Living outside the major centers of Montreal, Quebec, Trois-Rivières, Saguenay, Sept-Îles, Gatineau and Sherbrooke can quickly become expensive. The further away you go, the higher the cost of living, a new study shows.
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“We often have a postcard image of the Gaspésie in front of us, we don’t necessarily see the economic difficulties that exist in the region,” explains Guillaume Tremblay-Boily, associate researcher at the Institute for Socioeconomic Research and Information (IRIS) and author of the study.
If a family of two adults and two children in Montreal can live on a profitable income of $71,161 per year, in Sept-Îles, for example, it is $76,918. In Sainte-Anne-des-Monts, in Gaspésie, the bar is $78,621.
Sustainable income is a measure invented by IRIS. It makes it possible to estimate the income required to achieve a decent standard of living without poverty, beyond simply covering basic needs.
The big difference between the cost of living in the city and in the region is the need for a car. If you live alone, you have one. If we have one family, we have two.
“This is true in almost all cases. This shows the importance of public transport,” says Mr Tremblay-Boily.
The only exception is Fermont on the north coast, where shopping and getting to work can be done on foot thanks to the protective wall designed to protect the town from the north wind.
For a family of four, the viable income there is $73,557, compared to $82,270 in Havre-Saint-Pierre, which is 230 km from Sept-Îles.
Source: IRIS calculations
“It costs gas”
“It is certain that public transport is available. We can’t say there aren’t any, but they aren’t developed,” notes Jonathan Lafontaine.
This father of four lives with his lover in Cap-d’Espoir, south of the village of Percé, in Gaspésie. He runs a hardware store and she teaches.
They own two cars, including a minivan, and a large trunk is coming towards them. “We came back here to have peace and quiet, but of course we drive a lot,” says the man, who has lived in the region for 12 years.
There is a small market within walking distance of his house, but to reach the “big grocery store” you have to drive 30 minutes there. The same applies to swimming pools, football or skiing.
“It costs gas, and gas costs more than in Montreal. It all adds up, so there are things that cost more,” he says.
At work he buys a lot of building materials. Here, too, there are transport costs that have to be passed on to the customers. “We are 1000 km from Montreal. “If we had to bear all these costs, we would have been closed for a long time,” Jonathan says with a laugh.
In addition, he would never have been able to afford his century-old house with lots of woodwork if he had stayed in Quebec.
“There are more positives than negatives, I’m happy here,” he summarizes.
Low income
Not only is food further away than in the city, it is also more expensive. IRIS has calculated that the annual cost for a family of four ranges from $13,570 in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu to $28,690 in Schefferville.
This means that many people simply can’t do it. In New Carlisle, for example, the livable income for an individual is $37,126, while the median after-tax income is $26,400.
“Due to population decline and devitalization, there are many older people in the region who only live on their retirement income,” explains Guillaume Tremblay-Boily.
His study, he says, provides a more accurate idea of what factors influence poverty.
In addition to Gaspésie, he also analyzed the north coast and Montérégie. “It is certain that Montérégie is close to Montreal. But even there, a city an hour from Montreal can experience almost the same reality as a village in Gaspésie,” notes the researcher.
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