Raising a child on $4,000 in Canada? Think again

It's possible to a raise a child in Canada for less than $4,000 a year, according to a new study by the Fraser Institute. The kid won't be playing soccer, much less hockey, and you won't need to worry about violin lessons or Girl Guides, but it can be done, insists economist Christopher Sarlo, who prepared the report for the conservative think-tank based in Vancouver.

The research is intended as repudiation of other recently conducted studies in the U.S., which put the annual figure much closer to $15,000-a-year, at least until the child reaches the age of 18, when they’ll financially independent and self-sufficient, as 18-year-olds invariably are.

Sarlo believes the spectre of a yearly six-figure commitment discourages low-income families from having children, an issue that has traditionally not galvanized right-wing research bodies. In fairness to Sarlo though, he is quick to point out that his tally does not include daycare, as that’s not believed to be a cost item for most parents, not in Canada at least.

It’s a much different story south of the border, of course. In the United States, as we know, everything costs so much more. Indeed it was only last week that the U.S. Department of Agriculture concluded that middle-income parents could anticipate spending US$241,080 to raise a child through to the end of high school. However, that study included a series of seemingly anachronistic costs such as housing, childcare, education, and transportation. And it should be noted the six-figure tally represents only the average. The USDA researchers determined that families in major urban centres could expect to spend nearly US$450,000 per child.

Sarlo’s study employs different economics altogether, managing to strip out trivialities such as childcare expenses right from the start. A neat trick, that. And though his report does not explicitly assume that dads will stay home and raise the children, that’s certainly what must be presumed. Either that or the grandparents will do it; recognizing of course, that families traditionally remain, more or less, in the same neighbourhood through successive generations. And that, of course, your mother’s new husband has no problem retiring early to look after your children and your brother’s kids, while also caring for the grandchildren from his first marriage.

Hopefully, that new step-granddad is the energetic sort, as he’s not going to be taking the kids to the local science centre or swimming pool, not often at least, not if each kid is on a budget that maxes out at $77 per week; an amount which will need to include food and clothing, and of course, birthday presents, for them and their friends, Hanukkah gifts, school trips and summer camps, though hopefully not glasses, or God forbid, braces.

Needless to say, paying for skateboards, bikes, phones, iPods and PlayStations might be problematic. But that’s fine. Most kids don’t want that stuff anyway, particularly if all of their friends have them. They can share.

For all of that and more, one supposes, Sarlo says it's never been more affordable to raise children than today. His report explains that because there are more dual-income families, and wages are increasing, covering the basic expenses has never been easier. Plus, housing prices are steadily decreasing, nowhere more so than in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal. So in the unlikely event that you live in one of Canada’s major cities, housing costs will hardly even be a line item. And remember, the kids won’t have any stuff, so space won’t be a problem.

**Editor's Note: Sarcasm is rampant in above paragraphs