Canadians now pay almost half of their hard-earned income in taxes, which contrasts with a third for the average family in 1961. Recently, the Fraser Institute calculated that in 2015 an average Canadian family paid $34,154 (or 42.4 percent) of their total $80,593 cash income in taxes. For housing, food and clothing, the average family spent 37.6 percent of their total cash income. The objective of this study is to plot the average family’s experience each year in order to understand the changes Canadians are experiencing throughout the years.

Read more: Canadians now spend more on taxes than on food, clothing and shelter combined, study finds