Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary are the three most expensive cities to live in Canada. To survive in theses cities a family must have two or more people earning in the household. The rents or property taxes are high in these cities and the price of houses are very expensive. Even the insurance for auto and homes are high and education fees in colleges and university are quite high. That is why often you might be able to spot some homeless people roaming the city streets begging for money and the law enforcement police can't do much about the situation.
These cities also taxes the people heavily and every year taxes can only go upwards and not downwards. However, these cities though they are expensive to live, they do provide higher paying jobs and opportunities than other cities in Canada. People are able to find jobs more easily and related to their education interests compared to other Canadian cities.