Alberta does have a provincial income tax. It starts at 8%, and for a single employee on $75,000 we estimate the move saves about $440 a year, and only because Alberta has no equivalent of Ontario's Health Premium.
The larger savings sit elsewhere: eight points less sales tax, no land transfer tax, and much cheaper houses if you're leaving Toronto, or leaving Ottawa for Edmonton. Windsor is a different story, because its benchmark home price almost matches Calgary's. Some things also get worse: no limit on rent increases, a general minimum wage $2.95 lower, and electricity that cost far more in Calgary and Edmonton than in Toronto or Ottawa in the latest comparison we could find.
So the move pays off most clearly for people who would otherwise buy in the Greater Toronto Area and for people earning above about $125,000. It does least for renters in older Ontario units and minimum-wage workers. Below are the numbers and the Ontario-specific handover: health coverage, your G licence and your vehicle. The general task list is in the checklist linked at the end.
Ontario and Alberta at a glance
| Ontario | Alberta | |
|---|---|---|
| Provincial income tax, single employee on $75,000 (our estimate) | $4,450, including Health Premium | $4,010 |
| Sales tax | 13% HST | 5% GST, no provincial sales tax |
| Average asking rent, September 2026 | Toronto $2,554, Ottawa $2,164 | Calgary $1,823, Edmonton $1,522 |
| Home price benchmark, September 2026 | Greater Toronto $917,600, Ottawa $623,500, Windsor-Essex $570,000 | Calgary $566,700, Edmonton $423,100 |
| General minimum wage | $17.95 | $15 |
| Unemployment rate, September 2026 | 7.0% | 6.4% |
| Limit on rent increases | 1.9% guideline for 2027, not for units first occupied after November 15, 2018 | No limit on the amount, one increase per 365 days |
Last checked November 3, 2026.
Income tax: a small gap until you're well past $100,000
Alberta has six brackets, from 8% up to $61,200 to 15% above $370,220. Ontario has five, from 5.05% up to $53,891 to 13.16% above $220,000, on the Canada Revenue Agency's 2026 rate table.
Alberta offsets its higher starting rate with a much larger basic personal amount, $22,769 against Ontario's $12,989. Ontario then adds a surtax on larger tax bills and the Ontario Health Premium, up to $900 a year.
| 2026 employment income | Ontario, including surtax and Health Premium | Alberta | Alberta saves about |
|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $2,290 | $1,890 | $400 |
| $60,000 | $2,980 | $2,630 | $350 |
| $75,000 | $4,450 | $4,010 | $440 |
| $100,000 | $6,720 | $6,470 | $250 |
| $125,000 | $10,260 | $8,970 | $1,290 |
| $150,000 | $14,610 | $11,470 | $3,140 |
| $200,000 | $24,080 | $17,500 | $6,580 |
Our estimate of provincial tax only, from the CRA's 2026 rates and payroll formulas, rounded to the nearest $10. Not tax advice. It assumes a single employee with no dependants and only employment income, with credits for the basic personal amount, base CPP and EI at 1.63%. RRSPs, other deductions and credits, and refundable benefits are left out. Federal rates are the same in both provinces, so federal tax is excluded. Ontario's low-income LIFT credit isn't modelled, which is why the table starts at $50,000.
The saving shrinks between $75,000 and $100,000, which looks odd until you isolate the Health Premium. Under the CRA's formula it's $600 in our $50,000 and $60,000 rows and $750 in every row from $75,000 up. Take it out and Alberta's income tax is $200 to $500 higher than Ontario's in each row up to $100,000. So at those incomes, the premium is the saving. Above $100,000, Ontario's surtax and its 11.16% bracket pull away while Alberta stays at 10% up to $154,259.
Families can see a bigger number, because Alberta's own model counts more than income tax. Its Budget 2026 fiscal plan has a couple with two children on one $90,000 income paying $4,573 less in Alberta, but just $429 of that is income tax. Most of the rest is sales tax, the premium and payroll tax, and the model assumes employees bear 75% of employers' payroll tax.
December 31 and your pay stub
Your provincial return follows where you lived on December 31. Live in Alberta on that date and Alberta's rates apply to the whole year of employment income, whether you moved in February or November. Move on January 2 and the year just ended stays with Ontario.
The stakes are the size of your row in the table. At $75,000 that's about $440, which won't justify a rushed December move. With ties in both provinces, the CRA looks at your most significant residential ties, so a December sublet in Calgary with your family and home still in Ontario may not count.
Your paycheque can lag behind all this. Payroll deductions follow your province of employment: where you report for work, or for full-time remote staff, where you're considered attached or otherwise where your salary is paid from. A remote job with an Ontario employer may keep deducting at Ontario rates after you move, and the CRA warns that a mismatch can mean too much or too little tax is deducted. On our reading of its rules, any difference is settled when you file, but ask payroll before you go.
Housing: it depends on which city you're leaving
Buying
The Toronto and Calgary gap is real: a benchmark of $917,600 across the Toronto board's area against $566,700 in Calgary, or $350,900. From Ottawa, Calgary saves only $56,800, though Edmonton saves $200,400.
Windsor-Essex's $570,000 benchmark is just $3,300 above Calgary's, so housing alone gives a Windsor buyer almost no reason to pick Calgary. Edmonton is another matter, at $146,900 less.
These are September 2026 benchmarks, not average prices, and board areas differ.
Land transfer tax is a one-time charge on buying a home. Ontario charges it on a sliding scale, and Toronto adds a municipal tax at matching rates up to $2 million. Alberta has no land transfer tax, only a title transfer fee of $50 plus $5 per $5,000 of value.
| Purchase price | Ontario tax | Toronto, provincial and municipal | Alberta fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| $500,000 | $6,475 | $12,950 | $550 |
| $650,000 | $9,475 | $18,950 | $700 |
| $800,000 | $12,475 | $24,950 | $850 |
Our calculation, before first-time buyer refunds (up to $4,000 from Ontario). The Alberta figure excludes mortgage registration and assumes the fee rounds up.
This only counts if your alternative is buying in Ontario. If you already own and would otherwise stay put, you wouldn't pay the tax either way.
Renting
Average asking rents in September 2026 were $731 a month lower in Calgary than Toronto, and $642 lower in Edmonton than Ottawa. Those are rents on new listings. If you've held an older Ontario unit for years, compare with what you actually pay.
That older unit also carries a protection you'd give up. Ontario's 2027 guideline is 1.9%, for units first occupied on or before November 15, 2018. In Alberta, rent can rise once every 365 days with no limit on the amount, with three full tenancy months' notice on a monthly tenancy. A good first-year rent in Calgary isn't a locked-in rent.
To leave an Ontario monthly tenancy, give Form N9 at least 60 days ahead, ending on the last day of a rental month. A fixed-term lease needs the same notice even if you're leaving when it ends.
Other costs
Sales tax
The 8-point difference works out to $800 per $10,000 of spending that would carry HST, or $3,200 on a $40,000 vehicle. Rent and basic groceries generally aren't affected. Someone spending $20,000 a year on taxed goods and services would save $1,600, more than the income tax gap in any row up to $125,000.
Car insurance
This comparison stays open. We couldn't find an Ontario average measured the same way as Alberta's, so we won't say which is cheaper.
Alberta's regulator reports an average full coverage premium of $1,903 in 2025, and that system is about to change. Under Care-First, from January 1, 2027, benefits come from your own insurer and lawsuits are limited to serious or criminal driving offences. Insurers' filings project an average drop of 13.7% for private passenger vehicles, though your premium may move differently.
Get real quotes before you budget. The Automobile Insurance Rate Board's tool shows average premiums by postal code.
Electricity and heating
The most consistent comparison we found is Hydro-Québec's 2025 study, using April 1, 2025 rates before taxes. At 1,000 kWh, the average price was 22.90¢/kWh in Calgary and 22.00¢ in Edmonton, against 15.57¢ in Toronto and 14.35¢ in Ottawa. That's about $229 in Calgary and $156 in Toronto. The data is 18 months old, so treat it as direction rather than a quote.
Alberta's 2027 default Rate of Last Resort wasn't available when we checked.
Natural gas is unresolved, because we have no comparable Ontario bill. Ask for a recent winter bill for the actual address. We also found no comparable figures for property tax, groceries, child care or tuition, and none of them count here.
Jobs and pay
On Statistics Canada's September 2026 numbers, Alberta looks somewhat stronger, with unemployment of 6.4% against Ontario's 7.0%. That's a single month.
Pay is murkier than the "higher wages" line suggests. Average weekly earnings in August were about $9 apart, at $1,404.59 in Alberta and $1,395.60 in Ontario. Median after-tax income in 2024 was wider, at $85,300 against $79,500 for families and unattached individuals. Neither tells you what an employer would pay you, so trust a specific offer over provincial averages.
At the bottom of the pay scale, Ontario wins. Ontario's general minimum wage is $17.95 and Alberta's is $15, a difference of about $118 a week at 40 hours.
The handover from Ontario
Health coverage: OHIP to AHCIP
Two rules, written by two provinces, set your dates.
- Alberta: the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan (AHCIP) starts on the first day of the third month after you establish residency. Establish on July 12 and you're covered from October 1. So the wait isn't a flat 90 days: for a July move it runs from 62 to 92 days. Military families are exempt.
- Ontario: on a permanent move within Canada, OHIP continues until the last day of the second full month after you leave.
| Leave Ontario | Establish in Alberta | OHIP ends | AHCIP starts | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 1 | July 1 | September 30 | October 1 | None |
| July 31 | July 31 | September 30 | October 1 | None |
| June 30 | July 2 | August 31 | October 1 | All of September |
The last row is a literal reading of both rules. Neither province publishes that case, and it may not play out this way. Confirm with ServiceOntario and AHCIP before you book dates that straddle a month-end. On these rules, doing both in the same calendar month avoids the question.
"No gap" doesn't mean full coverage. During the wait you keep using your Ontario card. OHIP covers medically necessary physician and public hospital services, but not ambulance, prescriptions outside hospital, home care, private facilities or non-hospital lab services, and Ontario recommends buying private insurance before you leave.
You may see 212 days quoted as how long OHIP lasts after a move. That number belongs to a separate Ontario rule for mobile workers who keep Ontario as their primary home.
Apply for AHCIP within three months of establishing residency, because a later application means the start date is set at registration. Take form AHC0102 to a registry agent with proof of Alberta residency, identity and legal entitlement.
If your spouse or dependants follow later, Alberta says to keep your previous province's coverage for up to 12 months and applies a separate start-date rule. Check that plan with both provinces.
Your G licence
Alberta requires you to exchange your licence within 90 days of moving, even if you travel during that time. Your Ontario licence is surrendered and not returned. Licences of an equal class exchange with no knowledge or road test.
Alberta's page doesn't name Ontario's classes. It calls Class 5 the standard driver's licence, so reading a full G as Class 5 is our inference. Under two years at Class 5, you may be placed in graduated licensing. How a G1 or G2 maps isn't published there. Ask a registry before you hand anything over.
Which fee applies is unclear too. The October 2026 registry catalogue doesn't say which licence row covers an out-of-province exchange. Ask the registry for the total.
Bring proof of legal status and an original proof of Alberta residence dated within 90 days, such as a utility bill or lease.
Your vehicle
A used Ontario-plated car usually needs an out-of-province inspection before it can get Alberta plates. Vehicles from British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba are exempt, and so is a new vehicle from a factory-authorized dealer within 90 days. Rebuilt, salvage, custom, right-hand-drive, lifted or lowered vehicles never are.
You have 90 days to switch registration, and the order matters:
- Buy the Request for Vehicle Inspection form at a registry.
- Book a licensed inspection facility. Facilities set and post their own prices, so check several.
- If the vehicle fails, finish repairs within 10 days, or you'll need a full reinspection.
- Arrange Alberta insurance that names you as the registrant.
- Register within 14 days of the certificate, or redo the inspection. Bring ownership proof, insurance and ID. The catalogue lists $87 plus a service charge of up to $15, and outstanding fines block registration.
As a precaution, keep your Ontario insurance until the Alberta policy starts, and confirm timing with your insurer. We didn't verify Ontario's steps for plates. ServiceOntario is the place to ask.
Moving cost and the deduction
We found no official cost figure, only estimates from companies selling the service. One national van line publishes $4,400 to $17,000, and another mover quotes from about $1,000 for a small shipment to $17,000 or more. That's too wide to budget on, so get written quotes for your own load.
If you're moving for new work, a business or full-time study, the moving expenses deduction (line 21900, Form T1-M) can reduce the bill, as long as your new home is at least 40 km closer to the new work or school. It covers transport, storage, travel, up to 15 days of temporary living, lease cancellation and selling costs on the old home, deducted from income earned at the new location. The CRA page is worded for the 2025 tax year. If you're moving for cheaper housing and keeping the same job, don't assume it applies.
If you came to Canada recently
Permanent residents may live, work or study anywhere in Canada, though the same page notes that a nominating province chose you to bring skills to that province. If you're still waiting for PR through the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program, its current stream requires you to intend to live and work in Ontario after PR is granted, and to stay with the approved employer until your PR application is decided if you already work there. Your nomination letter lists your own conditions, so read it and get licensed immigration advice first.
Temporary residents get less clarity. Alberta's page says people from other countries may qualify for coverage if they establish residency, intend to stay 12 consecutive months and hold a document with at least six months left, such as a work permit for an Alberta employer in Alberta or an open permit. It doesn't address someone arriving from Ontario or say whether the three-month wait applies. Ask AHCIP first. A permit naming an Ontario employer wouldn't match those conditions as written.
The October referendum matters for that second group. On October 19, 2026, voters backed three non-binding questions: limiting provincially funded programs to citizens, PRs and people with Alberta-approved status (52.46% yes), a 12-month wait for social supports for non-permanent residents (53.12%), and a fee or premium for their health care and education (51.78%). As of November 3, 2026, we found no law implementing them, and the AHCIP pages we read didn't reflect them. Recheck before you commit.
Who it suits, and who should stay
Your own estimate needs five numbers: your row in the tax table, 8% of your taxable spending, your actual housing cost against your Alberta city, the electricity difference, and the one-time move.
Take a hypothetical single renter in Ottawa on $75,000 who spends $15,000 a year on taxed purchases and uses 1,000 kWh a month. Moving to Calgary gives about $440 in tax and $1,200 in sales tax. Going from Ottawa's average asking rent to Calgary's saves $4,092 a year. Electricity costs about $1,026 more. That's roughly $4,700 a year before insurance and heating, which would cover a move at the low end of the van line's range in about a year.
Give the same person an older Ontario unit whose rent is already close to Calgary's asking rent, and the total falls to about $600, with their rent cap gone.
The move is likely to pay off if you'd otherwise buy in the Greater Toronto Area, or in Ottawa with Edmonton on your list, if you earn well above $125,000, or if an Alberta offer beats your current pay. Staying looks better if you hold a below-market Ontario rent, earn near the minimum wage, or would buy in Windsor-Essex and are only looking at Calgary.
If the numbers work, the Alberta moving checklist takes you through the remaining tasks.