Expenditures

The average Canadian household spent $57,496 (including taxes) on goods and services in 2001, an increase of 3.4% from the previous year.

Shelter accounted for 19 cents of every dollar of household spending. However, the largest households expense was taxes, which took over 21 cents of every dollar spent.

In 2000, two-thirds of Canadian households owned their own homes. Vancouver, Victoria and Toronto are among the most expensive cities for real estate in Canada. The metropolitan areas of New Brunswick and Quebec tend to have the best real estate deals for house-seekers. The cost of the house, however, isn't the only family expense when it comes to shelter. Home owners in Canada in 2001 spent an average of $2,580 repairing or renovating their homes.

Food was another big-ticket item in 2001. Feeding the family cost the average household about $124 every week over the course of the year.

Getting to and from work, school and the shopping centre can also be a big cost for Canadian families—probably because we are much more likely to rely on our own vehicles to do it. In fact, Canadians spend more than 10 times as much on private transportation as on public transportation. Nearly one in five Canadian households leased or rented vehicles in 2001, spending on average $3,147.