a phenomenon also observed across many developed economies. Despite macroeconomic indicators showing that household income has generally grown faster than prices in recent years, approximately 60 per cent of Canadians identify the cost of living as a primary concern. Drawing on polling data, economic statistics, and policy literature, the analysis identifies housing affordability, slowing real income growth, and social media–driven financial perceptions as key drivers. The commentary concludes that policy responses should prioritize housing supply, productivity growth, and stronger worker bargaining power to ensure that economic gains translate into improved household welfare.

Suggested Citation

  • Claude Lavoie, 2026. "Addressing Canada's High Cost of Living: The Role of Productivity and Bargaining Power," International Productivity Monitor, Centre for the Study of Living Standards, vol. 50, pages 129-142, Spring.
    • Handle: RePEc:sls:ipmsls:v:50:y:2026:6
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/international-productivity-monitor-50th-issue/addressing-canadas-high-cost-of-living-the-role-of-productivity-and-bargaining-power/
    File Function: Version francaise disponible / French version available
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_Lavoie_Final.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sls:ipmsls:v:50:y:2026:6. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: CSLS (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/cslssca.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.