Alberta’s minimum wage of $15 an hour is not enough to get by in Drayton Valley, or in numerous other communities around the province according to the Alberta Living Wage Network (ALWN).
The Alberta Living Wage Network is a group of municipalities and community organizations working to raise awareness about the cost of living in towns and cities across the province. The network recalculates the hourly rate needed each year to cover living expenses reflecting current costs and public policy changes affecting affordability. That dollar figure is defined as the living wage.
This week the group released its 2026 living wage rates for Alberta communities. Among the 19 communities with comparable results from last year, living wages increased in nine and decreased in ten, showing how changes in local living costs and government benefits affect the income working Albertans need to cover basic expenses. All 20 published rates remain above Alberta’s $15-per-hour minimum wage.
For Drayton Valley, the hourly rate is $21.35. That’s an increase of 4.91 percent from the 2025 figure. Provincewide the living wage ranges from a low of $18.05 in Medicine Hat, to a high of $27.45 in Banff.
Red Deer recorded the largest year-over-year increase, up 8.23 percent to $22.35 per hour, with higher costs across the major expense categories, especially child care, shelter, transportation and food. Brooks recorded the largest decrease, down 6.36 percent to $20.60 per hour, reflecting lower food and shelter costs alongside changes to government benefits.
The network defines a living wage as the hourly wage a worker needs to earn to cover their basic expenses and participate in their community. It reflects the real cost of living in each community and the belief that everyone deserves to live with dignity. The calculation uses a weighted average based on census data for three household types, accounting for differences in expenses, taxes and government benefits.
“A living wage is about more than a paycheque. When people can cover the cost of housing, food, transportation and other everyday needs, they have more stability and less financial stress. That benefits workers, families and the wider community, from stronger local businesses to less pressure on social services. A growing living wage movement reflects a simple idea: working people should be able to make ends meet,” says Alison Van Dyke, Coordinator of the Alberta Living Wage Network.
Alberta’s minimum wage has remained unchanged since October of 2018 and is the lowest in the country.
According to the ALWN, essential expenses did not move in the same direction everywhere over the last year. Among the 19 communities with comparable figures, shelter costs rose in 13, while food costs rose in 10. Some communities saw decreases in these categories, which helped moderate their calculated living wage rates.
Government benefits also influence the calculations. The ALWN says the introduction of the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit and improvements to ALWN’s calculation of the Canada Workers Benefit helped lower living wage rates in some communities. However, these effects were not uniform. In higher-cost communities, workers may earn too much to qualify for benefits, despite facing higher living expenses.
