A new report makes a strong case for settling in our region by comparing the affordability of Northern cities with southern Ontario counterparts.

A Tale of Ten Cities, produced by the Northern Policy Institute, shows incomes in this area tend to as high, or higher, than in many locations closer to Lake Ontario, while shelter costs are typically much lower, leaving more money in the pockets of residents.

“We made a better case than even I was expecting,” said Charles Cirtwill, CEO of the policy institute. “Look at Sudbury — the average after-tax income for a working family of two parents and two kids is about $116,000, which is slightly less than Ottawa but better than Barrie, London and Niagara Falls. So not only is it cheaper to live here, you can make more money — that’s a nice combination.”

The report, authored by Anthony Noga, examines the cost of key goods and services in the biggest Northern cities – Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, Thunder Bay, Timmins and North Bay — as contrasted with Toronto, London, Niagara Falls, Ottawa, and Barrie.

Gas and groceries are pricier in the Northern centres, but the data shows lower shelter costs (whether buying a house or renting) more than make up for that. Tuition for post-secondary education is also cheaper across Northern Ontario, and in most cases, you will pay less to dine out or sign your kid up for a sporting or recreational activity.

The exception to that latter category would be Sudbury, where the cost of youth team sports was higher than all the other cities examined in the study.

The city still has an advantage over southern centres in terms of accessibility to sports programs, however.

“You’re not standing in line to get that 2 a.m. appointment for the ice time,” Cirtwill pointed out. “You can actually get ice, you can get into swimming lessons, and it’s not a panicked situation like it is in Toronto and other places.”

Gas in Sudbury is about the same as it is in the Sault and cheaper than in Timmins or Thunder Bay, but costlier than in North Bay and, of course, the five southern cities.

“One of the things that won’t be a surprise to anybody living in Northern Ontario is the fact that gas prices, in particular, are significantly more expensive,” said Cirtwill. “So we need to take a serious look at whether there’s something we can do there in terms of improving access to other marketplaces.”

Cirtwill conceded it’s difficult to bring prices down at the pumps, given the global supply system and our distance from refineries and fuel terminals, but “if there are ways to improve our transportation connections, maybe we should be looking at those.”

Northerners can expect to spend an extra $70 or more per year on groceries, the report shows, and this is another area where Cirtwill said improvements could be made.

“For those of an average level of income it’s not going to be that problematic — we’ve seen that housing and other costs offset the higher price of food — but for those on fixed incomes and lower incomes, it becomes a much bigger issue.”

Cirtwill said the idea for the report grew out of an exchange he had with Steve Paikan on the TVO program The Agenda about a year ago.

“Steve and I got into an argument about whether or not it was cheaper to live in the North,” he said. “I told him it was cheaper to buy houses, and he said, ‘Yeah, but it’s more expensive to buy all that other stuff.’ ”

The NPI head decided a thorough analysis was needed to better answer the question.

“Being an evidence-oriented fellow, I asked one of my analysts to take a look,” he said. “And what he discovered is that well, in fact, Steve and I were both sort of right, but I was more right than he was. Yes, it’s more expensive to buy groceries and gas, but just about everything else is cheaper here in Northern Ontario.”

Housing is the biggest difference. “We’re looking at average house prices in Toronto that are twice the price of those in Sudbury, and those savings are nowhere near eaten up when you look at the slightly increased cost for some groceries and the increased cost for gas,” said Cirtwill.

When you factor in decent incomes along with cheaper tuition, lower restaurant bills and other bargains, the balance tips even more in favour of a Northern home.

“Come here, live for less, earn more and get a cheaper education,” said the NPI head. “I don’t know how much more I can do to convince people to move.”

To read the full report, visit www.northernpolicy.ca/a-tale-of-ten-cities.

sud.editorial@sunmedia.ca

sud.editorial@sunmedia.ca

Twitter: @SudburyStar